Owls in Bluebells

Little Owl in the Bluebells

Another week on, and the bluebells are at their peak. We have managed to schedule a bluebell afternoon for some of our regular photographers to the Centre, so I went over to the woods for a few hours last night to scout out some positions for them.

The light was varied, the weather was perfect one moment then dark the next, windy another and we even had snow! But with Izzy's and Lucy's help we managed to find some great locations for later this week.

I only took the tawny owl, eagle owl and little owl down as they are the most likely to be seen in bluebells woodlands in the wild. Sure, the snowy, barn and short eared would make lovely photos... but I like to make them a little more natural, despite of course all being set up. 

Yes, I know I missed the long eared off that list... unfortunately Archimedes is moulting heavily at the moment, and although fine in himself, just doesn't look his best :-)

It was Tyrions first experience of the woodland, but he took to it well. 

As well as the owls, we took down Hugo the hedgehog for some pics too. 

Hugo is a star, one of the best hedgehogs we have ever had. He really is a poser for the camera, and loved being out in the woodland.

Of course, we had to find a spot for Ethel too... always the end of our photo days, always popular, and she looked beautiful in amongst the bluebells... despite it being pretty dark by this point.

Thanks for looking :-)

Photography Day

Hedwig, Snowy Owl

Last Friday a good friend of mine, Darren Rowley, came along to one of our owl photographic days. Darren helped me when I first started getting in to photography with all manner of things, and even came with me to a shop to try a few different cameras out before I settled on Nikon.

Having not seen Darren for a while, I freed up the day so I could tag along for the photography and of course to catchup. Here are just a few of the photos I took.

We currently use a few new places/perches for out owls. A few reasons for this, but mainly it saves walking to the very far end of the reserve when there are plenty good enough perches in the woods half way along!

As always, we try and place the owls in two or three different areas each for variety, and try and keep the perches as natural as possible.

We only fly the tawny owl and barn owl on our photographic days. Time is the main reason why we limit it to these two, but they are also the most used to flying "off-site" so to speak.

Our barn owls are currently flown over our wetland area, but once our wildflower meadow is in full flow it will be stunning to see them fly above the colour of the flowers.

Unfortunately our gate has seen better days... or more accurately, has seen our three highland steers! We can still make use of it however at the right angles.

Of course, you have to finish the day with Ethel! :-)

Once the day was over, Darren and I decided to stay on and do a bit with the mammals and the soft evening light. I do love the owls, but I am a mammal man at heart... and I always think that shows with my photographs too.

We spent a bit of time with McTavish, including having trainers slashed and bitten!

Finishing up at the foxes and catching the late light before time beat us.

The sun went behind some clouds and the evening was over, but I went back a couple of nights later to catch the very late light in our deer paddock. I didn't get exactly what I was after, and had seen the night before, but I was quite pleased with these two.

I have been working with the pine martens a lot recently. Photos of them coming up later this week.

Thanks for looking :-)

BWC Owl Day

Snowy Owl

Following on from my photos taken on an open day, here are a few photos I took on an owl day I joined in on a couple of weeks ago. This is for the third of three bits I am writing, the pics from the second (a BWC Photo Day) I will post in a week or so.

As with the open day, the weather was not great. It didn't rain... which would of stopped the owls all together, but there was no light for most of the day with very little light for the rest of it! However, we of course soldier on, and overall I was pleased with a few of the ones I got.

Snowy Owl Feathers

We always start off with the snowy owl and the short eared owl on our owl days, as they are the ones which are more likely to get fed up sooner. Don't get me wrong, they are both still used to cameras and do settle, but they also call time sooner than the others.

Hedwig, our snowy owl, is always difficult as his natural setting would deb in the snow. But we place him on the ground for some more natural pics and put him on a large post for some portraits. The portrait above is not necessarily natural, but it makes a nice picture and we find a lot of photographers that come on our days are just interested in that.

With the light particularly poor first thing I took a lot of more abstract stuff, and was particularly pleased with the close up of the feathers above.

Short-eared Owl

Once Hedwig has had enough, we move on to Fawkes out short-eared owl. This is another ground nesting bird, and so we try to find areas in the rough grass to make it a bit more natural. In amongst the more marsh type reeds and tussocky grass. However, on the day there was a lovely patch of daisies and I just couldn't resist a "pretty" picture of him surrounded by them.

With all our owls we try to place them in two or three different places for you to photograph them. Some more natural, and others for simple portraits, and we are always open to new ideas of where to try them.

Short-eared Owl

I think Fawkes is a stunning owl, and short-eareds are possibly my favourite owl in the world. On a post he makes for a beautiful portrait.

Long-eared Owl

Usually next up on our list would be one of our tawny owls, but with the light so dire we decided to stay more in the open and brought out Archimedes... our long-eared owl. He was having a bit of an off day and was very sleepy, so we didn't see much of his eyes.

Long-eared Owl

When a bit of light did appear for the briefest of moments, we rushed in to the woods with him to place him on one of my favourite sets. Unfortunately again... his eyes remained closed, but I did manage to get these two in a short period when he was alert. The close up above...

Long-eared Owl

... and a much wider one too. I have photographed Achimedes here so many times, I was looking for something a bit different to what I normally do. I'm not sure if this really worked, but still it is good to try!

Tawny Owl

Staying in the woods it was time for the tawny owl, and we used Florence. Our tawnies are often the stars of the show, and I could happily photograph just them all day! There are so many options as to where to put them that we really need to keep an eye on the time to make sure we don't spend to much time with them.

Florence Preening

All our owls settle fairly quickly, but Florence is such a pro now that she immediately forgets that the cameras are there and just watches the world or even preens herself.

