January - A New Year — Wild Image Photography

A new year a new diary. The last few months have been a bit slow photography wise. Himself has been fishing for Pike most weeks with varied success. Herself has been a bit slow going out due to poor light conditions and a painful knee, making plodding through mud in wellies with camera, a heavy lens, and an excitable dog, hard work.

Last November we spent a few days in Norfolk. The tree colours were glorious at Felbrigg Hall and Blickling Hall where himself caught a few pike in the lake. A truly golden autumn.

A real treat was to spot Great Northern Divers and Red Throated Divers searching in the surf, close to shore at Cley.

Red Throated Diver in winter plumage close the shore at Cley

On our journey home from Norfolk we spotted these Whooper Swans, some of the hundred or so in a field near Wisbech. What a sight it was.

Local walks included a short walk around the RSPB at Sandy where the trees were spectacular

At the beginning of January the promise of a fine weather day spurred us on to take a day out to Titchwell RSPB in Norfolk. Our aim was to improve on our birds in flight photography. Well, that did not turn out as forecast. A walk through the reserve in the warm winter sunshine, stopping as we went was very pleasant. Stepping out from the sand dunes on to the beach was a bit of a shock. The wind was strong and bitterly cold. The challenges were to be able to stand still in the wind whilst trying to focus on the birds,watering eyes and keeping the sand from stinging our faces and out of our cameras and lenses. Oh what fun this wildlife photography is.

Heading back to the car the sky clouded over making poor light for any photography so time to head home.

Grey Plover on the mudflats at Titchwell.

Mid January and we had heard of where some Long Eared Owls were roosting on a reserve in Lincolnshire and that a family Otters were entertaining onlookers daily on a lake in Peterborough. Well we just had to go and see if we could find them. Once again the BBC weather man wasn’t entirely correct and a fine day ended in low cold cloud. However all was not lost as we found and photographed the Owls and the Otters, promising ourselves a trip back to the Otters in the near future.