Since I was in Ranchi to meet with some family members, I wanted to visit a few places in and around Ranchi. One of these places was Patratu Dam which is a short drive from the main city. This is a good place to watch migratory birds however during my visit to this place, I only saw Siberian Gulls. Photographing these birds was a challenge due to shooting handheld from a moving boat.
Peak District is another place that I have visited multiple times and is a good place to photograph landscapes and wildlife. Wildlife can include red deer, various birds and other small mammals. I have not yet explored most of Peak District but I intend to do so in the future. It is spread across six counties: Derbyshire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, South Yourkshire and West Yorkshire. Not only for photographers, but is good for day hikes, mountain biking and also for running or jogging across its landscape. I myself have done some long hikes in the peak district which involved 7 to 8 hours of walking. There are shorter hikes as well that one can do. However here I am sharing a short selection of photographs of the Peak District taken during 2018.
During Mid October I had visited both Richmond and Bradgate Parks to photograph and experience the Deer rut. This natural event happens every Autumn season and is the most important part of the year for the deer.
The British Wildlife Centre is a mini zoo that houses wildlife native only to Britain. This is located on the outskirts of London in Lingfield, Surrey. They organize photography days when the zoo is closed for the public. The photography days are mainly catered towards hobbyist photographers. The experience boasts of taking advantage of natural settings, a small group and a peaceful environment and here we get the opportunity to photography a number of mammal species and owls some of which are hard to observe in the wild. Here I am showcasing a number of photos where I was able to get some portrait shots, behaviour and action shots. For this wildlife shoot, I used the Canon 5d Mark III and Tamron 150-600mm G2 telephoto lens.
Lyme Park which is located near Stockport is a short train journey away from where I live and it forms part of the Peak District. I had visited here just last September mainly to photograph Red Deer which is the largest land mammal in the UK. October is the peak time where the Deer rut takes place across various parks in the UK and I will be visiting Richmond Park and also Bradgate Park which is not only good to experience the Deer rut but also good for bird photography. Overall this was a great experience to observe and photograph Red Deers in large number up close. However during Deer rutting season, getting very close to male stags can be quite dangerous as they are high on testosterone and very aggressive.
Having visited RSPB Bempton Cliffs early August, here is a selection of images taken over the few days I was there. It is home to not only Gannets but also Puffins however Puffin numbers are less in August since they go out at sea and return early spring. Gannets remain until October. There was also some sighting of Tree Sparrows and other common birds such as Blackbirds but did not get to see any Hares or Barn Owls as they are resident to the area. The nature reserve is located on the Yorkshire Coast overlooking the North Sea.
I had decided to visit Hoo Farm which is a small zoo located in Telford. They do have a number of captive birds and animals and they play an important role in conservation. I have visited the zoo on two occasions mainly to photograph wild badgers from a hide located within the zoo. There is a badger sett within the zoo where a group of badgers reside forming an underground network. Every Saturday the zoo organizes a badger watch from within the hide from 5pm to 8pm. There is also other wildlife to be seen as well like foxes however on both occasions, the foxes did not appear. The first visit was good as I got some good sightings of the badger and was the first time I had ever seen a badger.
Norfolk is a great place for birding and wildlife photography in England. I had visited Norfolk earlier this month mainly to photograph common seals but there are lots of opportunities for wildlife.
Blakeney Point is a nature reserve in Blakeney village in the county of Norfolk. During the summer, many common seals assemble at Blakeney Point to give birth to seal pups. I had planned this trip a few months back and decided to visit in July. At the Blakeney Point, there are not only common seals but also Grey Seals and various seabirds such as Sandwich Terns and Oyster Catchers.
I had visited Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur last December of 2017. It is not very far from Noida, a 4 hours drive. However it took me over 6 hours to reach the guesthouse where I had arranged to stay due to some traffic congestion. I arrived just after 10pm where the owner was nice enough to provide dinner after settling in my room. I had stayed at Kiran Guest House for the next 4 nights.
