Geophoto: Wildfowl
Ducks and water birds flying over wetlands offer a great chance to play around with wildlife photography and to practice capturing reflections. The UK’s well-protected wetland nature reserves provide ample opportunity to hunker down in a hide and get shooting, says Keith Wilson
After one of the wettest winters on record, it is hardly surprising that ducks and other waterfowl thrive in abundant numbers throughout Britain. There is hardly a river, lake or pond that doesn’t support a healthy population of water birds and waders. Many are present all year round, while others are migratory, making seasonal visits to these shores to breed. With a temperate climate, North Atlantic seaboard and position off continental Europe, the British Isles are an ideal roost for many migratory wildfowl. Conservation groups, notably the RSPB and Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), are also active in preserving existing habitat to ensure the dozens of species of geese, ducks, swans and waders continue to prosper on these shores. As well as being an important habitat for so many species of birdlife, Britain’s wetland areas of lowlying marshes, river estuaries and flood plains are a productive ecosystem for many other species. In fact, environmental scientists have concluded that wetlands are comparable to tropical rainforests and coral reefs in the diversity of species they support. They produce great volumes of food as leaves and stems break down in the water to form edible detritus for insects, fish and shellfish, and provide nutrients for wetland plants and algae. Wetland plants also provide shelter and food, plus nesting and feeding habitats for hundreds of species of birds, as well as mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
WELCOME VISITORS
The first sightings of some migratory species of waterfowl to Britain are eagerly anticipated by birdwatchers and nature photographers. The arrival of large species such as whooper and Bewick’s swans, brent and barnacle geese are the highlight of the winter months when thousands of these birds flock to our shores to escape the harsher winters of Siberia, Iceland and other Arctic locations. Winter also marks the time when these birds and other male species of wildfowl moult to reveal the colourful plumage designed to attract mates in the breeding season. As a result, by early spring, Britain’s wetlands become crowded with colourful water birds, both native and migratory, feeding, calling and mating. Spring also sees smaller waders such as snipe, lapwing, avocet, common tern and redshank flocking in for the breeding season. Of course, some birds reside on our lakes and rivers all year round, and the ubiquitous mute swan is the best-known example. Of all Europe’s water birds, this species of swan is the most recognisable. It is one of the biggest birds on our waterways and renowned as the most graceful with a long, curved neck and seemingly effortless ability to glide across the water’s surface with barely a ripple in its wake. That elegant neck and brilliant white feathers provide an immediate focal point to a wider view of a river, lake or canal. Compared to other birds and waterfowl, swans are easier to approach with a camera as they are less likely to fly away when close. This is because over the centuries they have become semi-domesticated, enjoying royal protection (all swans are owned by the Crown), and adapting comfortably to man’s
management of their habitat. At Abbotsbury in Dorset and Berwickupon-Tweed on the England-Scotland border, huge populations of swans have thrived for centuries, eating cereal crops or barley steepings from local malting works to supplement their natural diet.
FLIGHT & REFLECTIONS
Like most wildfowl and waders, swans rarely stay still for long. Even when wading at the water’s edge, they can take flight with little or no warning. Photographing birds in flight takes a lot of practice to master as it involves handholding the camera with a long lens and keeping the bird within the frame as it flies across or towards you. In this instance, select the AF-continuous mode (AF-C) whereby the camera continually adjusts focus on a moving target. The multiple AF sensors across the screen detect and respond to changes in speed and direction in an instant, allowing the photographer to concentrate on keeping a steady hand.
When photographing birds on the water, reflections will always feature in the composition, although the character and quality of a reflected image depends upon many variables such as the angle of the sun, time of day, amount of cloud in the sky, wind strength and time of year. For instance, winter may not have the longest or brightest days but the low path of the sun across the sky means it is likely to be more visible in reflections off the water. Now that we’re in the season when the days continue to lengthen and brighten and the sun climbs higher in the sky, harsh reflections directly off the water’s surface are more likely, increasing image contrast markedly. By adding a polarising filter to your lens, it is possible to reduce glare and stray reflections from the water’s surface. To have the best chance of avoiding bright areas of ‘burn-out’ in the frame, an overcast day lessens contrast and diffuses the sunlight to levels more within your camera’s dynamic range.
