Sometimes when out in nature we chase images and sometimes I feel it’s the last thing that we should be doing. Maybe we do it because we’ve just got a pic of an ultra rare bird or animal and we want to chase something rarer or maybe we got 10,000 likes on socaial media with the last image so we have to try to get 10,001 likes from random people we don’t really know. Anyway when I got this shot I’d been in this position of trying to get a better image, improving my likes also not even bothering to take pics as I knew the resultant image wasn’t going to be good enough but after watching this pair of wrens working so hard to build a nest it made me reaquaint myself with one of the reasons I’d started with photography and that was for a way of clearing the mind, emptying the headspace if you will.
I’d been watching the weather for the past few days as I wanted to go after a Pied Flycatcher, I’ve never seen one or photographed one, just got it into my head that that was what I was going to set my stall out for the coming weekend. This was still the plan upuntil around midday on the Friday and I looked at the forecast for Saturday and it wasn’t looking good, the sunny but cludy mornign was now going to be grey and the temperature was due to drop significantly so time to change the plans.
As the weather looked particuarly bad I checked the local weather and it was showing a two hour gap of sunny but cloudy weather between 06:00 and 08:00 local to me so now it was a case of stay local and goto a local river that I’ve not walked for a year or so – I tell a lie I actually walk the river at a different location / town usually.
Anyway I arranged to meet Catherine at the river, I arrived late not the greatest of starts but we are where we are, anyway we walked up the river with it on our left. just on the off chance the green woodpeckers could be heard calling in a meadow so we could go after them, unfortunately they’d seen the weather forecast and were having a lazy day in bed.
As we walked up the river bank we saw some horses, European Wild Horses, that the RSPB uses to graze on another meadow, Catherine was happy to grab a few images, asking why I wasn’t bothering, I don’t know why really just knew I wanted something better than wild horses. I think because I’d set my heart on something I’d never seen before a pic of a horse was not exactly high on my priority list.
Moving on, well no actually we didn’t move on as I said to Catherine the buds on the tree were nice next to us looked pretty. Catherine loves her macro shots, so it was then full macro mode trying to get images of the buds.
Prying Catherine away from her macro shots we reached a small footbridge where we could cross the river and walk the other side of the river back to where our cars were parked, I’d still not taken a single image.
Stumbling into a wood it was bug central, snail central, you name it, it was macro central so I let Catherine get her shots, helping her spot snails and what not. She again questioned why I wasn’t taking any pics, but again nothing really grabbed my attention I think the cold breeze was keeping the birds hidden away and she just said get some shots took..
As we walked back along the river we stopped at a location where Greater Spotted Woodpeckers had nested previously to have a drink and just listen, we didn’t have to wait too long to hear the high pitched chipping of one, but where was it? Listening intently I could hear it was back across the river where we’d walked earlier, annoyed but taking another sip of my coffee we heard a chipping sound again but this time it’s on our side of the river.
Scanning the trees in front of us Catherine spootted it high up in the tree that it had nested in the previous year, it’s at this point you’re probably wondering why has he posted an image of a Wren whilst getting excited by a woodpecker…keep reading.
Catherine managed a few shots and then enquired why I wasn’t taking shots. Being honest if it had been at my height in the tree opposite then I would have took a shot or two but it was way up high and constantly obscurred by branches so not worth trying to get an image… It was this point as I was again sipping my coffee I noticed a small bird dart across from the bramble bushes at the bottom of the tree, directly in frnt of us and then off to the brambles to my left – what was it?
I mentioned ot Catherine what I’d seen adn she was busy with the woodpecker, I looked up just to see it fly off. We decided to wait out the woodpecker to see if it came back and presented itself for a better shot. Finishing my coffee it was at this point the small bird reappeared out of the bramble bushes, flew across to some brush in front of us, I could see as the sun had just lit it almost perfectly that it was a littel Jenny Wren with some nesting material in it’s beak, reaching for the camera it flew flew off into the brambles where it’s partnet was busy singing away.
It was at this moment I realised why I was out there at silly O’clock in the morning, I am not one for going out there trying to get a pic of a lesser spotted eagle hawk doing a tap dance, nor am I out there trying to get a pic for a 1000 likes, I’m out there to clear my head of the weeks work, forget the trials and tribulations of office politics I’m out there for me time, not to impress anybody with my shots, not to enter competitions, sell images nothing like this just to enjoy nature grab a few images of natures busy life I suppose.
Anyway after that epiphone we waited a short while longer watching the Wren move materials around, the sun never really lit the bird up with any images that I managed to take, also the wind was starting to get a bit well errrmmm windy but I rattled off a few 100 images of a bird I didn’t go out to capture, nor one that is rare however it was probably one of the best experiences I’d had for a long time.
So next time you are out chasing images, take a step back, relax and just enjoy what you are doing remember why you are doing what you are doing..it may just end up being one of the best most memorable experiences that you have.
