I started my photography journey six years ago and there is pictorial evidence that my photography skills are slowly improving. I started shooting small birds in the garden as I had a previous interest in birding, as a kid in Basildon Essex . In the early sixties Basildon was the country.

From small birds, I became fascinated with birds of prey and their behaviour ,hunting, soaring ,gliding and dropping on unsuspecting prey.

Female Marsh Harrier RSPB Leighton Moss

My local patch is RSPB Rainham Marshes in east London on the banks of the River Thames. The habitat is reed bed ,meadows and a small woodland area. There are breeding pairs at Rainham and you are almost guaranteed to see a “Marshy.”

RSPB Rainham Marshes

As a person relatively inexperienced in photography and birding, the bigger birds of prey were an obvious attraction- deadly in the pursuit of survival. However, shooting…