Limitations and Dilemmas

The last two weekends have been enjoyable from a nature viewpoint but also left me with a few questions to ponder. The first is simply whether I am a birder who takes photographs or someone moving ever closer to ‘it’ being about the photographs rather than the birds. In moving in that direction, which is what it feels like I am doing, will I lose the simple enjoyment in birds and nature that I have felt for many years?

Last weekend was super hot and therefore I was up at 5.00 with the idea of catching the best light and avoiding the heat of the coming day. Walking across Papercourt Meadows, always a peaceful and pleasurable experience, in the early sunshine with a little mist coming off the meadow was indeed a calming start to the morning. Almost immediately l saw a song thrush hopping along the path away from me and then disappearing. The meadow grasses were particularly tall as I edged along the path running parallel with the river and those grasses were covered in snails, often curled around the very tops of the thicker stems. More obvious still were increasing numbers of banded demoiselle, looking stunning in the sunlight. 

Banded Demoiselle

The river is edged by reeds and from here, numbers of sedge warblers were singing but here is my first dilemma of the day; in my wish to obtain a nice image, did I forget to enjoy the song and appearance of this very smart little warbler, proclaiming domination over this patch of reed having braved a dangerous flight from Africa to do so. A wonderful and magical thing then but I did want a nice image!

Sedge Warbler

Moving on, eventually, I tiptoed carefully through the cattle (never comfortable around these animals although they had other things on their minds), across the bridge at Papercourt Lock and almost immediately became entranced by a group of young raptors sat on the ground by the river. I initially thought they were Woking’s peregrines (doing very well indeed this year) but they proved to be four young kestrels, successfully fledged from a nest here on the meadow. I decided to go closer to take a photograph, practically stood next to one before I realised it was there and missed another in a tree I hadn't even looked at (where were my birding skills?)

Kestrel

That sunshine became too hot too quickly and I soon abandoned ship and returned home having, to be fair, thoroughly enjoyed my morning before the heat got to me. Move forward a week and I am on my annual guided tour around Hazeley Heath, an RSPB reserve being developed to bring back heathland but also the woodland and scrubby parts that harbour so many amazing creatures. ‘Guided tour’ because long time friend Dave spends much of his time driving the development as a volunteer warden and it was fascinating listening to Dave’s ideas and plans for the site as we walked round. Dave’s wife Mary, also a volunteer, was with us and brings me back to the photography versus birding debate (in my mind at least) as Mary is a new user of Canon photographic equipment, having converted from Pentax, and I turned up with a shiny new canon zoom lens to test out at Hazeley. My morning was therefore filled with fascinating learning - from Dave about how successful the dartford warblers have been, how many territories the tree pipits occupy, plans for a dragonfly pond and vegetation management for silver washed fritillaries and silver studded blues. From Mary, a more experienced and indeed more able photographer than I, learning about some of the settings on my Canon I had never used and also catching some of the amazing enthusiasm with which she carries out her craft. My version of that craft can be seen here with images of beautiful fritillaries, dazzling blues, gorgeous marbled whites (members of the brown butterflies so I guess brown with white bits not the other way around) and a large skipper where in truth, I think I got too close or at least cropped too vigorously, somewhat abandoning a core belief of mine that natures creatures are best captured including the habitat in which they sit (a bit like the ringlet image).

Large Skipper

Marbled White

Ringlet

Silver Studded Blue

Silver Washed Fritillary

So besides not cropping too much, what did I in fact, learn from these two weekends?

Birding and photography are different but if I do the latter well (better than now anyway), my birding might actually improve by showing the patience you need to capture nice images. Learn from your errors and a thought from our Finnish guide Petri, understand the limitations of the camera. Above all, however you chose to do it, enjoy nature. Both slightly different mornings in slightly different surroundings with slightly different aims were relaxing and hugely enjoyable. In truth, I am never more content than when I am spending time in places like this.