Top Tips for Finding Wildlife & Locations for Photography
When I’m running photography workshops, I often get asked how I found the location, and it has been through a number of different techniques. I thought I’d go through a few tips that have helped me both find wildlife and also new locations for wildlife photography.
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0:00 Introduction
00:26 Books
01:15 Apps
02:45 Social Media
05:03 Google
05:56 Word of Mouth
06:46 Local Walks
07:25 Trail Cameras
08:02 Bonus Tip
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#wildlifephotography #photographytips #locationscouting #naturephotography #m43
Here’s a list (which I will keep on updating) of more suggestions from the comment section:
Join local birding/wildlife groups
Use Ebird, Inaturalist & other similar websites
Speak to local foresters/hunters
Utilise OS Maps and look for old place names that refer to different species found there
Speak to local farmers for access to their land
Use Google Maps in satellite mode to view the habitat
Best book i ever bought from Andrew Marshal, even had is signed by him too 🙂
Brilliant information Mark
All great tips Marc, especially “wear binoculars”. I tend to give a smile, a nod and a good morning/afternoon when passing a fellow enthusiast and I definitely get fewer interactions when my bins are in my bag instead of around my neck.
Another is to look for older placenames in combination with high resolution Ordnance Survey maps; and know the older country names for species. For example, an older name for the Lapwing is a "Tewit", so seeing something like "Tewit Field" may suggest it was a historic site for lapwing. In upland areas, rocky hill top sites called Hawkstones may suggest that they were the home of hawks in years gone by. Some species, such as badgers, may used the same underground homes for hundreds of years, so seeing a placename such as Brockton may sugest an old association with badgers.
Sadly, modern placenames are more to do with sales and marketing ideas, than the species whose land they now occupy.
Join your local wildlife groups & go along to the talks/meetings. You will get known & people will start to trust you & give up their knowledge. It’s very important to not betray that trust as you have already mentioned. I have a lot of contacts in the local birding community that have given up time & knowledge to put me in the right place. It also works both ways & if you find a rarity, for example, it’s good to report it to the relevant county recorder. Once you are known & proven trustworthy, it’s amazing what info comes your way.
New to your channel and I would like to make a suggestion. Could you do a video on book suggestions for what’s the best books on birds of Britain and Europe. Also any chance you can do a video on owls and the Little Owl. Thanks
Very good advice, thank you! Joining a local birding group was indeed one of the best things I could do to learn about the best spots and also short-notice occurances of rare species in our area, sometimes down to the exact tree or pond shore.
I’d like to add to use sighting portals such as Ebird, Waarneming, Ornitho etc. Some are specialised for birds, others include mammals, insects or even plants. Especially Ornitho here in Germany has been invaluable for me. If you now and then report your own sightings, they would grant access to their complete database which you could search by species or generic groups, time ranges, locations and so forth. Just yesterday it helped me find my first collared flycatcher, in a cemetery. (Which by the way was another one of your great tips, recently. 🙂
Good information. Not sure of the rules there but in Ireland you need permission from the property owner to set up a trail cam.
Great video mark. Thanks for the information
One more tip: you can also chatted with the foresters/hunters…..somtimes it works.
I was wondering what the dirty looks were about, i never take bino’s!!
That was great Marc and defo picked up some tips from it so thanks. Definitely going to buy those books. 👍
You may also consult inaturalist and contribute with the photos that may not make the cut. In Inaturalist there is no artistic requirement or judgement. You will be helping scientists with recording species and also interact with people who may be willing to share information.
Hi Marc
Others have mentioned eBird. If you re not using it, it is also made by Cornell who make Merlin. eBird allows you to search by site or species and will show you a distribution of sightings throughout the year as well as tell you if it was sighted recently.
Some good advice there mate.
Is the WV one of ours?
A very informative video Mark. Many thanks.
A great video Marc with plenty of useful info, as an old codger who isn’t able to get out to photograph any wildlife I rely heavily on YouTube, fb photography and wildlife groups and IG to watch videos and photos, I photograph local birds and aviation from my flat window to get my photography fix nowadays and watch yourself Dan Willis and Simon Eardley plus a few others to see what’s going on around the countryside, look forward to more videos in the future, just followed you on Instagram too 👍📷🦅 cheers Terry
Good advice, loving your garden 👍
Great advice Marc. A lot of the stuff I already knew or had the books, social media is perhaps a better source than people might imagine – recently joined some local groups and discovered a little gem of a place that I had never considered, just a 30 minute drive away – lovely walk, not too long – thronging with all sorts of species from your usual suspects of tits and robins, but also Kingfishers that are practically guaranteed and not too concerned of getting close to – all manner of migratory birds AND quite a few water voles, also approachable. A couple to add to your list – Farmers – speak to them, ask nicely if you can walk their land, Google maps with satellite overlay (see the habitat)