Searching for Wildlife at RSPB Sandwell

After spending an incredibly rare day sick in bed I wanted to head out for some fresh air for a days trail walking. My little one has been ill too so I thought a Mommy/Daughter day exploring the RSPB nature reserve at Sandwell Valley would be a really nice idea, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I absolutely loved it there but she was bored and only wanted a cupcake in the cafe. Very disappoing.

I can’t be too downhearted though; from the minute we walked to the lower car park I knew there were going to be good opportunities here because this little robin followed us jumping across the trees. I managed to stop carrying the scooter that my daughter decided she didn’t want after 2 seconds to be able to snap these. This, and the one below, are the closest I have ever been able to photograph a bird.

That wasn’t the closest experience I had though. We’d taken some seeds that were left over from ‘reindeer food’ at Christmas because I thought it might be nice for my daughter to engage with the wildlife to build a relationship with nature, and while she was too tentative to feed the birds herself she did have a go which made me proud. I understood her nerves because I didn’t know how it would go but I held my hand out to the robin above and after about a minute of bouncing around figuring me out he hopped on to my hand, grabbed some seed and flew off to perch nearby. I stayed still to see what he’d too and was ecstatic when he came back again for a longer time sat eating in my hand. I felt incredible that I’d been able to have that moment and it made me feel really positive about future interactions. To celebrate out little experience together I took my daughter back into the visitor centre and we bought a robin pin badge to start our new collection.

The image above still isn’t perfect and if I was being really critical I could have used a higher aperture to make sure the beak and the legs are in focus, but the truth is I don’t care because I just love it. It’s my favourite image I’ve ever taken of a robin and has inspired me to start a gallery of all the wild animals I photograph. I also want to take a minute to point out how ridiculously sharp the 85mm lens is. This is only slightly cropped because I was able to get so close to him I struggled to focus.

I got to see a lot of different species of birds there (and a fox!) but I need to visit again when I have more time and freedom to explore and geek out on my own. My other highlights of the day were seeing goldfinches on the multiple bird feeders at the café windows and a cormorant down at the hide. The fact they have binoculars there to watch the wildlife is a lot of fun, and me being me I couldn’t help but wish I’d got the 400mm already…

When we got back I had a free child-free hour and a bit left on my camera battery so popped up to Haden Hill park to see what I could do with the rest of the seeds. The late afternoon light was amazing so I walked just down from the playground where the squirrels loved to play to see what was about. You can see from the image above that it was a strong warm (in colour, definitely not in feel) light dappling through the trees and this was the first squirrel I came across. I absolutely love the squirrels here, and while I don’t think they know or recognise me in any way, they’re always happy to come and play by me.

I decided to put a little of the seed on this step so that the squirrels were just a little higher than me so I didn’t need to lie on the floor like a moron in front of all the dog walkers and still get on eye level. Before I knew it about 15 squirrels were all bouncing around me trying to see what I had to eat. I didn’t think it was wise to feed these guys from my hand in fear they overtook me but I played about putting little piles of seeds in patches of lights to see what images I could get.

I really liked this shot as soon as I saw it. It’s probably a bit too shallow in depth (I shot the whole day in f4 to see how it faired, maybe I’ll move to f5.6 next time?) but it love how soft it looks. The bokeh blends out like butter.

This was another of those patches of beautiful light I found and I strategically placed the seeds here in the hope I’d get exactly this shot. The more I’m getting involved in wildlife photography and trying to organically and slowly develop how I compose and more importantly where I need to be to get the shot when you can guarantee the animal is going to move in about 5 seconds.

I really like this, the colours are rich and warm and the layered and textured composition works for me. If I was being critical the foliage in the background is a little distracting but I wasn’t going to lower my aperture because it was more important to get him all in focus.

I cannot express how long I tried to get this shot. There were about 5 great tits playing in the bushes just off the path where I was feeding the squirrels so I found a place to sit and put some seeds down to hope they’d come out since they’d made it clear early on they didn’t want any from my hand. I was so lucky to get this in the end as it was a 5 image burst to make sure I got a shot in focus. I love the dappled light filtering through even thought it was starting to fade and the depth in the bush itself is so creamy and almost tropical looking. I’d seen great tits at the RSPC centre and didn’t have the opportunity to get anything good but I couldn’t be happier with this.

My last couple of shots of the day were the ducks since I wanted to feed them at the centre but didn’t get a change to go on any of the trails down to the marshy pond. These are not the best shots I’d taken that day but I love the foreground and want to be able to incorporate more in images in the future. I adore how this lens makes water look too.

In all I had a great day, no matter how much I was moaned out for taking my daughter to a ‘boring’ place (that’s kids for you). I learned how to better interact with wildlife and got to have a robin sit in my hand. I’m also getting better at listening out for birds too to figure out where to look and since I already have some half decent National Trust binoculars I may end up becoming the kind of nerd that keeps them on me when I’m out shooting. Maybe.