An evening with Susan Buckland and Tim Downton

Part 1

Susan Buckland – Documenting UK Wildlife

If you have ever been for a walk in the woods with Sue, you’ll know that she has eyes and ears like a hawk. She can identify birdsong and spot the tiniest of brown birds far away amongst the leaves or undergrowth.

Last night we were treated to a myriad of different UK birds (I lost count of how many different ones we saw) not forgetting the mammals and insects just thrown in for good measure. From our smallest birds like the firecrest and goldcrest to the largest raptors, Sue knows them all and carefully pointed out their main identifying features. It made me realise not only how many different birds there are in the UK, many of which can be seen quite locally, but also how colourful many of them are. 

Quite a few of the birds I’ve never seen let alone photographed and there is a simple reason why; as well as being a brilliant photographer, Sue has fieldcraft and lots and lots of patience. She gets herself to the right locations, at the right times and is prepared to wait. Last night we saw the results of her labours, and they were nothing short of remarkable with beautifully captured images many of which documented those important moments through their life cycle.

Part 2

Tim Downton – Sunrise to Sunset on the Danube Delta

Tim said Sue had the hard part having to deal with natural messy backgrounds whilst his were ‘easy’ with many images taken from hides with a near perfect background. However, nothing is ever easy with wildlife. Tim started off explaining his ‘basic’ kit, and simple processing workflow. 

On their Danube trips they often add extra days to photograph other wildlife in the area, on farmland or in the forests, often from hides. We saw images of eagles, bee-eaters and hoopoes to name just a few together with a family of brown bears. He showed us the bear hide and the little boat that took them around the Danube Delta although he didn’t mention the facilities in either which was for me a nagging question. 

Tim explained that on their Danube ‘holidays’ the alarm goes off at 4am! They need to be on the river for sunrise and, as they say, ‘The early bird catches the worm’. Well, we saw plenty of worms together with frogs, fish and insects, all at various stages of being greedily devoured by the amazing birds found along the Delta. From black necked grebes and night herons to the huge white pelicans, they saw so many incredible birds. Sue, with her hawklike eyes, even spotted bitterns in the reeds that the guides had missed. 

Tim pointed out that the photos from the Danube were all taken with IBM, otherwise known as ‘In Boat Movement’, but you couldn’t tell this from his images which were of course all pin sharp and stunning.

The good news, if you missed last night, is that Sue and Tim have even more images and AVs to show us on another evening. Thank you both and we are already looking forward to the next time.

Jane Lee