Hi Everyone, here is the November Nature Blog, I’m hoping you will all enjoy the following:
Obviously a lot of the last Blog will still be very active throughout Oct and Nov but these are additional ideas and thoughts.
Canadian Geese, at the moment fly to and fro to large areas of water, you may know of certain routes they use, I have geese flying over every morning and evening. There can be up to 50 or more in each fly past.
The route they use is from Upton Warren waters, across to the Swan Rescue at Wycbold, right near to J5 of M5. The approximate times geese fly over is 7.00 am morning and evening roughly about 5.30pm.
I suggest a wide angle lens to capture the magnitude of the event… and possibly a telephoto lens 100-400mm and single out a section out for inter flight images. You do need a well lit day as you need a fast shutter speed.
Note that when shooting into the sky, you must manually increase the exposure to at least plus 1 full stop if not 2. This is to expose correctly for the birds and avoid them becoming silhouettes the sky. It will still give a highlight but as long as you are shooting in raw you can pull all the sky detail back into the image.
Remember also, that a shutter speed of no less than 700th. This speed will show some blur in wings which is good to show movement when they are in flight.
Moving on, this could be the time for Field Fares to arrive over from France, but it is warm and they do tend to come when colder, along with Red Wings. These are stunning birds, and quite large, the size of song thrushes.
They come for the berries on the holly and Rowan trees. Also apples that have fallen to the ground and mistletoe berries.
At this time the Haw Finches and Wax Wings will also be arriving for the rich source of berries we have… they are seen up North rather than this low down but sightings are not impossible. However, if you are going North for a reason it’s always a good idea to know that there is a possibility of a sighting. There is a big chance that a sighting can happen at Webbs Garden Centre. It is a fact that Webbs does have from time to time a flock of Wax Wings that arrives for the berries. There is a often a massive collection of photographers that sort of give the game away…… apparently it is best to be on a Facebook bird site to get this valued info…. or like me watch each time I pass Webbs just in case.
At this time of year the Wild Saffron can be seen, another pure nature image. This is just like an over sized crocus…. it only comes in a light mauve colour and is extremely short lived so very difficult to catch at its best. It is prevalent in Arboretums and can be found in old mansion grounds like Heritage and National Trust…. don’t confuse with Cyclamen small flowers as these are not wild. they started as cultivated.
Another Nature sighting is the Severn Bore…basically where the river runs backwards..only in UK and Japan does this occur, there is a dedicated web site listing all times to see this but remember, yes it is Nature, but you cannot use the image as Nature if you include into the image any human elements. However, with people in the image it is eligible for Colour and Mono.
Deer Images were spoken about in my Oct Blog and I was asked about specific areas where to find deer. Because it’s such a popular genre I am adding some info here…
- Woburn Abby Zoo Deer roam free
- Broadway Tower at the top of Fish Hill Broadway.
- Ashton Court Bristol. Free and open all Year…..please check under Covid-19 at the moment.
- Croome Park, Worcestershire.
- Eastnor Castle, Malvern
Deer images in rain or snowy frosty mornings all make awesome images….. the New Forest is another gem for stags and wild ponies.
We have 6 kinds of Deer, Roe, Red Sika, Chinese, Muntjac, Fallow I think the prettiest…….
I do know getting these images is a high on the wish list for many people, so anyone knowing an easy and productive site to add to my suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
At this time of the year… water will be bringing many, many migrating water birds …Arrow Valley Wildlife Park is a great area to visit and also any local water parks and RSPB areas Joining local wildlife trusts is cheap and helps support local wildlife.
The chances available to build up your Nature Portfolios is immense and exciting, you start with a small snippet of information and it grows so quickly …however remember if you are in a birding hide there is an etiquette you must not poke your lens out of the hide you must use a tripod and try not to disturb the birdlife…. this means you do need a decent long lens when shooting in RSPB and wildlife trust areas because you are not that close to the subject.
Fungi has a small mention, I have said a lot but do read up about FUNGI, it will help you to find it…remember there are 3 kinds…
- Parasitic this fungi grows on a tree
- Saprophytic this fungi lives on a dead tree….
- Symbiotic Live in the web of the root system the host and the Fungi support each other
It’s important to know the fungi that like certain trees. Then all you need to do is look for the tree to find the fungi.
You can see how nature photography can teach you so much more. This is why I love it so much even though it has taken a long time.
Weather is nature and as long as no “Human Elements” are in the image it is a Nature image. A tree in frosty morning or snow is Nature
However while I have been searching for Autumn colours, I have collected some acorn specimens and holly and chestnuts…. I have placed them into still life images and made up some images for future colour competitions…. these cannot be placed in Nature. They have been artistically arranges and were not naturally in the position photographed and will not be eligible for Nature. For me, the great satisfaction is that I have collected pure nature and placed it in position and shown it in all its beauty in a Colour competition..
This is just a suggestion for you to think about……I hope this helps you all in these difficult times…..I know without photography I could not have dealt with it all.
Jenny Webster
