My passion for birds dates back to childhood when, aged nine, I bought the 'Observer's Book of Birds' and 'The Observer's Book of Birds' Eggs'. I remember buying these books in a little shop whilst on holiday near Sutton-on-Sea on the Lincolnshire Coast. I proudly walked back to the tiny beach hut which my parents had rented for the day. It overlooked the sea and helped to protect us from the bracing north-easterly winds. I remember sitting with my dad, heavy binoculars in hand, staring over the grey water towards the oil rigs on the horizon. We listened to the shipping forecast with regional names such as Fair Isle, Dogger Bank and Fastnet (we were Humber), while my mum waited for the kettle to boil on the camping gas stove.
Later, aged twelve or thirteen, I started a collection of dead birds found in hedgerows, on country lanes or even in the back garden. Fascinated with their plumage and wing structure, I attempted to keep them in shoeboxes, preserved with Formaldehyde (long story!) and kept in the coal shed at home. Nature unfortunately ensued and with the presence of maggots, my mum made me dispose of them.
My next mission was to write to the RSPB, hoping that when I left school I could go and work for them. Their address, 'The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire' has been engrained somewhere in my brain ever since. I never heard back from them, so contented myself with being a member of their RSPB group for youngsters, the YOC (Young Ornithologists Club).
I went on a school trip to the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, around the age of fourteen. A highlight for us was having to wear sturdy hats to prevent the terns from pecking our heads, whilst walking near to their nests... it all seems so wrong nowadays!
In my early forties, beyond school, with a career in nursing and young children, I bought my first DSLR camera, a Canon EOS 400D. My love of birds had never gone away, but it had been on a back burner so to speak. With a small zoom lens I was able to take photos for my own records.
For the past five years I have been using a Canon EOS 750D. I have various lenses now, but my go to is a Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary telephoto lens. Getting to grips with the art of photography, with settings such as aperture, focal length and shutter speed etc. is an ongoing battle with my head spinning at times. The excitement of seeing the bird and attempting the shot is the best bit . Whether it be a poor quality photo, to be used purely as a record, or one worth sharing, its getting the shot that matters.
My aim is to share my photos on this website. I'm not a web designer so bare with me!
I have many less than perfect shots, kept purely for my own reference. I may create a page of dodgy "almost got it" shots, we'll see!