Wildlife at your door

Andrew has worked as a full-time professional wildlife photographer since 2009. He’s supplied images for a wide range of clients, including the RSPB, and leads photography tours for Naturetrek. To find out more, visit: www.andrewmasonphoto.com

The past 18 months have not been easy for wildlife photography. Travel restrictions imposed to combat the global COVID-19 pandemic have made it difficult times, if not impossible to travel further than walking distance from out homes, yet alone to those locations where the iconic 'blue clip' animals (such as polar bears, elephants, lions and tigers) can be photographed. As I write this article, while the travel restrictions are now being relaxed, it is still not clear when we will be able to freely travel globally, or if restrictions will once again be imposed.

We all have a tendency to overlook what’s on our own doorsteps and to hanker after those rarer animals that fill the social media feeds of well travelled photographers. Whatever the future holds, there is a wealth of wildlife in the British Isles, enough to keep any photographer occupied for more than a lifetime, or at least until we can venture further afield.

Whatever the size of your garden, be it a small window box or a large rambling affair, it will certainly attract wildlife

LOCAL PATCH

Wherever you look in the British Isles (or whichever country you reside) there’s wildlife. If you live in the Scottish Highlands you may have red squirrels, red deer, pine martens and the increasingly rare capercaillie as neighbours. If you live in the centre of one of our large cities, peregrine falcons, badgers, foxes and even otters may be living alongside you. Getting to know your ‘local patch’, whether it is a truly wild area, a small inner city nature reserve or your garden, can be incredibly rewarding and offer a wide range of wildlife to photograph.

My local patch

I live in a rural area in the middle of England. My house is surrounded by farmland. Whilst the