Where to find wildlife?

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SimonJ1

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Hey guys,
So I want to plan a trip somewhere to photograph some of our native wildlife but can't really find any specific areas of where some good places are... I'm fairly easy on where I go but Scotland sounds exciting.
Does anyone know anywhere otters can be found? Golden eagles? Water voles? Red squirrels? Red kites? Or any other wildlife not widespread.
If possible I'd like fairly specific locations but local areas are good too.

Thank you in advance

Simon
 
Hi Simon and welcome to TP. First of all I would ask how proficient are you with your camera and what lenses do you have to go with the 7D? I only ask as if this is all relatively new to you, then you will have a big learning curve ahead of you as well as waisted time and money if you venture too far to start with. I would honestly suggest you start off a bit nearer to home, there are a few places you could just go and visit in the countryside or even think about going somewhere like Longleat, they have a BOP display there so that will give you some good practice of BIF shots.
 
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Nothing worse than travelling somewhere to find the weather is pants and you dont have the equipment/skill to overcome it :D
 
Thank you for the welcome!
I'd say I'm pretty proficient with it, I've had my 7d for 4-5 years and fairly regularly go out in my area, I'm just wanting to explore a bit more. I don't have any kind of online album to show you I'm afraid but I like to think I'm pretty good with lots of room to learn!
I recently went up to the Yorkshire dales and got some great shots of red squirrels but there isn't much like that in my immediate area, that I've found anyway. Any trip I take would be partly just holiday, rest and chill out so it would be a combination of that and photography, hence wanting to go further afield. I'm still working on my field craft but you don't get better if you dont try...
I have a tamron 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 Di VC usd etc. which is my main lens but want to upgrade to a canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6L is USM pretty soon, Also got a canon 100mm f2.8L and a basic 18-135 that came with my 7d but definitely outgrown that now.
 
Well like I say Simon put a few shots up on here if you have any wildlife ones then all the better. If it is a combination of a holiday as well then you would best be looking at an organised tour where you would go to places which have hides in place. Not only will you get up close and personal but the majority of them will offer expert advise. Just do a search for uk wildlife photography holidays, and you should get a mixed offering from around the UK.
 
Cool ok, I'll put some up on the wildlife thread tomorrow.
I hadn't thought of that thank you I'll have a look into some!
 
Okie doke, I'll put some up on the wildlife thread tomorrow.
Oh cool I hadn't thought of that, I'll have a look into some, thank you.
 
Gigrin Farm in Wales is a good place for the Red Kites. They feed at 3pm every day and have some 400 wild Kites, Buzzards etc to photograph. Think you pay a bit more for the better hides, but the most expensive are only about £25.00.
Tip - Look for the birds that have not been tagged on their wings.
 
Thanks wippers that's exactly what I'm after!
Getting back on topic, if anyone else has any gems like that please post. I know I'm new to the form but I'm not new to photography.
The reason I made this thread was to basically make an 'encyclopedia' of where good wildlife spots are so people can drop in and see what's actually out there, maybe even on their own doorstep so please continue to post where things are, thank you!
 
SimonJ1 said:
Scotland sounds exciting.
Does anyone know anywhere otters can be found? Golden eagles? Water voles? Red squirrels? Red kites?
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There's otters all over Scotland but they can be hard to spot. They are known to be at a couple of my local reserves, but I've never seen them. The west coast of Scotland is a much better bet for what you are after. The Ardnamurchan peninsula will net most of what you seek (and more) as will the Island of Mull. The area around Aviemore (Rothiemurchus Forest) is possibly an ideal location, both for the local wildlife and the central location for exploring.

Golden Eagles are everywhere north and west, but you need to look for them. It has been said that if you don't see a Goldie in the mountains then you have your eyes closed, but to be fair, it isn't that easy. Red Kites abound round the Inverness area and also near Stirling (feeding station at Doune).

Red Squirrels are prolific round Aviemore, but I also have them in my (near East Coast) garden:

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Water voles are not my thing so I can't comment on that.:thumbs:
 
Wow you've got quite a wealth of wildlife up there! That sounds amazing place, that'll definitely be on my to go list, thank you!
 
