Male marsh harrier 'floating' over reedbed. Nikon D300, 300mm f2.8, iso 400, 1/2000 sec. f7.

Instead, I opted for positioning a 4 sq.ft. wooden hide, approximately150m from the nest, making sure the parents returned, then left it for a week to give them plenty of time to get really used to it. I then moved it closer at 20m intervals over the following week or so until I was around 50m away. This was done once myself and photographer friend, Phil, were happy that the young had hatched. How did we know the young had hatched? Well, during incubation the male brings food to the vicinity of the nest whereby the female, who does the majority of the incubating, then flies up and catches the food which the male drops, known as an aerial food pass. When both parents were bringing food back on a semi regular basis, we knew the eggs had hatched. This is very important since there is a much stronger bond between parents and young as opposed to when they have eggs.  

Male marsh harrier

Male bird.

With the hide being 50m from the marsh harrier’s nest, this may seem like it is still an awfully long way away but in such an open area it literally feels as though you are on top of it! Also, if I work too closely, when the birds are flying around the adjacent reedbeds, I would have to tilt the camera up further than if I were working from a greater distance. The marsh harrier pictures you see here are from the first few sessions. Time of day and wind direction played a vital role. Photography was only possible first thing in the morning and late afternoon when the sun was low in the sky so as to illuminate the underside of the bird. And, if the wind direction was blowing from the nest site to me, the birds would fly away away from me as such large birds prefer to fly into the wind giving them greater maneuverability so as to accurately land on or near the nest. I wanted side or head-on shots so needed the wind to be opposite to this. As you can imagine, this often limited hide sessions to just a few visits each week. Thank goodness the young remain in the nest for around 40 days! In the next installment, pictures of parents with prey.

Badger scratching

Until recently, the only choice I had in getting photographs of them was to use flash.  I would clamp 2 units, a metre or so away from the camera (one as the main light source and the other, closer to the camera, as a fill-in, around 1 stop less than the main.)  I would use Fuji Sensia 100 and from 11 feet use an aperture of f5.6, and this was using fairly powerful Metz hammerhead flash units!  Unless the site was visited regularly, allowing the badgers to become accustomed to the flash, quite often I would get just one image as the badger would be spooked, only re-emerging when it felt safe enough to do so.  But with digital, shooting at high iso’s is now possible with fantastic results and now means I can shoot up until half an hour after sunset.  To keep them in view for as long as possible I sprinkled sultanas and raisins around the sett and on the main mound.

Badger emerging

I wouldn’t usually have attempted this kind of image, above, before digital as I felt I was putting too much stress on the animal to emerge, regardless of whether it felt ok to do so.  This is especially the case during a dry summer, when they may need to travel distances to find food.  However, on this occasion, it took no notice of me whatsoever.  Afterall, I was obscured by camouflage netting, a good 2 meres above it’s hole.

 I used a NIkon D300 either with a 300mm f2.8 or 70-200 f2.8 lens with iso’s ranging from 800 to 3200 but would, whenever possible use the lowest. 

 Come summer, I will be forced to work on another nearby sett and will again have to resort to flash.     

But watching and photographing badgers isn’t just about badgers, it’s the experience of being in a woodland at sunset and into darkness when it really comes alive.  Some of my most memorable experiences when photographing badgers haven’t involved badgers at all.  I recall, 18 years ago when attempting to photograph a badger crossing a stream, in a remote Welsh valley, a buzzard flying low and fast and just a few metres away between pine trees.  I could hear it move through the wind and as if once wasn’t enough, it did it again the following evening too.  On that same night, a wren perched less than a metre away and sang.  It was almost deafening.  I remember watching a vixen move through the woods with a cub held by its scruff in her mouth and more recently, a tawny owl, perching less than 10 feet away, seemingly oblivious to my presence.

Male blackbird

I use a modified bivvy-style tent with a lens opening sewn in as well as 2 side viewing panels with one-way mesh. I first put down a length of tarpaulin which the hide lays on to prevent sticks, stones, thorns etc penetrating the nylon and a large piece of camo netting is then draped over and guy-lines secured.  A rubber-backed picnic blanket is placed inside to silence any sounds from within which also acts as an insulator and then a roll matt or self-inflating mattress is put on top of this.  In order to support the camera I use a foot square piece of ply with tent pegs in each corner and a 3-way pan and tilt head attached to this.  It’s a very secure and stable platform from which to work and slow shutter speeds are not a problem with this.  I guess you could use a beanbag instead but then that restricts smooth movement of the camera.  Very important when shooting shy birds.  To complete the set-up I take in a cushion to support my chest and to prevent the inside of the hide getting messy, I take off my boots outside place them in a bag and they come in with me.  See what I mean by hassle?!  Needs must though and once inside, movements need to be kept to a minimum since there isn’t a great deal of room.

laying-down hide

 There wasn’t quite as much snow as I would have liked.  A few more centimetres would have given a better covering, providing a ‘cleaner’ ground.

