A Wet and Windy start to Spring
As I look out of the window of my office, it’s hard to believe that we are in May. In previous years, by May’s arrival I’ve had lunch outdoors, at least two cases of sunburn and plenty of warm evenings out in the field photographing wildlife. This spring however has been far from that and it had me wondering: has this cold, damp weather made it a bad spring for wildlife photography or is it just the photographer who feels hard done by? Well, here’s what I’ve noticed and I promise I’ll keep it positive (just bear with me).
We’ve all had people come up to us on a gloriously sunny day and tell us that “it’s a perfect day for photography today” only for you to stand there thinking how wrong they are and that you actually require some cloud cover for it to be a little bit closer to “perfect” than they realise. So given the fact we’ve had plenty of cloud cover due to the sun being MIA for the past six months now, it would be fair to assume that we must been inundated with “perfect” days. Right?
There is no doubt that the consistent flat light makes photographing birds such as dippers easier, as you’re not dealing with highlight and shadow issues and therefore being able to balance your exposure much easier. There’s also no doubt that the addition of rain makes for some different and more atmospheric images however, there’s a line and like my wife is always telling me when it comes to beer and chocolate, “everything in moderation”. This drab weather has certainly not been in moderation and the line has well and truly been surpassed. What does that mean for the wildlife?
From my own experiences this spring, the persistent rainfall has had some catastrophic effects on the dippers both here in Devon and up in Derbyshire. With a number of nests failing due to high water levels and strong winds. The rivers have been bursting their banks for most of this year and with the flowing water being too much for the dippers to handle, they’re unable to forage and feed as they require. I’ll admit, it’s been hard to watch at times.
That said, it’s not the first year I’ve witnessed these issues and I’m sure it won’t be the last time these resilient little birds have to endure such conditions too, but it does make it all the more difficult to watch, especially when you know they’re trying to raise young. I guess only time will tell how they faired in this regard and I’ll wait in anticipation to see the first lot of fledglings emerge from my dipper sites closest to home.
Ok, so time for the positive news.
Image captured by Norman Corner
After arriving in Derbyshire to run 10 days of dipper workshops earlier this month, only to find the water levels too high at three locations, I decided to head to another location and was delighted that I did. All the other locations either had failed nests, or nowhere nice for the dippers to land that would be conducive to my participants leaving with good images. This location however, had a thriving nest (yes the good news) built under an old stone bridge and two perfectly positioned boulders, that despite the daily rain, managed to remain slightly above the water each day, giving the dippers somewhere to perch.
Image captured by Jane Huntley
Not only was it great to see a pair of dippers thriving despite the conditions, it also meant that each participant was able to capture great images and a wide range of them too. Behavioural, portrait, in-flight and long exposure images were all achieved and I wanted to share some of these with you today.
Captured by Paul Elkins
I’m now back in Devon and with the promise of better weather and my beaver workshop season about to start, I’m excited to get back to spending another summer down by the river.
If you’d like to join me for a beaver workshop, or a dipper workshop next year, then please get in touch.
Thanks for reading.
