One of the major attractions of Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, is the ability to see Red Squirrels up close and personal. I had the pleasure of visiting the Dorset Wildlife Trust reserve there on the Island, twice in October, when the squirrels are actively feeding and hiding nuts for the winter ahead. They come very close to people, even sitting eating on the tables right next to you. Here
On a recent visit to Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve, I had the pleasure to watch and photograph some Common Terns feeding their youngsters at close range. Viewing them from the aptly named Tern Hide overlooking Ibsley Water, the young terns perched on posts only a few feet from the windows. Here is a profile picture of one of the juvenilles sitting on one of said posts. I was also fortunate
On a post Christmas visit to Blashford Lakes, to try out a Pro Viewfinder Loupe ( a loupe that fits on the LCD screen on Canon Cameras that enables easier videoing, as it acts as an eyepeice ), I was fortunate to see a very beautiful kingfisher. Not only was the kingfisher fairly close to the Ivy North Hide window, but it stayed around for a fair while, enabling me to shoot some photos of the bird, as well as video it.
The Loupe worked very well and I was able to use my Canon with a 300mm F4 Lens, plus 1.4 x Convertor much easier in video mode, as I could hold it up to my eye to video & not have to have it at arms lengths.
Here are a couple of photos of said Kingfisher.
