Our seasons are changing now from summer into autumn, the nights are drawing in and the light and colours are stunning as the sun becomes lower in the sky. Its a great time to be out with your camera, providing you with some of the most beautiful and intense colours of the year. The season of autumn for me is arguably one of the finest times of year to enjoy and view wildlife with this amazing mosaic of colour as the backdrop.
Autumn is a time where the trees and ground are laden with fruits, berries and nuts forming a rich bouty of food, one that all animal’s take advantage of before the onset of Winter.
Two of my favourite species at this time of year are Short-eared Owls, that come down from the uplands to feed at sea level during our autumn and winter months, and Mountain Hares that change colour to pure white to avoid predators and blend in with their snow capped landscapes, it really is a fantastic time of year in so many ways.
Over the last several days I have been working on my own projects and also with clients booked onto my one to ones covering Red Squirrels and Short-eared Owls. My Red Squirrel site in the North West coastal region of the UK is a wonderful place. This whole area is managed by the wildlife trust who keeps an eye on the population of Red Squirrels that were almost wiped out over ten years ago. Numbers are increasing with the hard work and dedication of the local trust and volunteers, which is wonderful.
On these days clients book with me we visit the Red Squirrel site in the morning and then in the afternoon head to one of my Short-eared owl sights which is not far away. Good numbers of these beautiful owls are now turning up and we had some wonderful encounters.
Unplanned, unscripted in its truest form, watching wildlife is priceless and capturing those briefest of moments with your camera allows you to relive that experience long after you’ve left. Go out into nature over the next couple of months and you will witness what I describe for yourself.
Thank you once more to all my clients for their time and continued support and bookings. Everything I offer from workshops, one to ones and my photo tours can be seen on the following link.