HIDE AND SEEK
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) owns and manages nine sites and visitor centres across the United Kingdom, which are home to hundreds of species of resident and migrant birds. From Arundel in West Sussex and Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, to Castle Espie in Northern Ireland and Caerlaverock on the Solway Firth, these sites are all equipped with hides and viewing platforms.
A purpose-built hide takes away much of the worry and time required for planning and preparation when photographing wildfowl and other water birds. Hides bring the photographer closer to the subject, but long telephoto lenses are still required to get framefilling compositions. A focal length of 400mm to 600mm is ideal for providing the magnification needed for shooting from a distance, but these lenses cost more than most camera bodies and are too expensive for many of us to consider. However, a low-cost alternative to increasing lens magnification is to use a teleconverter. All major camera brands include 1.4x and 2x converters in their lens line-ups. These fit between the lens and the camera body, to extend the focal length of the lens by the magnification factor of the converter used. It also changes the maximum aperture of the lens by the same factor, so a 300mm f/4 telephoto becomes a 420mm f/5.6 when fitted with a 1.4x converter, and 600mm f/8 with a 2x converter.
Some photographers prefer working with a telephoto zoom because of the range of focal length options provided without having to change lenses. When working in a hide, changing lenses risks missing a shot, as well as allowing any airborne dust onto your camera sensor. Lenses made for full-frame
DSLR cameras can also be used on ‘cropped sensor’ DSLRs (those that use the APS-C format sensor), but there is a multiplication factor of 1.5x to the focal length. For example, a full-frame 300mm telephoto lens will have a working focal length of 450mm when fitted to an APS-C format DSLR, while the 200-400mm zoom popular with many wildlife photographers will magnify to 300-600mm when fitted to one of these cameras.
SCHEDULE 1 SPECIES
Even when photographing from a hide, the welfare of the birds should always be of prime consideration, especially as many wetland fowl and waders are listed as Schedule 1 species by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. These include Bewick’s swan, black-necked grebe,
corncrake, red-throated diver, purple heron and the great bittern. Schedule 1 status is designed to protect these birds from being disturbed at their nests.
The Act makes it a criminal offence to ‘intentionally or recklessly’ disturb a Schedule 1 protected species when it is ‘building a nest or is in, on or near a nest containing eggs or young’. While the Act doesn’t legislate specifically against photographing birds at nest, it is sometimes the case that photographers unwittingly cause distress to birds by their actions. However, this is rarely an issue with the position of hides at the protected reserves run by the WWT and the RSPB. Photographers can obtain a Schedule 1 licence giving permission to photograph protected species at nest by applying through the RSPB.
FLOOD DEFENCES
After a winter of heavy flooding across much of Britain, the importance of our wetlands for future flood control is only now receiving greater attention. Studies in the United States have shown that wetlands act like sponges by storing floodwater and slowly releasing it to the surrounding floodplain in a way that reduces flood peaks by as much as 80 per cent. This slow release of water protects against droughts and helps maintain the water table below ground at a constant level. Man’s efforts to construct embankments and drainage systems to carry water run-off to the sea as quickly as possible lowers the water table and aquifers, thereby reducing local water supplies.
Wetland preservation is also vital to combat climate change. Wetlands store carbon within their plants and soil instead of releasing it to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. They contribute to the stability of global levels of atmospheric nitrogen, sulphur, carbon dioxide and methane, thereby helping to moderate the compositional balance of the Earth’s atmosphere. It might be the graceful beauty of a swan or the brilliant blue flash of a diving kingfisher that inspires you to visit local wetlands, but it is reassuring to know that these habitats are finally receiving greater respect from their owners and managers to uphold policies for their future preservation.