My last blog about Snettisham was the most successful photoblog I have ever written in terms of views and traffic (read it here if you have not already read it). I am not entirely sure why, but I think the main reason is that Snettisham was in the mainstream news recently due to the record numbers of Red Knot gathering off The Wash. It was covered by the BBC, The Guardian, and a whole host of other news companies, as around 140,000 birds were estimated to be there, a new high count for the reserve. So, people were naturally googling about the spectacle, and my last article ranks quite high when you type in something like 'Snettisham Waders', or 'Snettisham High Tide roost'. As I mentioned in that article, I like to go there every year, sometimes numerous times per year as it is a real natural spectacle, and an excellent photographic opportunity where you have plenty of time, and subjects, to practice your photography skills. With that in mind, I went, with a mission to get some different photos to the shots I got in the last article. Naturally, they would be different because it was a different time of the year, and a different time of the day, but I wanted to experiment with a few new techniques, and also refine some of the ones I tried last time.
This spectacle only happens at the highest tides of the year combined with when the largest number of birds have arrived in the UK from their winter breeding grounds in the Arctic Tundra. So broadly speaking, this can only really happen between August and March, I.e. late summer to the end of winter. This year was the earliest I have ever had the chance to get down there, so I was expecting to see some of the freshly arrived Knot in their 'Red' breeding plumage. Anyway, I got there the night before and decided to do a quick recce trip around the reserve at Snettisham and to catch the sunset, which is always pretty special here. I always get slightly disoriented on this stretch of the coast, as you know you are in the east, so you get the impression that you are on the east coast, looking out eastwards to the sea. But it's the opposite, as you are on the wash, and the water and sun are out to the west, allowing for proper sunsets! Confusing, but you either have to be there to understand what I am talking about, or look at a map at the geography of the Wash and Snettisham.
The tide was coming in and pushing small groups of Knot off the mudflats and along the coast, with the sun setting behind them, creating lovely black silhouettes on the glistening waves. I decided to knock the shutter speed right down to 1/15th second, to try to catch the motion, which led to this shot that I really like. I will most certainly get this up on my wall somewhere. I tracked the birds at the same speed as they were flying which gives that look of movement.
Red knot at dusk with a slow shutter speed of 1/15, ISO 160, f 5.6.
Apart from that sequence of shots, the light was pretty much gone, and I didn't really do much more photography and just sat and enjoyed the tranquility.
The next morning I was up and out early as I was meeting some friends for the main event. If you are ever planning on going then you need to get to the main RSPB car park 1-2 hours before the high tide time as it's quite a walk to the main viewing areas and hides, especially if you are carrying a load of gear like me. On the walk the light was decent and the numbers were really building out on the wash, and the spectacle was gathering momentum. I have more pictures of that bit (from the past) than I care to mention, so I decided to go and check out the new hide that the RSPB has created on the Gravel Pits. Ultimately, the birds will be pushed towards the hides, so I got a head start. The new hide is a better viewing angle than the other hide and allows you to get really low to the surface of the water, similar to 'floating hide' photography. This is the angle that you get which is really nice:
Excellent viewing angle from the new hide at Snettisham which makes you feel at the same level of the water.
I managed to capture this lovely adult that was still in breeding plumage, and it was the only one so it really stood out against the rest of them. I love all the different angles that the new hide gives you.
One ‘Red’ Knot in a flock of Red Knot. I used my 1.4x converter and a heavy crop to get super close. 840mm lens length, 1/640, f8, ISO 330
I also like this shot which I have used filters in Lightroom to make it Black and White, yet capture any remaining red bits from the knot which still had remnants of their breeding plumage.
A mass of Knot that I have made almost black and white with a few remnant bits of the red breeding plumage highlighted.
As the tide got to its highest, the hide really started to fill up with people and became a one in one out affair due to covid restrictions, so places were limited. I really wanted to try a few other types of shots but I felt a bit pressured to move out the way of everyone, so eventually, I gave in and left the hide. But got some cracking shots.
