Top Ten Wildlife Experiences of 2015

2015 has been a great year for me and enjoyed many wildlife spectacles and events that I've been wanting to do for a long time. I often get a bit blasé with the locations and wildlife I see so Its nice to take a look back on the year and see what I've gotten up to.

10. In Pursuit 

 Filming for 'In Pusuit' in France

Many of you reading this will well know I'm quite keen on fish so its no surprise that I enjoy angling also and following on from working on Mr Crabtree Goes Fishing for Skysports last year I was working on another angling series called In Pursuit. It was a great series to shoot on and as well as interviews, time lapse and presenter led work I was able to get plenty of wildlife shots which I particularly enjoyed when shooting in France for nearly a month. I had many firsts with night herons, white storks, turtle doves and a rather horny coypu trying to get in my tent which I'd rather not talk about!

                              

       Scarce Swallowtail                                                                       Hummingbird Hawk-Moth
For me the highlight of the wildlife was the moths and butterflies having been to norfolk many times to see swallowtails I was treated to dozens in a french lavendar garden (the scarce species anyway) and lots of hummingbird hawk moths really stunning insects.

9. Ospreys

Having seen ospreys both times at Birdfair I really wanted a closer view with my camera to hand and heard of a local trout farm which has had the ospreys visiting regularly grabbing the odd trout. a 4am start and short drive got me and friend Harry Hall to the hide and although we saw one fly over it wasn't meant to be. A follow up trip resulted in a much better encounter and the osprey went in to grab a rainbow trout. I did get one shot but nothing I was happy with as the light was just not out enough for my camera to get a decent shot so may warrant a return trip in 2016!

8. Cairngorms

Female Ptarmigan 

Looking back I almost forgot I'd even been to the Cairngorms this year let alone spending two weeks up there and one of them leading a photographic tour with Josh Jaggard. The first week was mostly about getting images that previously had eluded me so two grouse species were on my thoughts ptarmigan and black grouse. The ptarmigan proved relatively easy once you get your eye in and ears tweaked for there call. Black grouse however were a different kettle of fish.

Male Black Grouse 

I've used hides for many species but this was the first time I'd slept in one over night. Now conditions were more or less ideal in the night little wind, no snow and open skies and it was still bloody freezing and my sleeping bag become part of a pond with me in it! Come the morning I was wet, cold and not in a great mood with little to no sleep topping off the fact I could hear Josh snoring like a trooper next door as if to rub it in. However as soon as heard the male black grouse outside I soon forgot the past several hours and had a amazing experience with males nearly brushing up against the hide completely unaware of me. A unforgettable night and morning for many reasons!

Common Frog near the cottage

The other thing I enjoyed photographing was some of the less glamorous species up there like frogs, toads and insect larvae in the rivers.

7. Barn Owl

Barn Owl

As part of my work I'm lucky that I get to work all over the UK but I very much enjoy finding wildlife thats local to me and on the way to doing a workshop for Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust I noticed a barn owl flying over a field. I drove down a country lane and parked up alone a fence line and sure enough the barn owl landed metres from me an amazing sight that was totally unplanned and still made it in time for my workshop.

6. Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Film

Invasive Signal Crayfish 

I've been filming various wildlife and issues along the River Derwent for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and have really enjoyed the challenge so far as its involved many filming techniques I don't do as often as I'd like. One part was highlighting non natives like signal crayfish which has infested some rivers to the point that nothing else is found in them.

Hen Atlantic Salmon in Derbyshire

One success story is the return of salmon to Derbyshire the most inland population in the country. The film is going well and will continue into next year and be finished by september when showings will go out locally as well as being put online for anyone to see.

5. Pond Tank

Dragonfly Larvae 

There are some very talented 'pond tankers' Neil phillips springing to mind and its something I'm still learning about but have done a fair bit this year. I've found it one of the most challenging forms of wildlife photography in trying to get pictures to look natural and not like they have been taken in a shoddy aquarium much harder then in sounds! Its a great way to work with very small subjects which can be difficult to locate in a pond or river and can live in very murky water normally ruling out underwater photography.

4. Hedgehogs

Twiggy being released 

I personally have never had a issue with 'staged' wildlife shots providing people are honest about the image, hedgehogs for example are rarely out in the day unless very sick so getting daylight images of them is tough thus I headed to a hedgehog rescue centre who were released a few at dusk with just enough light to snap a few portraits off. They have had a tough time recently with massive declines so happy to provide images to the centre.

3. Springwatch/Countryfile 

As well as filming for TV this year I've featured on the other end of the camera a few times also! Springwatch was a real highlight for me and we went to the welsh wye to film what fish were hanging around. It ended up that we didn't film that many species but it was more about me and my obsession with filming lots of fish species.

Watch the clip here

Springwatch Crew 

If Springwatch wasn't enough I then was contacted by Countryfile who wanted to interview me again about fish and this time a bit closer to home in the Peak District with wild brown trout. They got in touch again for another episode this time filming something with feathers for a change! It hasn't aired yet but will be on the Winer Special Jan 4th.

