Month by month
A year of wildlife photography
What the British year offers a wildlife photographer, and when. Timings shift with the weather and with how far north you are, so treat each month as a guide. Where I have written up a trip, the entry links to it.
January
- Wildfowl gathered on lakes and flooded fields.
- Robins and other small birds, easier to see and approach in bare hedges.
- Frost on leaves and seed heads, for the macro lens.
The sun stays low all day, so the light is usable from morning to mid-afternoon.
February
- Snowdrops, the first flowers worth getting down on the ground for.
- Grey herons, among the earliest birds to start nesting.
- The first frogspawn in ponds and ditches.
A mild, still morning after a cold spell brings a lot out at once.
March
- Brown hares boxing in open fields.
- Frogs and toads on the move to their breeding ponds.
- Early blossom, and the first bumblebees working it.
Hares are best at first light, from a distance, with the longest lens you have.
April
- Bluebells, from the second half of the month.
- Birds carrying nesting material.
- The first butterflies of the year.
- Puffins and other seabirds back on their colonies.
Stay well back from anything nesting. If a bird changes what it is doing because of you, you are too close.
May
- Bluebell woods at their best in the first half of the month.
- Cygnets, ducklings and goslings on the water.
- The first damselflies.
Young birds on water are best photographed from as low as you can get.
June
- Deer calves and fawns. Keep your distance and never approach one lying alone.
- Orchids and meadow flowers.
- Dragonflies and damselflies.
- Seabird colonies at their busiest, with puffins bringing in fish.
Insects are slow and still in the cool of early morning, which is the time for macro.
July
- Butterflies at their peak.
- Bees, hoverflies and beetles on thistles and knapweed.
- Fledged young birds, still being fed by their parents.
Puffins leave their colonies around the end of the month, so do not leave a seabird trip too late.
August
- Heather in flower on heath and moor.
- Dragonflies at their most numerous.
- Swallows and martins gathering before they leave.
Harsh midday light is the problem this month. Work early and late.
September
- Spiders' webs strung with dew at dawn.
- The first fungi.
- The start of the red deer rut towards the end of the month.
Dew burns off quickly. Be out at sunrise.
October
- The deer rut at its height, red and fallow. I wrote about a morning with them at Bushy Park.
- Fungi at their peak.
- Autumn colour, which also suits intentional camera movement.
Rutting stags are dangerous. Stay at least 50 metres away and never stand between two of them.
November
- Starling murmurations at dusk.
- Grey seal pups on some coasts. Watch from the marked viewing areas only.
- Teasels, seed heads and mist, which suit black and white.
For murmurations, arrive an hour before sunset and expect to wait.
December
- Starling murmurations continue.
- Redwings and fieldfares feeding on berries.
- Owls hunting in daylight on still winter afternoons.
- Frost and ice in close-up.
Batteries drain quickly in the cold. Carry a spare in an inside pocket.