Just spent 4 days fishing in the Cotswolds. Same spot for 2 of the days. Fantastic entertainment watching a water vole running up to one side of the staging going underneath and appearing out the other side.
 
Thank you vetonbike, where abouts in the Cotswolds were you?
 
There's a place on the Somerset levels, between the M5 and Glastonbury (the exact name eludes me ATM I'm afraid) where there's a load of wildlife including otters.
 
SimonJ1 said:
Thank you vetonbike, where abouts in the Cotswolds were youQUOTE]

Hi Simon. Sorry I have not got back to you before. I was staying at Lemington Lakes. Just outside Morton in the marsh. It has web site. Sorry I do not know how to add link. Plenty of wild life and old villages to photograph. Also steam railway. Good place to eat The Inn On The march at Morton.
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the first thing i would advise is join the rspb ,you can do this for as little as £3 a month for you and a partner ,this gives you unlimited access to all rspb reserves nationwide ,you then have to think about other wildlife subject matter ,heres a few that i have tried .the red deer stag rut is now starting so do a google for deer parks within where you want to go ,red kites are fed daily at gigrin farm ryhader in mid wales ,there are varying charges for the hides but the tower ones give spectacular views for a £10 you really need a sunny day for it though .
where i live on the dee estuary is a spectacular area for wildlife if you know where to go with the high tides on the marshes a few times a year bringing thousands of bird watchers and photographers out shoulder to shoulder along the estuary as the wildlife scrambles ashore and the birds of prey lay in wait .bempton cliffs rspb in early spring is the place to be for ALL seabirds with gannets swooping over your head .
and donna nook in lincs is the place to be for seals

THAT SHOULD START YOU OFF NICELY
 
For those interested, There is another Kite fedding station in Llanddeusant, and considering its only £3 for entry to all the hides I think its great value for money. Post code is SA19 9YG
 
Can I just mention that the feeding times at Gigrin change for BST, If I am correct, they start at 2.00pm in the winter, best to check before you go. I'll second that the more expensive hides are well worth the extra cost to get good images.
 
Red Kites, if you like them (quite large birds which soar on thermals most of the time). There are lots in the Cholsey/Wallingford/Didcot area. On a day which is slightly overcast, you can see them over the town centers trying to get thermals from the concrete/roads.
I hear that they are all the way along the M40, I have seen some as I go along the motorway.
They are difficult to photograph though. Most of the time you will be below them, with the sun/sky behind them. They don't seem to swoop/do sharp turns that often, so it is difficult to get a photo of the top of them.
 
Nod said:
There's a place on the Somerset levels, between the M5 and Glastonbury (the exact name eludes me ATM I'm afraid) where there's a load of wildlife including otters.
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That's quite near me, you wouldn't know where or a name. ??
 
As you are in Bristol, have you thought about Slimbridge WWT? Not far from you at all

EDIT - There's also The Forest of Dean for wild boar (but be wary of them although they are not as bad as the papers make out)
 
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twhite87 said:
For those interested, There is another Kite fedding station in Llanddeusant, and considering its only £3 for entry to all the hides I think its great value for money. Post code is SA19 9YG
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JulesP said:
As you are in Bristol, have you thought about Slimbridge WWT? Not far from you at all

EDIT - There's also The Forest of Dean for wild boar (but be wary of them although they are not as bad as the papers make out)
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:plus1::agree: Slimbridge is excellent. If you join the WWT you can visit slimbridge as many times as you like through the year.

I'm going to be paying a visit to Llandeusant at some point this year also as it's not amazingly far from me.
 
I don't know anything about locations in England, but most of what you want - and a lot of other wildlife - can be found in Scotland. Red squirrels, red kites and otters are fairly common in parts of Dumfries and Galloway; and my wife sees kites every day where she lives outside Castle Douglas (they were reintroduced here a few years ago). Stoats and weasels are also common, and she's seen one pine marten. Plenty of buzzards and kestrels too, but you'll have to go into the highlands and islands to have a good chance of seeing Golden Eagles. They're not easy to photograph though, unless you have a lot of time and patience, because they're normally soaring a long way up. Sea Eagles are more or less confined to the Hebrides and NW coast, but have also been reintroduced on the east coast. Deer are pretty much everywhere in rural areas.
 
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