As the temperature starts to drop, and we edge closer towards meteorological winter here in the UK, I know many people will be dreading the changes this brings. I adore it. I love the light at this time of year and this image of a redshank shows why. The golden, low sunlight adds a glow that turns what could be a fairly dull image in flat light into something lovely.
So, my top tip for amateur wildlife photographers is to take advantage of any opportunity to get out in the light at this time of year. The great news is that you don’t have to get up early or go out late to get the best conditions, as dawn and dusk are at pretty convenient times for most of us. The sun will also be lower in the sky all day, meaning that you can capture some lovely light even if you can only get out with your camera on your lunch break.
The images above were captured on a late afternoon walk at Lunderston Bay a few days ago. This equally beautiful common gull quickly became the redshank’s shadow – following on the exact path of the smaller wader. I suspect it was waiting to see if it could snatch any choice morsels that the redshank found in the surf.
The redshank is a common wading bird in Scotland, with the Scottish population representing about 40% of the breeding UK population.