Wildlife Photographer of the Year — Failed!
Six Word Photo Story: “Freestyle”
Two kestrels. Three herons. No photos.
Over two days this week, we saw two kestrels hunting, and three herons. The latter could have been one heron spotted on three separate occasions, but the kestrels were each in separate territory doing their magical hover manoeuvre before arrowing downwards on to unsuspecting rodents. Despite stopping to stare and exclaim at the wonder of the sights, I didn’t once manage to scramble a camera out of my pocket in time to take a photo.
Herons are found on all continents except Antarctica, and there are 64 different species. Had I got the shot, I might have been able to say with certainty what type we saw — a grey heron is my guess. Kestrels, a type of falcon, are one of the UK’s most common birds of prey, and given that they posed for ages in mid-air before diving, some kind of shot should have been possible, even if not easy.
Annoyed at my ineptitude, I took a consolation shot of a guineafowl — a fancy and beautiful bird in its own right, but without the grace of a heron or the dexterity of a kestrel.
For storytellers who never miss a good shot I recommend: Mary Chang Story Writer, Ellie Jacobson, Dunelair, Dennett, pockett dessert, Susan Alison, Kris Bedenian, Kim Zuch, Jennifer Pierce, Stuart Aken, Linda Acaster, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Pene Hodge, Diana Lotti, Will Hull