I’ve always been a country boy - a hick from the sticks!

As a youngster I lived near Maldon then Elsenham, both in Essex - yes, an Essex Boy! In those days as a kid you more or less lived outdoors without restriction, roaming the fields and woods. I then moved to live in a 60's housing estate on the edge of the lovely mediaeval town of Saffron Walden.

Work in Direct Marketing, kids and then a second career in Painting & Decorating took up a lot of time. Plus achieving reasonable levels in Hockey and Golf.

It was only later on I really became interested in birds, when I first saw a kingfisher at Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire, and I haven’t looked back since.  Persuaded by a friend, I joined the local RSPB group, Stort Valley [http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/stortvalley], which is based on the Herts and Essex border.  I then found myself volunteering for the group’s Committee and took on the role of Chair for the last 6 years. Because of this I have met lots of great people in the world of wildlife and conservation - learning much on the way. I've also done other volunteering work for the RSPB, The Rutland Osprey Project and Spain's Hall Farming Estate.

Photography started out as a way of identifying birds in comfort, after the event, but has rapidly turned into an often enjoyable, sometimes frustrating, and rather expensive passion. Working fulltime has limitations to getting out with the wildlife, but I hope to spend more time as retirement has more or less started.

At this point it’s conventional to detail the photographic equipment I use, but suffice to say it’s as good as I can afford [and sometimes a little more].  And no, the lens can never be too long!

I have been asked countless times - "Are your photos on the internet?" whilst out in the field. This and a desire to share and bring out my observations into the open has prompted me to set up this website.

Now that I am retired, I should be able to complete it! Though I do prefer being in the wild.

For the last few years I have been doing a Project for Barn Owls, where I advise, build/erect and monitor boxes. Have put up boxes in Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk so far.
This all started when a pair of Barn Owls found the box I had out up in my garden, after 6 years!   From then, it has been a joy and a privilege to observe, monitor and photograph all stages of their life cycle. They were featured on the BBC Oneshow which created a lot of interest. Was certainly an eye opener into the world of TV, having a crew with 2 cameras, a drone and a presenter for the whole day.

I hope you enjoy some of the wildlife photos [not just birds] that I’ve loaded onto this site so far.  It’s in its infancy at the moment, but there will be more to come, so please drop in again. I'm doing a lot more video now, as this shows off the wildlife much better.  This will be an evolving project. 

You are welcome to contact me if you want more details about locations, or if you want to use any pictures or videos for non-commercial purposes, particularly if you belong to a local nature/conservation group or schools.