Your car makes the perfect hide

Shooting from a vehicle keeps you warm, disguises your outline and allows you to approach otherwise skittish wildlife

06 Use your car to be an invisible stalker

animals are often used to vehicles, but more wary of human silhouettes. Warmer than a tent and rather comfy, a car is a cheaper version of a Kenyan safari, rolling through the countryside and studying hedgerows, verges, forest edges and fields. Sometimes, this shield of invisibility can get you far closer to animals than would normally be thought possible. It also involves less disturbance to animals – a good thing all round.

07 silent shooting will save the day

i love my 1D X but it’s a machine gun which can scare off wildlife – even when using the Silent Single Shooting Mode. The Silent Continuous Shooting Mode on my 7D Mk II is invaluable and less threatening. Birds often stay within range. You can’t shoot at the top fps rate, but you’re not disrupting wildlife, so chances of a good shot are increased. EOS models from 70D and 760D onwards have silent shutter modes, even if the 760D isn’t very quiet.

08 Have different setups ready to grab

long lenses plus extenders can give you good reach. The longer the lens, the faster shutter speed needed to achieve sharp, shake-free shots. But challenge yourself with slow moving species to bring shutter speed and ISO right down. A shorter lens (eg 100-400mm or 24-70mm) is good for context. Blurred backgrounds are nice but it’s good to show habitat.

09 Patience is a virtue

if your car causes momentary disruption, it’s worth turning the engine off and sitting for half an hour to settle into the landscape. Return to known habitat spots over and over. Striking lucky requires a combination of persistence, stubbornness and moving fast when an opportunity presents itself. A flask and some food are good companions for long waits.

10 your window is a tripod, but a beanbag helps

USE what you have at hand. You can buy lens rests that sit perfectly on your car window, but a basic beanbag will do the same. Most of the time, if I need to respond quickly, I don’t even use that. Balancing a long lens on the window ledge works fine. Rest the lens on the sill, with or without a beanbag. One hand holds the camera, the other leans on top of the lens to provide a counterweight.

09 HARE at dawn, lydbury NORTH Waiting quietly pays dividends, such as this hare posed in the dawn light

06 WHEATEAR From a car This wheatear flew off but, not seeing a car as a threat, eventually came back to feed

08 Keep your camera ready so you won’t miss shots

In Silent Continuous Shooting Mode, shown here on an EOS 7D Mk II, the mirror is lifted more slowly to reduce noise, but the maximum frame rate is limited 07

10 While using a car as a hide can put wildlife at ease, be sure to still move slowly, as animals can sense any sudden change

08 skylark A long focal length and aperture of f/5.6 have blurred the background