Wildlife Photographic Journals

Park Life

Urban parks offer an oasis for wildlife amongst the concrete sprawl of the town and cities. There is a further advantage for the wildlife photographer in that many of birds and mammals are accustomed to people and can therefore be approached relatively easily. I often take a short walk in the early evening, without the camera, through my local park. Often I have watched various birds as I have wandered through but until recently have not visited with camera. To all those thinking of dashing over to the local park with the camera, please consider a couple of points. Some parks may have restrictions on photography and others may not be safe to walk around with a camera! Also when taking photos in a public space, people may take offence to a long lens appearing to point in their direction. So an approach that is sensitive to others and my subject is always the order of day. I always adopt a very early start when the park is quiet but busy with wildlife.

In my local park there are a good number of our largest song bird, the Mistle Thrush. Often difficult to approach, these park birds are relatively confiding.

It is great to watch their 'concentration' as they listen for worms...

and which rarely fails.

The must have bred very early this year as the first brood had already fledged.

Collared Doves are common in the park and no doubt some of the same birds that visit my back garden occasionally.

A bonus in the shape of Great Spotted Woodpecker nest. This is the female bringing back a beakful of aphids to feed the recently hatched young.