This is where we usually call for a break, and stop for some lunch and a swap around with the owls. After the quick change around we are then ready for the afternoon of owl photography.

Little Owl Peeking

This normally starts off with our little owl, Scrappy! He is such a character, and makes for some amazing photographs. I built a little stone wall a couple of years a go (re-built a few times since), and most people laugh when they see it... but framed int he right way it offers some great photo opportunities. I will do a post later in the week showing just the wall.

One of my favourites of the day was this one above of Scrappy half hidden half seen in the nook in the wall.

Wild Fox

While photographing Scrappy in the wall, we had a visitor who wanted to join in! He didn't stay long after seeing us.

Little Owl

Often we just place the little owl on the ground too. They eat a lot of invertebrates, and so it is not rare to see them on the ground beetling for food.

Barn Owl

Next up are the barn owls. You have probably seen lots of barn owl photos from our owl days before, we have a beautiful old gate which we perch them on, and a hide we can get them peeking around as above.

Barn Owl in Flight

The barn owl is one of two owls we fly on the day too. We also fly the tawny owl in the woods if it is light enough, or down one of the tracks more in the open if the light is not too great.

Barn Owl Panning

With movement I often try to do a bit of panning with a slow shutter.

Ethel, European Eagle Owl

We then finish the day with Ethel, our European eagle owl. Again ground shots in the dead bracken look quite nice, and we also have an old rotten tree trunk which makes the perfect perch for her to sit on.

All the photos above where taken on the same day, on one of our owl days, and with no advantages over what you get if you come along to one of them. Overall I was very happy with what I got considering the conditions, and extremely pleased with two or three of them.

For the article I have been asked to use a variety of photos over the past year to show what is possible in different situations for both this and the BWC photographic day. I may well post these pics later in the year too to show you what was used.

Thanks for looking.

My Photographic Advantages

Squirrel Man - taken by Steve Bottom

This is an extended version of a blog post I wrote for "Foto-Buzz", a new online forum/magazine for keen photographers run by pro togs and most famously Andy Rouse...


Let me start by saying I am a "Keeper" first and foremost... I have an undying passion for British wildlife which has grown and developed since I was young, and I have been lucky enough to immerse myself in a life and career working closely with British animals. As the Head Keeper at the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey, I manage the animals and keeping staff in our daily duties. Everything we do is aimed towards the conservation and education of our, often overlooked, wonderful wildlife!

I am a photographer second... Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it very much, I have taken to it far more than I ever thought I would, but it is still only a hobby for me and another way to spend time with the animals I work with and care for. Where as before I used to spend any spare time just sat watching th animals of an evening, now I do it with a camera in tow. If I get a nice photo, then it is a bonus, and quite often I never pick up the camera and just sit there watching, enjoying and learning.

A lot of people who see my photographs say "Well of course, you are always there... you have all the time to take photographs." But this is far from the truth... Yes, I am always here... practically 24/7... But I am always working! I have little free time to actually spend with the animals, and therefore take photos of them. Far less in fact compared to many of our members who visit us on an almost weekly basis to take pictures. But I am not naive to the fact that I do have advantages. Big advantages in fact, but then I feel I have earned these with my loyalty and dedication to the Centre and our animals.

Scottish Wildcat

Evening light - When I do get spare time, it is usually in the morning or evening after the "working day" has finished. This often leads to the best light wight he sun lower in the sky, and often gives the lovely warm light most of us prefer. Of course this is after everyone has gone home, so I have the Centre to myself to enjoy.

Roe Doe

Entering enclosures - I have the luxury of being able to enter any of the enclosures at any time, removing the obstacles of fences and barriers. And although we allow photographers to enter the enclosures on our photographic days, there are still some animals we can not allow you in with for various reasons.

Dance of the Adders

Right place right time - Animals have some amazing behaviours and rituals, some very rarely seen in the wild and rare in captivity too. But, if our animals display any of these traits I am more likely to be around than most to see it.

Wildcat Kitten

Rarely seen - I am privileged to have seen many rare sights and animals, such as extremely young cubs, kits and kittens... long before they are more visibly on display.

Fox in Snow

Seasons - As I am always there, I am also always there in the different seasons. Perhaps the most enjoyable from a photographic point of view is the snow! No matter how difficult it is to get to the Centre in the snow, I can just step outside the door and I am there. I curse the snow from a work point of view... everything takes longer, and if no other keeper can get in then I have to do all the work. But, I can do it with a camera on the trolley next to the day old chicks, chopped up rabbits and raw fish and stop at every enclosure to take some snaps!

Evening Barn Owl

Pro togs - One of the biggest advantages is having the professional photographers visit us to run their workshops. Helping them by keeping the animals interested for their clients puts me in the best position to eavesdrop in to what they are teaching. This has helped me immensely in improving my photography in more ways than one, but perhaps the most in terms of trying different things and pushing my limits to develop, grow and create my own style.

BUT -  the biggest advantage, and something only I have and ever could, is the bond I have with these animals...

Me and Ethel - taken by Izzy Coomber

I work closely with these animals everyday, and so have built up a mutual trust and respect which does't happen overnight.

And a Nice Chianti...

This allows me to get closer to these animals than anyone else could.

Vole's Eye View

And with the trust we have in each other, allows me to try things that no one else could.

The Grinning Fox

And allows the animals to act far more comfortably and naturally, showing off their true personality, when no one else is around!

My bond with the animals is THE advantage I have, and what I use to try and take some special British animal photographs as souvenirs of the animals I care for.

Thanks for looking.