Wildlife Photography across the Water: Local Patch-Raleigh

Monday 7 December 2009

Local Patch-Raleigh

Last week we had a lot of rain in a short period and there were floods, My local lake is around 50-80 acres went up 18'' and is the colour of doo daa, The last few days has seen water levels dropping back to normal so today i decided to pop down and see whats about, I took the dog there last night for a quick walk and could here the Kingfisher in the distance, It was very cold and a thick frost when i left at day break, I could here the Kingfisher before i could even see the lake and found him in the shallows next to the board walk, He is quite shy and likes some space so i never managed to get close enough for any decent shots, He did land next to the board walk a few times so i will need to get there at dark and use some sort of concealment, The resident heron,Mallard and Muscovy ducks were around and soon settled so i could take a few stock images whilst i watched the mist rise off the lake as the sun come up, I spent 3 hrs there mainly watching the KF going about his business catching fish and taking note of his favorite perches, There were a few migratory residence in the way of buffleheads out in the middle of the lake with a beautiful drake taking pride of place, There were also a few pied grebes which i don't often see here, This year has been a good one for jays and there were a few kicking around the car park-still a bird i have yet to get any shots of, So a nice but cold morning with some data taken for future use, One thing that was strange was that the mallards were mating, the duck equivalent of a rabbit i guess

Dave

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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.