Wildlife Photography across the Water: The Pain and the Pleasure

Sunday, 18 April 2010

The Pain and the Pleasure

This time next week I will be setting off on the longest run of my life. OK so it is only a half marathon here in Stratford while another 25,000 set off in London to cover twice the distance I am going to do. but for me it will be a triumph over a number of minor injuries over the last few months that I get to the start line even, let alone the finish.

Having got up early this morning to see the first thirty minutes of The Chinese F1 GP, it was most entertaining watching Sparrow after Sparrow line up to strip the furry fronds from my neighbours Pampas grass to take away to line their nests. I guess she will not be too happy now as all that is left are the reed stems now.

So having seen the start of the F1 race I set off for my final longish distance training run before next weekend.

The Pain part came in the first couple of miles and the last couple of miles. I did a total of 9 miles and as I write now, am feeling pretty comfortable and happy at the prospect that I will get round OK next week.

The pleasure for me all the way round this morning was the bird song. I see lots of runners going about their exercise with 'ears' in listening to music. I have never done this as I cannot get on with them while running. I also think they prevent you maintaining awareness of traffic too. But the main thing I would miss would be the birdsong.

Who needs music when you have countless Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Robins, Skylark, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting,Chiff Chaff, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Wren, Raven and Buzzard singing to you.

I saw my first House Martins of the year too. It really was beautiful and the sights and sounds helped me overcome the pain of the run.

So now it is off out into the garden to do some more work. I will be back on here later with another post with photos from a drive I had up in the Cotswolds so drop by towards the end of the day for some images.

Martin

1 comment:

Julian19 April 2010 at 23:50
A bit more fun too than pressing "shuffle" on the old ifad too I bet. Piped music is best for indoor gyms - at this time of year I guess birdsong will make those miles appear shorter and less monotonous. Very fortunate to have such an orchestra on your doorstep. Good luck with the run next weekend BTW.
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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.