Standing up for Nature
These are the smallest of the three steamer ducks and the only one that can fly. It is also the only species that is found on freshwater lakes (but can occur on the sea). They are called steamer ducks because the two flightless species do the butterfly stroke across the surface moving rather like a…
Tim Melling writes: It does not seem to be well known but adult male (Bohemian) Waxwings can show red waxy tips on the tail, as well as the wing. Some have red feather shafts in the tail but only a very few have small waxy tips too. You can just see this feature on the…
This was another image from my first trip out in 2017. Seeing clear skies forecast for the following morning, I set my alarm early and was in Richmond Park before sunrise. I wanted to photograph the ducks and geese around the pen ponds, but into the sun, so positioned myself low to the water and…
This tiny, beautiful bird occurs in montane forest all along the Andes, but occurs more generally in Patagonia right down to the coast. But they did not seem particularly common, and they were always on the move when I saw them so never easy to connect with. I photographed this individual in a Southern Beech…
This was one of the last photos I took in 2016. Having just finished my first term of my final year at university, I was keen to get out and do some photography so spent a couple of early mornings at Richmond Park before the end of 2016. On one of these mornings I spotted…
This is another species I have wanted to see since watching the BBC series “Flight of the Condor” way back in 1982. Their size is absolutely amazing with a 3m wingspan (10 feet 10 inches is the biggest recorded), yet they don’t look that big in flight against the backdrop of the Andes. In springtime…
On my first photography outing of 2017 I saw this female kestrel take shelter in this hole from a jackdaw that was mobbing it. It was about 150m from me, but as I have very few (in fact, I think only 1!) images of them I decided to see whether I could get close enough…
Ocelots are elusive and highly sought-after forest cats from Central and South America. I photographed this one in the Pantanal in Brazil after dark. I took it without flash, but by torchlight at a very high ISO (51,200). It was occasionally coming for small fish that had been left out though it was not guaranteed. …
Tim writes: Blooming heather is rich in nectar and attracts butterflies high onto the moors where you would not normally expect to see them. This was photographed high on the moors of the Peak District and necessitated crawling through the heather to get an eye-level view of the butterfly. The Painted Lady cannot survive the…
Tim writes: Walruses spend quite a lot of their time loafing around on the beach together, especially the males. We were watching one such inanimate group when a few decided to take a swim. They then became curious about who was on the beach watching them. I lay flat by the water’s edge and waited…