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We had some red kites that seemed to be setting up home near here for a while. I'd see them almost every time I went out to the woods. I haven't seen them as much lately so either they've moved on or they're laying low.

Red kite - Milvus milvus, March 2025.

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I was lucky to come across this common tern (Sterna hirundo) fishing in the pools by the paths at the wetlands centre last weekend. I've never photographed this bird (or behaviour) before so most of the shots didn't come out, but I got a couple I'm reasonably happy with. And if I see it again I'll know what to expect and hopefully be able to get the camera on it a bit quicker!

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For a bit of contrast with my pinned post, this is the first picture I ever took of a goldcrest (Regulus regulus) back in April 2024. I was very happy with it at the time - it's a very small bird and the photo is more than adequate to identify it.

Though I've traded up to better gear since then the biggest factor is practice - getting better at understading and managing camera settings, recognising bird calls, fieldcraft (a fancy way of saying "sneaking up on birbs") and so on.

Whatever you're using and wherever you're going the main thing is that your photos make you happy. I'm not aiming to do this professionally; I just want to get out in nature, see some interesting wildlife and behaviour, and hopefully get a few nice pictures along the way.

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A shoveler (Spatula clypeata) swimming serenely along at the London Wetlands Centre last October. I'm still picking things out of the back catalogue, but I'll throw in some more recent ones as time goes on.

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Whenever I look at this one I start hearing the Jurassic Park theme... It reminds me of the Brachiosaurus scene where they're up the tree.

Canada goose (Branta canadensis) - November 2024

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This one's not a native bird, but one of the permanent residents at the London Wetlands Centre. They always look so dramatic when you catch them in the middle of washing themselves.

Red-crested pochard (Netta rufina) - October 2024.

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A dunnock (Prunella modularis) singing. Dunnocks are often overlooked as just another little brown bird but I think their markings are rather smart and they have a nice song. They often seem to be bolder than sparrows too - happier to sit in a bush and have their photo taken!

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Here's a robin that's been taking evening classes on how to be a wren. Points for effort on the pose, anyway.

Robins are great practice for the beginner wildlife photographer because they'll just come right up to you and sit there.

European robin - Erithacus rubecula

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I started taking photographs of mostly birds in early 2024 as a hobby to get me out from behind a computer and out of the house more often. I thought I'd start posting some of them on here.

Let's start with this photograph of a goldcrest I took in February this year since it's one of my favourites. Goldcrests are tied with their close cousin the Firecrest as the UK's smallest bird, and this one was particularly adorable.