I suppose it is in the nature of who we are, wildlife photographers I mean. We are always looking at the TV or magazines, wondering what image opportunities might be available at a particular destination. Most of these potential picture opportunities seem to involve lots of travel and normally quiet a bit of money.
But as wildlife photographers, we should not forget our local patch and how much more local can you get than our own home. It’s a fair bet, that were you live you will have a population of birds and other wildlife. You may not see it, but that’s because you haven’t given them any incentive to pause a while.
Greater Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major
We have been feeding our local birds and mammals who visit our garden for many years. Why? Well the answer is twofold. We enjoy watching the different birds and squirrels that visit the garden and learning a lot about animal behaviour. Secondly it provides us with lots of opportunities for photography.
No matter what space you have. From a balcony to a local park our advice is get out and start feeding. At this time of year, as food gets harder to find, your contribution will be very welcome. It will probably help several birds to survive the winter. It also gives you great opportunities to get some wonderful wildlife images.
Try it and see for yourself. Go and buy some bird food and put it out. It may take a few weeks for the local birds to find this new food source, but winter is the best time to start feeding. Birds devote a lot of the daylight hours to searching for food. Your contribution is more likely to be found quicker, than at another time of year. Once you have got the birds coming to your food regularly get your camera out, and enjoy your local patch.
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