Having an appreciation for nature allows me to understand the beauty and complexity that surrounds us in the natural world. Sitting still, observing and capturing images of these moments allows me to gain a deeper connection to nature and this process has become a form of meditation for me.
I have never purposely gone birding before, interactions with nature have always been somewhat accidental and a fleeting moment of two paths crossing. These interactions are sometimes captured if I have my camera…
One little bird has fascinated me for several years, twice managing a fleeting glimpse in the wild, both times without my trusty camera. They are fast! Like little colourful bullets, and with both previous sightings it was their sudden flight that alerted my to their presence.
I knew I had to capture some images of these… eventually.
This passion for nature sees me following several wildlife photographers from around the world. Imagine my joy when one of these guys announced 'Bee-Eater Sessions’. It was local, it was soon...I was in!
The session was early morning. Alarm set for 3am, out the door for the 45 minute drive, and meeting on a dirt road in the Barossa Valley at 5am.
A quick briefing and invaluable chat about Bee-Eater behaviour, and it was off to get set up in the individual purpose-built bird hides.
Set up near a couple of nests, they are there to allow us to be relatively close without any disturbance to the birds at all.
Set up and focused on a nearby perch, it was time to sit back and wait. The anticipation and excitement was high. I knew that this was it; it was time to tick off this wonderful bird from my bucket-list and hopefully capture some sharp images. I had to relax a bit and just breath.
We were all set up and in the hides before the Rainbows became active. It didn’t take long. I was sitting, knowing my camera was focused and ready to go, my eyes shut and in a relax mode, just waiting…’click, click, click click’ it was the familiar shutter sound coming from the fella in the next hide. The rainbows were out…
Quickly hearing and learning the patterns of the individual birds, we spent the next few hours capturing several birds coming back to the nest to feed their young. What a morning! What a great experience!
Soon enough it was time to exit the hide, leaving these little wonders to go about their day. I was on a high.
Thank you to the property owner for allowing access and to Craig for organising this experience. If you are a wildlife and nature lover like me, check out Craig’s website here - http://craiggreer.com/
