Wildlife Photography Project

I'm doing a photography project to raise money for charity and need help from the good people of Sheffield. The idea is to photograph all the different owl and bird of prey species found in the British Isles. This going to take some time and i will need massive help from you guys. The idea is to put all the photographs together either in a calendar or a gallery to raise awareness for all the birds on the list and all the money will go to a local charity in Sheffield.

What i need are really good hotspots where any of these birds can be found. Looking in the rspb guide there at least 6 species of owls and 16 species of birds of prey that i need to get to complete this challenge. Obviously a lot of these are rare and on the red list so it would be appreciated if anyone has any locations that they private message me to ensure the safety of all the birds and eggs.

I would like to make this open to anyone that if they know of any good locations, that they can come a long with me and be involved in the project and get a mention and credit for your help.

Some birds are going to involve travelling long distances for but for know i would like to start local.

If anyone knows were there a good sites to see barn owls, kestrels, sparrowhawks, hobbies, merlins, etc then please please contact me and we can meet up. I would perfer it if some of the locations are off the beaten track so that we don't attract too much attention and also disturb the birds themselves by having crowds of people. If anyone is part of a local trust like the sheffield bird study group or the rspb or knows anyone who is, who could help please direct them to me for there guidance.

Depends how well this goes i would like to make this a fun project were more people can come a long and join in i'm sure there are people out there who would love to the say that they've seen all the species.

If you've read this far thanks for sticking with me and if you want to see some of my images my flickr page name is SHEPHERD550

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shepherd550/

Thanks for any help and assistance Richard

I was down at Carsington Water today, and according to their birdwatchers notice there have been several sightings of an osprey in recent days.

cheers for the osprey hint. this is what i'm after reliable hotspots were i can search. it just helps narrow down the search area and time. Thanks once again I'll keep you posted how i do.

I've had some really good private messages coming through. One's i keep stumbling with are the sparrowhawk and barn owl. If anyone can point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated cheers Richard

I have seen red kites at Ewden valley

Take a trip to Harewood House near Leeds for almost guaranteed Red Kite sightings.

If you can't get photos in the wild try the owl and otter sanctuary just past castleton they have owls and other birds of prey although they are in cages

I have a short vid I did on my phone of a bird of pray in S5 (wincobank hill), but as yet I have not identified it.

Its looking like a harris hawk but still not sure as the size of it seemed much bigger. I can let you have the clip if you want to help me out

I think it was about 1 and half to 2 foot tall if that's anything to go on, was crimson red (in sun light)/rusty red. The underside of the tail on the rump was pure white.

Ill let you look at the clip like I said, although it does not do it justice to what my eyes saw.

The magpies cautiously trying to mock it were dwarfed in size.

I'm doing a photography project …

 

Thanks for any help and assistance Richard

I absolutely know the man you need to speak to. Elusive chap though, obviously he's usually found bivying out in some godforsaken midge infested swamp for a glimpse of a Little Brown Job.

I'll tell him about this thread.

I haven't been up there this summer, but last summer I frequently walked along Fulwood Lane from Ringinglow. Round about Fulwood Head Farm I often saw a buzzard circling over the moor opposite the farm.

Just up past lea farm in Bradfield last year we saw a little owl on numerous occassions

Mike Harewoods on the list for tommorow been several times before you can't miss em there probably one of the easiest ones on the list thanks for the tip all the same one of my favourite birds to photograph

Send me your clip i'll take a look sounds like a red kite or buzzard to me.

If you wouldn't mind passing on this post to your friend that would be appreciated i'm going to need all the help i can get.

Still struggling on the sparrowhawk and now the hobby, as a tip i was sent was a kestrel nest

Hi Richard

Good luck with the project. Have you tried the RSPB website? You can search for nature reserves by keyword, eg bird name.

For ospreys I think Rutland Water is as good as anywhere. Also good for marsh harriers.