Robin

I have worked like this a great deal over the years, photographing rabbits and waders amongst others, sometimes for periods exceeding 12 hours.  The negatives are obvious.  The positives are aside from the intimate perspective you create, wildlife becomes accustomed to this low profile way of working far quicker than with larger, more conventional hides.

Almost three years ago, to the day, I fulfilled an ambition I had held for years, to photograph common buzzards in the wild, in Kent.  Why?  Well, up until 10 years ago they were quite a rare sight around these parts (North Downs) but over the years they have moved further and further east to a point that it’s now unusual not to see one while out on the hills.   There are now close to a thousand pairs in Kent and I personally know of 3 nests which I am dying to work on over the coming years. 

OK, so they are incredibly common in the west and north and hardly magnificent golden eagles but there is just something about them. The way they soar, their call…….. As I visited my woodland birds feeding station over the years or, indeed, sat in the hide photographing them, the desire would burn deeper and deeper to photograph this beautiful bird.  I am privileged to have access to a lot of land within their territory and so, the previous October, decided to commit the following 4-5 months to this project.  But everything, and I mean everything, had to be by the book.  Birds of prey are notoriously shy and keen-eyed birds so, unlike a blue tit at a nut feeder, where you can come and go from your hide without them so much as batting an eyelid, with buzzards, in this part of the world, not a chance!

The following was then carried out.

* 5′ sq wooden hide erected (adjacent to a hedge to break up it’s outline) under cover of darkness, so buzzards didn’t associate it with  humans.

* Hide left alone for several weeks.

* Stockpile of road-kill rabbits stored in freezer.  Thanks Martina!

* December. Once a week.  Rabbit put down pre-dawn in front of hide.  At night, if rabbit not devoured by birds, was taken and put up a tree to stop foxes taking it.  Put back down following morning…….

* Continue and wait for hard weather to commence photography.

In mid January we had hard frosts lasting a couple of weeks so I took the opportunity to get some shots.  I entered the hide 2 hours before sunrise.  11 hours later one arrived and fed but the light was poor.  It got terribly cold in the hide, very rarely going above freezing.  I would, occasionally, ignite the stove for a few minutes, wrap a blanket around me and wear a balaclava.  Winter, neoprene lined boots made by Le Chameau helped keep my feet warm (though they froze after 5 hours). I firmly believe in making yourself as comfortable as possible, since the more comfortable you are, the longer you will wait and the more likely you are of getting the shot. I tried, again, a few days later and this time one appeared in good light but something was missing….snow!

Then, at the end of January we had a substantial dumping with poor visibility, lasting for several days.  I needed a break in the weather to entice the buzzard’s from where they had been sheltering from the terrible weather. I then had the forecast I’d been waiting for. A clear day, blue sky all the way. Perfect!  This would surely tempt them out to look for food. I got everything ready the night before and woke at 3. With all the snow I knew it was going to be tough driving and there was no guarantee that I would even reach the hide. I gingerly made my way to the spot where I needed to park the car but first there was a hill to get up. I had a bit of a run-up but the Mondeo only made it half way. Four attempts later it got me to the top. I now have a 4×4!When I reached the hide, there was over 18 inches of snow. I staked the rabbit down (this is to avoid it being carried off), set everything up in the hide, took snacks out of wrappers (to avoid noise) and sat back, waiting for light and, finger’s crossed, buzzards.

Then, at about 10 o clock, one arrived and fed for over 30 minutes. It took my breath away to be this close (15m) and knowing that all the hard work had not been to avail.  The low perspective was achieved by attaching a tripod head to a piece of MDF with tent pegs pushed into the ground with the lens protruding through a nurses-sleeve about 6 inches above the ground.  I attached one-way mirror film to small perspex panels at eye-level so I could see clearly outside without being seen.

Common buzzard

Several hours passed and then an immature bird turned up and, just like the one previous, spent around 30 minutes feeding, oblivious to the photographer who, at this point, was the happiest man on the planet!

To see a video of what I saw, please click here.  It was filmed on my point-and-shoot camera so please forgive the rather poor quality.

All images were taken using a Nikon D2x with 300mm f2.8 and 1.4x converter (sometimes without) with right-angle finder attached.  I ached for days having spent several hours with my head between my legs peering through this!

Of all the projects I have undertaken, this has certainly been the toughest but without question the most satisfying.  Hamilton Holt’s quote comes to mind….”Nothing worthwhile comes easily.  Work, continuous work and hard work , is the only way to accomplish results that last.” But, why do they have to be so strenuous!