For a long time now I’ve tried to photograph buzzards in the wood but as anyone knows who has tried to get images of these incredibly shy and wary birds, it’s not easy.
Whenever I come across roadkill I try to safely collect it and place it out (usually tethered down) in an area away from the main hides, sometimes I sit there for hours with nothing to show for it, and only rarely do I get images.
I tried last week and only got one shot as I knocked the lens and spooked it, never to return.
On Monday I tried again with a rabbit I had in the freezer, defrosting it the night before and placing it in position but midday.
Any action I’ve had recently is from the afternoon, nothing before, usually around an hour or so before dark.
I spent the morning making plans for the wood and a bit of bramble pulling, topping up the feeders, and by 1 pm was in the hide.
I used my 200-500 lens and my Z9 on a gimbal, knowing the light could be a problem I also used a remote trigger so I could hopefully shoot slower and keep the iso manageable if needed.
At 2.10 a Buzzard flew in and stared directly at me, I froze as I knew I needed to slightly reposition and waited until it relaxed.
I had my camera in silent mode and fired off a few shots.
Unfortunately, I knocked the lens as I reposition, and off it went, damm.
Always learn from your mistakes, so with this in mind I positioned the lens and locked down the gimbal so it couldn’t move, and waited.
It returned again at about 4 just as the light was fading but wasn’t confident and left, thinking it knew I was there.
Here are some I got earlier.
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