I loved the symmetry in this shot, caused by all the birds looking the same way. I used a higher aperture of f8 to catch more focus in the varied distances of the birds heads, which still wasn’t enough for them all to be in focus. Shutter 1/640th, ISO 400.
My next goal was to capture flight shots and test a technique that my friend Dennis Atherton, (an excellent bird photographer) taught me, which some of you may or may not be aware of. I will attempt to explain it, as it is not the easiest to get your head around but once you do, it is an extremely useful tool in your arsenal. The concept in a nutshell is to use Aperture priority mode (Av on a Canon) on your camera to allow you to get the very fastest possible shutter speed that the surrounding light will allow, enabling you to stop the flight action and capture the detail. Firstly you have to choose the aperture and ISO and set it in stone, as this then remains the same, and the camera works out the shutter speed for you, always giving you the fastest available, allowing you to capture fast-moving objects precisely. Most lenses seem to have a sweet spot for ISO and Aperture, and I think this is readily available on the internet for any given lens. I found mine by trial and error in the field by tinkering around. I established that for my 600mm Canon lens, the best setting for this particular technique was to choose an aperture of 6.3 and an ISO of 400 if that light was good. This gave me these very fast and sharp shots of an extremely fast bird, flying towards me at some pace. Obviously, you could still do this in Manual mode, but there would be too many changes required in a short space of time, in order to capture the dynamic changes of the light and subject. Give it a whirl, your confidence will build with every attempt and you will soon, like me, be applying it in all sorts of situations.
The tide was lowering, and the birds were gradually leaving the spits of Snettisham, where they temporarily rested from the influx of water at the highest stage of the tide. When the sea starts retreating, they know it's going out without even being able to see it, and gradually leave the spits in smaller parties. When the last flocks were finally leaving, a Peregrine swooped in and caused chaos. It was almost saying come on move on, your time is up.
Peregrine falcon arriving, shutter 1/800, f8, ISO 400.
A burst of Red Knot leaving the reserve, shutter 1/1000, f7.1, ISO 400
Huge flocks started to gather back out on the wash, and the peregrine started causing absolute havoc, as massive numbers of birds started to panic.
A cloud of waders on the Wash.
I often wonder how so many birds are able to fly properly in such a dense flock. If you were a bird that was right in the middle, surely you couldn’t see anything but other birds in every direction, as well as it being hugely disorientating. It’s amazing how they are able to change direction at the same time as other birds in the murmuration. They must have extremely sharp senses or some kind of sixth sense.
A really thick cloud of waders passing low over the water.
From what I saw the peregrine wasn't very successful and made numerous failed attempts at catching its breakfast. It was great viewing but a bit too distant for good photographs.
Peregrine chasing a small flock
In recent times I have attempted to include humans in some of my wildlife photographs as I think it can sometimes be powerful. I had a go whilst at Snettisham and came up with these shots. I have no idea who these people are and I doubt they will recognise themselves, but if you do, give me a shout.
Revellers of the murmuration.
And that was that, another glorious day at Snettisham over till next time. Whilst in Norfolk I had a quick look at what other birds were turning up locally, and there was a Brown Shrike near Stiffkey. I had a quick mooch over there to get some snaps and it obliged quite nicely, even though the light and distance weren't great. Whilst at the twitch, I witnessed a staggering amount of wildlife in a very short space of time. In just 30 minutes I had a rare Brown Shrike, 2 Marsh Harrier, 30+ Golden Plover, at least 30 Brown Hare, Roe Deer, a hunting Stoat, and this beautiful barn owl right over my head. It would take all year where I live to see that list of species. Norfolk is a special place.
Brown Shrike near Stiffkey,
Barn Owl fly by.
A stoat looking for his lunch.
As always, thanks a lot for reading and I hope you learned something! Please sign up to my newsletter below and follow me on Instagram and Youtube. If you could share this article anywhere it would be really useful. And lastly, check out the video I created about this amazing wildlife spectacle below. Many thanks, Jay.