We first discovered the British Wildlife Centre a while ago when browsing for places to go, unlike a run of the mill zoo it only houses British wildlife.
We went there as a normal visitor the first time to see what it was like and although it’s not the largest place in the world it definitely had potential, so we decided to get the proper photography day tickets. Of course, this was another opportunity to use the new Canon 100-500mm RF lenses we have. Thankfully unlike the trip to The Big Cat Sanctuary, the weather held up fairly well, no need to try and make makeshift camera rain covers or deal with a drenched coat.
The first item on the agenda was the red squirrels, it was a bit touch and go whether they would come out of their hiding spots and have some food, but eventually after waiting a little while they started to be tempted out. The way they laid out the enclosure means you can walk around on decking inside the enclosure, so it provided us with many different angles.
I have always liked squirrel’s so watching them sit there and munch on some food was great to see, normally they are all the way up in the tree or running so fast you don’t really get to see them.
Next up was the field mice. Being so tiny they were difficult to shoot without a decent macro lens, the 100-500mm allowed me to stand a bit further back than the group and still get some of the surrounding foliage which was helpful.
Next was a trip to see the owls, and first one out was a Barn Owl which was mostly an airborne display, it was very hard to get any good shots of that with the lenses I’d brought so nothing really to show for that, however the next thing was a perched Tawny Owl.
Next was the second highlight, Hedgehogs! At first, we were photographing the hedgehogs on the grass which while perfectly normal habitat, it was not as spectacular as you might imagine, especially when the hedgehog wanted to wander around and explore. So, we found a patch of nice golden leaves that thankfully were still sitting just around the corner and the hedgehog loved it.
Once we had finished with the hedgehog, we moved into the enclosures, the first one was with some of the foxes. Initially they were weary of us all standing and kneeling on the ground at the inside edge of the enclosure but eventually they came closer.
The next enclosure we entered was the wild cats, looking at the photos you would be forgiven for thinking they were just domestic cats, but apparently if you were to get close and stroke them you would not have a hand left. They were anything but cuddly.
And finally, we went into the otter enclosure. We thought it would be a lost cause after the first few minutes, the otters didn’t seem to want to come out and play, but eventually after a lot of encouragement they did.
Overall, it was an enjoyable day, well planned out and with a decent level of variety, and I got some decent photos in the end so who can complain?
Posted in: Photography