Northern Gannet @ Bempton Cliffs June 19th 2026. 1/3200s f/5.6 ISO 500
Welcome to my photography log which is all about the journey not the image quality! This is more blog than gallery. A gallery would contain the best images I’ve taken, whereas this is record of what I’ve been doing, where I’ve been and what I’ve been taking photographs of.
This space captures the images I’ve created since upgrading my camera in the summer of 2024. After two decades with a Canon EOS 350D, I’m now shooting with a Fuji X-T5, paired with the Fuji XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8, Fuji XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 and Fuji XF 500mm f5.6 (the most used lens).
For a list of specific species I’ve photographed, see here.
To see the photographs which document the U3A Bird Group walks, see here.
Click on any image to enlarge it. Best viewed on a larger screen rather than a mobile phone.
This website is hosted on a small NAS server in my office at home. You may have to be a little patient whilst the page builds.
I can be contacted at richardW5oaks@gmail.com.
Previously:
July 17th 2026 – RSPB Bempton Cliffs
I stayed overnight in the car park and was up and walking the cliffs shortly after 5am.
It was a cloudy start to the day with flat light, but on the horizon there was some colour in the sky which I tried to use as a background for some of the photographs. The Gannets fly down to land on the cliff face, so some images are also shot through the grass which grows on the top of the cliff.
You can see a Gannet chick here, still a long way from fledging the nest. But, once they do they do not come ashore again until there 3rd year.
Everyone loves a Puffin!
July 16th 2026 – North Landing, Flamborough
Visited mum in her care home in the morning then drove north over the Humber Bridge to North Landing. This time remembering to pay the bridge toll before getting a fine. The tide was in so rather than go down toward the beech I walked south along the cliff tops. I intended to go as far as the lighthouse, but spent so long taking photographs that I had to turn back without getting anywhere near it.
On my first visit, I struggled to find any Puffins, last time I photographed a few, this time there were too many to count. I think its a question of getting you eye in and once you have a feel for where they like to be you starting seeing lots of them. I even managed a capture a couple of Pufflings too.
This is a Puffin coming into to land on the cliff face, reverse flapping to slow down.
Kittiwake and Herring Gull
A Puffling between adults.
Cormorant.
Kittiwake Chicks.
Guillemot.
July 16th 2026 – RSPB Bempton Cliffs
After the afternoon at North Landing I drove a few miles north to RSPB Bempton Cliffs to see what I capture in the glow of evening light. Lots of Northern Gannet flying around as usual.
Razorbill, Kittiwake Chick and Great Black-backed Gull.
Barn Owl hunting as the sun went down.
July 15th 2026 – Tice’s Meadow
My first time out with the camera for a week, too much life occurring for the past few days. Tice’s seems quiet at the moment, not as many birds as I’d expect but its been that way most of this year. Perhaps my expectations are wrong.
July 8th 2026 – Tice’s Meadow
A very hot walk around the meadow this morning, a forecast high of 32c.
I rarely photograph Butterflies but I was sat on bench looking over the meadow, and the Gatekeeper Butterfly are landing on this yellow plant right in front of me.
Some fauna and a Bee.
Coot, Mallard forming a queue to pass under a fence, two Herring Gull, Egyptian Geese, Mallard and Greylag Geese.
Juvenile Moorhen and Canada Goose.
Great Crested Grebe.
July 6th 2026 – In The Garden
A few weeks ago I bought a 3m x 4m piece of camo net on eBay. The intention was to hack together a simple hide for use on the patio so that I could photograph birds, without a hide of some sort most birds keep their distance. Well, that was a miserable failure and it blew over in the wind and left my burning in sun. After some experimentation I have found that best solution is the open a door downstairs and hang the camo netting from the curtain rail. This way I can sit on a chair with my long lens and the birds have no idea I’m there. The added benefit being that I’m am not sat outside melting in the sun.
These are Greater Spotted Woodpecker and I even took a 2 minute video of it feeding on Peanut Kernels. I also discovered that we don’t have just one woodpecker using the feeders, we have a pair, but apart from one brief moment they only come to the feeder one at a time.
July 4th 2026 – In The Garden
Sat in the garden for a while hoping for some peace and quiet. At one point there were 4 tits all trying to feed at the same time.
July 2nd 2026 – Thursley Nature Reserve
Rather quiet, no sign of Goldfinch, Linnet, Dartford Warbler, Crossbill etc.
July 1st 2026 – Tice’s Meadow
There are still surprisingly few birds out on the workings. But I did get some nice in-flight shots. I took a shed load of photographs of a Common Buzzard but they are almost all very soft. I think at some point my right index finger had presses the function button turning off Bird tracking, and it took me quite a while to realize.
Most of todays in-flight images were taken with the bird backlit which makes it difficult to bring out the detail under neath without it looking washed out. This is despite using exposure compensation in camera, sometimes as much as +2 stops. I wonder if bracketing would help.
I thought this was a Hobby until I got home and checked in google lens, but its actually a Peregrine Falcon. They look remarkably similar!
Red Kite.
Herring Gull.
Lapwing.
Little Egret.
Greylag. I thought they slept sat on the ground with the head curled onto the back, and they do, but also standing on one leg.
Common Tern.
The water level is receding rapidly now and the small islands re-appearing. Canada Good, Jackdaw and Cows.
