Emma's Safaris

Any walk is a good walk for me. It really doesn’t matter if its pouring with rain or the sun is blazing in the heat of the day. Any time that I am out in nature is enjoyable.

In terms of photography however, finding wildlife and then capturing images of that wildlife are two completely different variables. The perfect safari for me is one where I combine a lovely walk with finding wildlife with the icing on the cake being capturing snapshots of precise moments. These three variables however do not always align.

I have been walking in this lovely part of Worcestershire now for a few months and my morning safari captures have been less frequent than in my previous local area. This is because it has taken me quite a long time to work out a route, a starting time and of course the area around me. It is important to simply observe for a number of weeks and experiment with routes and trails to see what you see. Sometimes it is missing opportunities to take images that actually leads you to ultimately having success.

I have for example inadvertently disturbed a Buzzard who was mere meters from me, seen the tail of a fox disappear into the long grass and narrowly missed taking a perfectly aligned photo of a Muntjac deer who was very close indeed to the path I was walking on. Sometimes, when you are not completely familiar with your surroundings you miss what is hiding in plain sight.

To see what is in front of you, you need to notice the elements of the landscape that are “out of place”. I think we have all been walking and noticed something in the distance and thought to ourselves “is that an animal or is it a log?” I myself have played the “fox or log” game many times.

If you walk the same route at the same time every day your eyes eventually get accustomed to that log and eventually you notice it but tune it out. So, you notice the trees and where they stand you see the shadows and hear the familiar noises and then eventually you start to observe what is new. The best way to start noticing all the little things is to start by opening your eyes to everything.

Flowers for example draw in the eye and if you spend time looking at the way they are shaped and the colours eventually flowers you have seldom noticed before you will start to see everywhere. You start to tune out the rush of everyday busy life and start to live a bit more in the moment.

My eyes are drawn to a familiar tree but today I hear the sound of a Jenny Wren, she is also identifiable with the round body and the 50s style streaks of black emanating from the corner of each eye.

The word “wren” comes from the Middle English word “wrenne” which simply means “little tail”. Often the word “Jenny” is used to describe female animals and is applied to the Wren in this instance due to the beautiful singing voice which many have likened to human female singers. In truth I am not quite certain if this individual is male or female but I found myself listening to her soulful tone and casting my own assumptions based on her familiar sweet trill.

I have wanted for so long to capture a Wren on camera. They are so small and often flit quickly from tree to tree, they are not obliging subjects when it comes to still shots and are often missed due to their near perfect colouration which is perfect camouflage in low light in between the trees. To see one out at the top of a tree on an open branch I found to be unusual, so much so that I almost missed her entirely, so sure was I that the bird I was seeing couldn’t possibly be the elusive Jenny Wren.

I found by this point in the safari that my tension had started to ease. I was starting to hear and see more. Ahead of me a bunny sat low near the entrance to his burrow. He eyed me with suspicion but he was confident that he could make his escape. The bunnies are everywhere now, the babies are getting bigger and they are dotted around pretty much every field and trail I walk on.

In the clearing opposite the road I see the familiar dipping swoop of a Green Woodpecker, his unmistakable plumage taunting me with its fleeting blur as he disappears into a nearby oak tree. Woodpeckers I have learnt can be identified even in silhouette without the signs of the familiar colouration. They fly not straight but in an undulating pattern as if flying over a series of hills.

This individual must have been watching me directly in my line of sight but even as I emersed myself in the morning, he managed to evade my camera and disappear into perfect green foliage. Natures camouflage lends itself well to keeping even the most vibrantly coloured animals perfectly hidden.

Eventually after passing a couple of friendly dog walkers I hit gravel. I was no longer able to conceal the grinding of my feet on the ground and it is usually at this point that I see blurry bunny tails fleeing from view away from passing humans.

I stood for a moment to adjust my camera and a small shrew scuttled over my feet. I thought perhaps I was losing my touch a bit! He had come out of nowhere seemingly. Despite having the camera to hand I was too stunned to take a photo before he disappeared into a concealed hole in the path. I know “cute” is not really a very scientific word but it is the best and most accurate description in this case.

Suddenly, I noticed on the fence line something quite large. A fox turned and fled and disappeared behind a discarded car tyre. Again an animal had been lying in plain sight and I had missed my opportunity. At this time of year there is a lot of long grass and animals can hide there for long periods waiting for you to pass. They are brilliant at staying still and this can make them hard to spot.

I waited for a short moment and allowed the fox plenty of time and space to move on but when I took a few steps on I was surprised to see her silhouette, she sat casually up next to a tree behind a fence and she was so confident that she could outrun me that she sat and watched me, curious about the black contraption hooked over my neck and was completely unfazed by the continuous snapping of the camera.

When you see a fox, that moment is special. They lock eyes on you and the world seems to fall away. You know they could disappear in a flash but she remained. It was like being caught in some sort of invisible force field. From her mouth hung the body of a rabbit, its legs soft and dew covered. It can be difficult to see two of your favourite animals bound in this way, hunter and prey united in that moment as part of natures circle of life. Taking shots like this though is important to me. Nature is not always fuzzy and cute, it can be grim and visceral but always impactful.

The mist hung low on the hills, the suns rays were only just burning it off which made capturing the image quite difficult. However, the fox was close enough and obliging enough to permit me to take a short video of her and several still images

Seeing this beautiful fox at such an unexpected part of my morning safari was special. She has if you look closely got the tell tale sign of teats which would at some point have provided the nourishment for her babies which by now will be growing at an alarming rate. The amount of energy expended by females to feed their offspring can drive them out in the daylight and closer to humans than they would normally go.

We watched each other for a time until she grew bored of me and tuned and slipped away, running down the slope and disappearing out of view.

The rest of my walk was filled with the sound of birds waking and beginning their days Skylarks leapt from the grass far too fast to capture but beautiful to see and the hedgerows were lined with bunnies and filled with the sound of concealed yet loud pheasants keen to peruse the safety of the long grass.

I was soon back in amongst the buildings, the sound of birds blocked by the sound of cars and of humans started their days unaware of the everything that had been occurring in the surrounding countryside. Early mornings are truly the best time to be out and I feel now that I am getting into a good route and routine to be able to notice and see more.

I will endeavour to seek out wildlife, to learn as much as I can about everything that I see so that I can bring the outdoors in with my blog posts and images. There is not always perfect success with photography but if it was easy it wouldn’t be nearly as thrilling.

Thank you as always to every single reader, you inspire me in so many ways.

Have a beautiful day everyone x