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I've never been on a photographic course (OK I know it shows!) so when the opportunity came to sign up for a day with Heather Angel at the British Wildlife Centre I dug out my cheque book (lots of opportunity for photographing moths!) and went.
We numbered eleven, mostly reasonably experienced photographers as I judged.
There were nine Canikons, one Sony CSC and one Oly. I took the E5 with the 50-200 and EC14 and the E3 with the Sigma 150 macro. An FL50 completed the outfit. The day started with an illustrated talk on exposure and other aspects of photography before we set off to give the cameras some exercise. It was overcast which meant no shadows but the light could have been better. Fortunately the rain held off so the water resistance of the Oly kit was not shown off.
A member of staff accompanied us all day to handle and bribe the animals and birds.
Red squirrels were first on the list. There's a good sized enclosure and plenty of them around, especially with some seeds to tempt them closer. Fill in flash (one of Heather's enthusiasms) was helpful under the trees. It had never occurred to me that one might get red eye off an animal but one does and as some animals have a wide field of vision they don't have to be looking directly at you for it to happen.
This one was obviously interested in photographic equipment.
Others were darker and more interested in nuts and seeds.
Foxes look cute unless you're a chicken or other ground nesting bird.
but it's easy to get anthopomorphic when cubs are around
Last up before lunch were the wild cats. I'm not a cat person and they all look much the same to me. Wild cat numbers are of concern mainly due to hybridisation with domestic stock.
Fortified with sandwiches our next target was the otters. Brown otters don't show well against brown muddy water but here goes.
There are several species of deer but the Fallow stayed well clear. The Red were more obliging.
This one was just shedding his headgear and you can see the stump of the left pedicle.
His chum will have a fine hat rack later in the year
Other species include Roe
and Muntjac
Your view of Muntjac is likely to depend on the amount of damage they do to your garden. Suffice to say I and my fellow allotment holders are up in arms. They are good eating but there's less meat on them than on Roe or Fallow so the local stalkers don't cull enough of them.
The owls all had jesses but the staff concealed them as much as possible.
Eagle owl.
Long-eared owl. I was surprised at how small they are.
Barn owl.
and finally a Snowy owl.
There were other mustelids such as
The badger. It's difficult to see why they get such a high level of protection. They're now more common than foxes. They compete with hedgehogs for food and are also the only predator able to unroll and eat a hedgehog which is one reason why you now see so few of the latter. Wild bees, also becoming scarce, and ground nesting birds ditto are amongst their favourite diet.
Another serious pest is the American Mink although there is some evidence to show that where otters are common mink are less so. The mink is one of the main predators of the water rat. The centre has these but they weren't playing for us on the day.
Less common in the UK than on the continent is the Pine Marten. It is held partly responsible for the decline in the Capercaillie. It's the only animal that can outrun a squirrel in the trees so maybe there's a case for a GM version that only eats grey squirrels. It's a nifty mover but quite shy.
From a photographic point of view the most challenging target was the harvest mouse. He's barely more than an inch long in the body and moves fast when viewed through a macro lens
Verdict? A very enjoyable day and a great opoportunity to pick up some tips from one of our best known wildlife photographers.
The BWC has slightly eccentric opening hours but is probably the best place in the South for photographing British mammals and owls. Participants on courses get to go into the enclosures but in practice you can get very decent photos of most species without.
We numbered eleven, mostly reasonably experienced photographers as I judged.
There were nine Canikons, one Sony CSC and one Oly. I took the E5 with the 50-200 and EC14 and the E3 with the Sigma 150 macro. An FL50 completed the outfit. The day started with an illustrated talk on exposure and other aspects of photography before we set off to give the cameras some exercise. It was overcast which meant no shadows but the light could have been better. Fortunately the rain held off so the water resistance of the Oly kit was not shown off.
A member of staff accompanied us all day to handle and bribe the animals and birds.
Red squirrels were first on the list. There's a good sized enclosure and plenty of them around, especially with some seeds to tempt them closer. Fill in flash (one of Heather's enthusiasms) was helpful under the trees. It had never occurred to me that one might get red eye off an animal but one does and as some animals have a wide field of vision they don't have to be looking directly at you for it to happen.
This one was obviously interested in photographic equipment.
Others were darker and more interested in nuts and seeds.
Foxes look cute unless you're a chicken or other ground nesting bird.
but it's easy to get anthopomorphic when cubs are around
Last up before lunch were the wild cats. I'm not a cat person and they all look much the same to me. Wild cat numbers are of concern mainly due to hybridisation with domestic stock.
Fortified with sandwiches our next target was the otters. Brown otters don't show well against brown muddy water but here goes.
There are several species of deer but the Fallow stayed well clear. The Red were more obliging.
This one was just shedding his headgear and you can see the stump of the left pedicle.
His chum will have a fine hat rack later in the year
Other species include Roe
and Muntjac
Your view of Muntjac is likely to depend on the amount of damage they do to your garden. Suffice to say I and my fellow allotment holders are up in arms. They are good eating but there's less meat on them than on Roe or Fallow so the local stalkers don't cull enough of them.
The owls all had jesses but the staff concealed them as much as possible.
Eagle owl.
Long-eared owl. I was surprised at how small they are.
Barn owl.
and finally a Snowy owl.
There were other mustelids such as
The badger. It's difficult to see why they get such a high level of protection. They're now more common than foxes. They compete with hedgehogs for food and are also the only predator able to unroll and eat a hedgehog which is one reason why you now see so few of the latter. Wild bees, also becoming scarce, and ground nesting birds ditto are amongst their favourite diet.
Another serious pest is the American Mink although there is some evidence to show that where otters are common mink are less so. The mink is one of the main predators of the water rat. The centre has these but they weren't playing for us on the day.
Less common in the UK than on the continent is the Pine Marten. It is held partly responsible for the decline in the Capercaillie. It's the only animal that can outrun a squirrel in the trees so maybe there's a case for a GM version that only eats grey squirrels. It's a nifty mover but quite shy.
From a photographic point of view the most challenging target was the harvest mouse. He's barely more than an inch long in the body and moves fast when viewed through a macro lens
Verdict? A very enjoyable day and a great opoportunity to pick up some tips from one of our best known wildlife photographers.
The BWC has slightly eccentric opening hours but is probably the best place in the South for photographing British mammals and owls. Participants on courses get to go into the enclosures but in practice you can get very decent photos of most species without.
AGAIN, FAB shots ! 
these magnificant shots - LURVE the Red Squirrel and Fox Cub esp. 
I'd agree, money well spent.
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