January 2022 Viewfinder
Is it too late to wish you a happy New Year in this Opposite View Wildlife Photography newsletter? Discuss.
It is 4:30pm, and the light is starting to disappear behind the rooftops.
Jackdaws silhouetted at the tops of the skeletal trees all seem to be facing into the setting sun. The evenings are getting lighter, which can only mean that it is probably too late in the month to be wishing you a happy New Year. I will say happy end of January instead.
I know many of you will be glad that the days are getting longer. Soon spring will make her entrance - clothed in brightly-coloured flowers to a chorus of bird song. As much as I welcome that time of year, I know I will miss the winter when she releases her white-knuckled grip on us. There is something about taking a gulp of ice-cold air into your lungs as you leave the house, cosily wrapped up against the chill, that gets me every time.
And it is not just me that this season stimulates. The corvids display an abundance of energy as they build their nests. Raucous cat-like calls and harsh rattles fill the sky above my flat as they hurtle between buildings, carried by sudden wintry gusts.
I was encouraged out on even the greyest of days this month, safe in the knowledge that much of the wildlife I watch would be that much easier to spot. From foxes in the snow - more of that below - to long-tailed tits on bare branches, nature is permanently on show at this time of year. And that goes too for the local roe deer that I have been getting to know. The image below was captured just over a week ago. When I arrived at the location, the low winter sun was clinging stubbornly to the slope the deer were grazing on top of, but the iron-grey clouds were rolling in. After around 15 minutes, the sky began to darken and the young deer started to walk away along the brow of the hill. At this point, I knew that there would be a fleeting opportunity to capture a silhouette before the deer disappeared along with the light. I am glad I managed to get a couple of images. The roe deer continued their journey to the sunnier side of the hill, while the clouds proceeded to cover the sun. I headed home happy.
So, whether on the hunt for rare winter visitors (feel free to laugh at my attempt) or photographing local residents, I hope you are enjoying the winter. Please send me a comment and let me know what you see.
Roll on February.
Best wishes,
Rhiannon
Opposite View Wildlife Photography
Through my lens
Snow play - litter and my local foxes
You may have heard that Glasgow had its white Christmas a couple of weeks ago – better late than never. While some locals cursed their luck as they scraped the ice off their cars, I was hastily planning an early lunch break to get some images before the snow turned to slush.
Species spotlight
Black-headed gull - a fiery understudy
When you are out searching for that elusive winter migrant at your local lake, take a minute to appreciate those often overlooked gulls with the blazing bare parts and personality to match.
Caught on trail camera
Watch the video above to find out who will be victorious, the fox or the half-buried shoe.
Don’t forget that you can watch the camera trap videos from my time in the Lake District and lots of footage of my urban foxes on my YouTube channel.
The fox videos were captured by my trail camera in a local spot earlier this year. I had been waiting for the vegetation to shrink back from the cold to redeploy the camera in the same location. As that is now happening, the camera is back in its old spot and has already captured more videos of my local wildlife, which I’ll be sharing soon.
Please subscribe to my videos to keep up to date with all the antics on my local patch.
And finally…
The first set of images I captured this year was on a New Years Day walk at one of my favourite locations, Lunderston Bay. With a bit of patience, I was able to spend some time with a flock of turnstones. These medium-sized sandpipers were constantly on the move, turning over the grass and seaweed while getting ever closer to the chunk of driftwood where I was sitting. It feels appropriate to share images of these birds at the start of 2022; I am looking forward to another busy year of wildlife photography and constantly moving closer to reaching my goals.
Find out more about my 2021 highlights and what I have planned for the coming year in my first blog of 2022.
Keep in touch
Thanks for reading this! If you have any comments or questions, opportunities for photography or if you would like to use any of my images, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
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