2024

This year has been fun, very interesting, and at times frustrating. But overall, it has been immensely satisfying knowing that we have created a place where it’s possible to get close to wildlife and just relax and enjoy what mother nature brings to the area.

I have many personal highlights from the year. From the unexpected mammals that sometimes grace us with their presence – roe deer, muntjac and hares – to the regulars such as the ever-reliable great spotted woodpeckers and my personal favourite species, the long-tailed tit. However, there is one species that ignited a drive within me to create what we have today. That is the sparrowhawk. Let me give you a quick back story as to why this is the case, and why a sparrowhawk picture is my pick for my own favourite picture from 2024. . .

Three years ago, I was extremely fortunate to meet someone that let me explore his farmland with a view to doing some photography there. I started by simply walking around with binoculars and leaving trail cameras in places that looked like they were being used by animals. After several months I found an area that was seeing some small bird activity, so I put up a couple of feeders and built a small and crude pool that held a couple of buckets worth of water.

Some other favourite moments from 2024

I didn’t do anything with the stills camera initially, I just watched from a distance and left a trail camera watching the pool. Much to my surprise, within a couple of weeks there had been a sparrowhawk and a tawny owl visiting the pool to drink and bathe. I couldn’t believe it! As soon as I saw that first footage of the sparrowhawk in the pool with its reflection, I knew that my mission was to experience it in person and to of course, get the shot. The tawny owl would be a whole different story, and hopefully a story that I will be able to tell in 2025.

However, the small bird activity wasn’t as good as I had hoped in this spot. I found another area where there seemed to be more activity, so relocated the feeders and pool there. The owl and sparrowhawk quickly found the pool and thankfully there was more small bird activity. It was now time to get the pop-up hide out! I was quickly able to photograph small birds perching, but the sparrowhawk eluded me for quite a while. The first time she came to the pool while I was in the hide I was too close, and with my 300mm I couldn’t fit her all in the frame! I was happy to have been so close, but obviously frustrated that I didn’t get the shot I had envisioned for over a year.

The pop-up hide served its purpose

Too close!

The female was often in the area. It wasn’t uncommon to be in the hide watching the small birds when all of a sudden they would shriek their alarm calls as they flew for cover, just as a blur of sparrowhawk flew through the area with incredible speed and accuracy. Sometimes after a failed hunt she would come to rest for a minute or two on one of the large perches, possibly surveying the area for any stragglers. I always felt a rush of excitement when she blasted through. It was always a privilege to see a sparrowhawk at such close range, and she had a habit (although not completely reliable) of making more then one visit throughout the day, and of course, the more visits she made, the more chances there was of getting a shot.

Sifting through hours of trail camera footage showed that she continued to use the pool for drinking and bathing, often getting harassed by magpies or jays whilst doing so. Corvids are such bullies! Annoyingly, she favoured landing on the sides of the pool rather than the far end, which would give the head on reflection shot I had dreamt about. Work commitments meant that I couldn’t spend as much time as I wanted at the set-up, and I remember the frustration of watching trail camera footage that showed her perched perfectly at the end of the pool with a full reflection. I was gutted that I had missed it!

Fast forward another year, and another five or six attempts to build a suitable pool and we arrive at Saturday 28th December 2024. I have two cameras set up in what is now the permanent hide and the female sparrowhawk lands on one of the woodpecker perches. But it’s almost a disaster again! I can’t fit her all in the frame with the camera in landscape orientation – you’d have thought I would have learnt by now! Rotating to portrait gets me a frame-filling shot, but she’s at the very top of the perch, so I’m looking up slightly, which I’m not that happy about. Nevertheless, I have a lovely couple of minutes with her. She flies off and I decide that now is a good time for a cup of tea.

As I’m about to put the kettle on, I hear something outside, and I turn round to see that she has come to the pool! This I am completely prepared for. I have my 40-150mm in this window and I had a good five minutes with her as she has a drink and a bathe in the pool. It was incredible.

My heart was racing for the whole five minutes. The feeling of pure joy I had was worth all of the hard work, the stress and the frustrating times that had gone into developing the hide. For me, the picture that was almost three years in the making was worth the wait. That’s why this is my favourite picture of 2024.