2. BWPA

Highly Commended BWPA 2015 Animal Portraits

For the last 5 years I've been short listed for the British Wildlife Photography Awards but never got any further until this year when a little minnow got me in the book and the exhibition. I'm not a overly competitive photographer but its always nice to have your work recognised by peers and odd free glass of wine didn't go a miss at the private view either ;)

1. Shetland

 Stunning wildlife, stunning scenery welcome to Shetland

Shetland had long been on my wildlife destinations hitlist (which seems to get longer each year) but decided to take the plunge and get a flight to Sumburgh. I then got a hire car and had to drive 3 hours north with two ferry crossings to get to Unst which considered I'd only been driving a couple weeks prior was quite pleased I got there in one piece! The plan was to do mainly underwater but that went out the window when I got hooked on puffins and otters!

 Son and Mum in the kelp

I really wanted a image of a otter underwater and do intended to visit shetland again at some point to do but stuck to topside work mostly for this trip. Walking nearly 10 miles each day trying to spot otters along the coastline was exhausting but ended up with many encounters seeing more otters then I can remember. 

Me and Josh failing to get a puffin decent selfie

Overall its been a great year and next year looks even busier with a few projects planned, a book, on TV twice in January and much more. Have a great new years eve and a happy new year  



Jack Perks

@JackPerksPhoto
Facebook: Jack Perks Photography
Website: www.jackperksphotography.com

Top Ten Wildlife Experiences of 2013

Top Ten Wildlife Experiences 2013

So 2013 has been a fantastic year for wildlife for me with a varied amount of wildlife both above and below the water. It has also been the first year where I've felt more confident in becoming a professional wildlife photographer as I've started to make a career out of it (full time).

Here's my countdown to my favourite encounters of the year.

10. Adder - Norfolk

Spring saw me visiting fellow wildlife photographer Josh Jaggard and together in some Norfolk woodland we went in search of an often misunderstood, stunning reptile the Adder. After an hour's searching and some field craft skills we picked up in the South West we found a few adders with this one being a gem to photograph.

9. Great Crested Newt Survey - Derbyshire

I'm always keen to work with conservation groups and when I asked EMEC if I could go out and get images of Great Crested Newts they were happy to take me, which is something I couldn't legally do alone. A good number of newts were found and this was my first good look at the newts- a lot bigger than I thought they would be!

8. BBC Summer of Wildlife

The BBC ran the campaign all summer of getting people out and about with nature which I was involved with, doing talks for London Wetland Centre and giving tips and advice at Birmingham, Nottingham and Derby. I also did radio interviews and filmed for Springwatch and appeared in Urban Jungle.



7. Badgers (No Bodger) - Cairngorms National Park

With senseless culls happening, I really wanted to see a badger this year and while after Pine Martin I had my first proper sighting of one munching down peanuts from one of Speyside Wildlife Hides, something I'd recommend to anyone wanting to see highland mammals.

6. Eels & Salmon - Hampshire

Salmon have been a species I've wanted to work with for a while and when the Environment Agency asked me to do some work for them on the Rivers Itchen & Test (two of the finest examples of chalk streams in the country) I jumped at the chance. They proved to be one of the hardest subjects I've ever worked with, being very spooky, not like the eel which despite being in decline I found in good numbers in both rivers and not overly bothered by my presence.


5. Nottingham City - Peregrines Falcon Chicks

Though I don't pretend to be the world's most enthusiastic birder, there are some species you just have to appreciate. The peregrine falcon has gone from being on the brink of being wiped out in this country to now being in most cities and in Nottingham city centre I got to encounter these little chaps. I took a few images of the ringing and the chicks for the Wildlife Trust.

4. Smooth Snakes - Dorset

Reptiles are my favourite subject to photograph and work with but my home county is rather poor for them so I travelled down to Dorset to see if I could find the rarest one of all: the smooth snake. I actually have a licence to survey smooth snakes which means I can take images while doing it, which you aren't allowed to do without such a licence. Unlike adders they are not venomous but constrict their prey which is mainly made of other reptiles, even other smooth snakes.

3. Kingfishers - It's a secret!

I think you're not a wildlife photographer until you get your token kingfisher shot so after years of on-off searching, I decided to spend a few days seeing if I could get an image of one. I put a stick out and waited in the water with a hide (no buckets of minnows like some unethical photographers will use, fish have feelings too!).
To my surprise, two kingfishers landed fairly quickly. The young one on the left is a chick (you can tell by the blue strip down its back which they lose when older, and male kingfishers have a black beak so can be sexed fairly easy if they stay still for you).


2. Arctic Charr - Cumbria

Certainly one of the rarer species I've worked with this year, the Arctic Charr is an Ice Age relic which used to run like salmon to the sea but, during the last Ice Age, got left behind in glacial lakes so only a handful of waters have them, mainly in Scotland and Cumbria. I went out with the Environment Agency hoping to get some stills and little bit of video. They have been falling in number so the EA net them and take eggs to hatch on and restock.

1. Grey Seals & Eiders - Farne Islands

Well, it had to be the dog mermaids didn't it? Scuba diving with grey seals was amazing, with them nibbling my fins and one curious pup having a go at my camera! Nothing aggressive, just working out what I am. The animals that stole the show for me though was the eider. I've always loved waterfowl and these guys are just amazing with their cooing call and bright plumage. It was a treat to find so many in the harbour and find them quite tame even taking food from locals.

2014 has a few things in store for me with plans to make three small wildlife films on water voles, marsh frogs and a mystery species! I'll be going back to the Farnes this time for birds underwater and of course I'll be trying to film every freshwater fish as you do!