Welcome to the very watery world of Poole Harbour, on this beautiful part of the south coast of England.
This huge, natural harbour is a haven for wildlife, both resident and migrant, especially on it’s sparsely populated southern shore.
This is a tidal world, with the tides (along with the two rivers Frome & Piddle) breathing life into the harbour with each ebb and flood.
Heathland dominates the landscape to the south.
The thousand year old Corfe Castle (above) sits here.
Looking the other way is Middlebere, the featured image (top) of this post.
Birds are a particular love of mine and the mudflats revealed at low tide make ideal feeding grounds for numerous species – especially waders.
Alongside landscapes I have tried to create some ‘birdscapes’ – the aim being to show birds within their natural environment.
Pictured above are a flock of Lapwing (great acrobats of the air) over Lytchett Fields, an area to the north of the Harbour that floods at high tide.
The majority of these photographs are taken at dawn. A wonderfully peaceful time to be out. The light is often fascinating and, on occasions, beautiful…but invariably short lived.
It is a good challenge to branch out from photographing human movement and concentrate on wildlife, especially birds in flight. Smaller and I have zero control!
Top: A Marsh Harrier hunting with Wareham church in the distance.
Above: Brownsea Island (where the Scouts began).
Two photographs of the amazing Godwits above. The lower showing flocks over Poole Quay heading in the direction of Holes Bay.
The photographs below are of a lone Curlew in Whitley Lake by Sandbanks, and then a pair of Oystercatchers heading towards Brownsea Island.
By photographing in this populated north-eastern part of the Harbour I wanted to show that it is the birds’ home too, not just ours.
Another reason why the Harbour is good for wildlife is that only these north-eastern shores are populated.
First below:
A Greenshank among gulls at dawn.
Second below:
A Curlew wanders the mud flats.
To achieve these photographs I have kept my kit relatively simple to be able to travel light and be ready.
Using my second camera exclusively (Canon 5dii), as I don’t mind it braving the elements, and a 24-105 f4 lens.
A tripod and shutter release was used for the landscapes. Below: Sanderling on the incoming tide.
Finally a Peregrine Falcon (above) on the Barclays Building top balcony in Poole town centre.
A good note to end on as they went on to successfully breed three chicks there this spring.
Comments welcome below. I will try and reply as soon as possible.
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