Norfolk Photo Safari with David Tipling - Part 1 - 10/4/2018

 

Even though I have been a birder for most of my life, I have only recently taken up photography, maybe only for the last couple of years. Bird photography is hard, you need decent equipment and the luck of being in the right place at the right time. You need the weather to be on your side, and the light needs to be perfect, something that doesn't happen too often in the UK. Recently I have been struggling - I've invested in good equipment, so that's not the problem, its just that I have been getting better pictures on my old bridge camera than my new expensive DSLR camera. I just want to take the next step up.
If you are a regular reader of my blog then you will probably know my level as a photographer, I produce some decent pictures but not quite to a standard I want to be at. I want to be better, to produce better images, to reflect my interest in birds. However I couldn't do this on my own, the possibilities were endless on my camera, it would take years to master, so I needed help.
With all this in mind I decided to call upon a master of photography to help me out. I looked at the possibilities and decided upon on a half day course with David Tipling, to take me out on a safari around North Norfolk, a place teeming with wildlife and photographic potential. 
So at six o'clock on a Tuesday morning we were sitting in the car parked at Cley, waiting for David. We had woken up at half four to be here, an alien time for someone like myself who enjoys a lie in. The clock turned to six and David arrived bang on time.
It had been raining to begin with but it soon ended. However the light wasn't great with quite a thick fog on the countryside. As you can see the photos came out quite dark, there just wasn't a decent light today.

 

We switched to David's car and we drove for a long time, we passed Titchwell, and ended up at Thornham Harbour. As we arrived a small flock of BRENT GEESE were put to flight by the car. Nearby were some WADERS on the mud. An AVOCET, which was initially cagey, keeping itself tucked up, but would later moved around allowing some photos which you can see above. Also present were a GREY PLOVER, a REDSHANK and a pair of OYSTERCATCHERS which were seen mating. A SWALLOW flew passed a first of the year for me.

We moved down the estuary where there was a CURLEW - see below - the largest of the waders, a bird that stands out amongst the other species by its sheer bulkiness, its long curved beak and its bubbly call.

 

And a BLACK TAILED GODWIT present in beautiful brick red breeding plumage, these are birds that winter in the UK but nest in Iceland.

 



We went further inland to look for BROWN HARES - this part of the world was crawling with them - nearly every field had one. David had this device which emitted a sound that would entice the HARES to come over. The sound was like someone blowing into a kazoo over and over again. However this time it didn't quite work - some HARES came close but didn't stand out amongst the crops.
As well as HARES the fields were full of large numbers of PHEASANTS and RED LEGGED PARTRIDGES, introduced into the countryside in huge numbers to be shot. The countryside isn't a fair place at all, just don't forget that nothing of the countryside is in any way natural, its an intensely managed landscape. The stupid birds would stand in the road and not move even if a car was coming straight at them. Its meant to be sporting to shoot these stupid things.

 

We disturbed a pair of KESTRELS, and even though the female fled the make stayed in the tree long enough to be photographed - the handy bugger.

Anyway, this is the end of part one, the next part David takes us to his private hide in his wood, where we photographed small woodland birds.