Date: March 2016
Location: Whitstable, UK
Camera Settings: ISO 100 – F/5.6 – 1/1250
This turnstone was lingering on the wall by the fishing boats at Whitstable harbour early in the morning. Unusually solitary (I couldn’t see any more nearby) as I’d only ever seen them before in Ireland and the Canary Islands in small groups on the shoreline.
Date: December 2017
Location: Cahuita, Costa Rica
Camera Settings: ISO 100 – F/10 – 1/125
This little bird was flying low over fields of overgrown crops in Cahuita. I knew from its beak that it was a seedeater of some kind but originally confused it with a type of tanager. Black and yellow colours are so common in Central America that it’s hard to distinguish species sometimes unless you get a look at the bird perched in side profile – just like this.
Date: August 2019
Location: London, England
Camera Settings: ISO 400 – F/9 – 1/250
This shot was taken at St James Park, London, a stone’s throw from the main road that backs the Houses of Parliament. I had to research because it was the first time I’d noticed her among the myriad other species that gather on the lake and thought at first it might be a little grebe. Luckily I got a better view as she emerged from the water to show off all her colours!
Date: May 2018
Location: Monteverde, Costa Rica
Camera Settings: ISO 800 – F/6.3 – 1/200
In the damp cloud forests of Monteverde endemic species of humming birds are ten-a-penny. Although they’re very tricky to spot unless you hover by the visitor centre where they come to land on special nectar feeders. I’d love to say that photographing them in manmade surrounds takes a little of the magic away but these birds are such petite, unusual oil slicks of beauty that they really do look stunning anywhere.
Date: February 2020
Location: London, UK
Camera Settings: ISO 800 – F/9 – 1/125
Collared doves, often blending into their wintery environments easily in shades of grey are really unrecognised as beautiful birds. In central London they’re not that common either, so I always take a moment when I hear their cooing to stop and notice where they’re perched. The most delicate of British doves and in my opinion underrated.
The Casual Birder 