Words by Peter Hanscomb

I love nothing more than getting out into the great outdoors with my camera. Sometimes returning home with a plethora of stunning images ( in my dreams anyway )  and sometimes having not even switched the camera on . For me the main joy is just being out and about immersed in nature. It doesn’t matter if it’s watching Kingfishers catching fish or one of my local foxes , running off with an egg from the end of my drive.

Nature , the animals are for me the most important element of my photographic passion, one reason so much of this photography blog is dedicated to them.  I guess I’m  the same as most other wildlife photographer’s, I want to continue to improve my photography, and as my friend Bob Brind-Surch often says , the best way to improve your wildlife shots is to spend time getting to know your subject.

If you regularly visit wildonline then you will know that 2018 must have been the year of the Hedgehog. Hog Cam , our new sponsor Spikes World , the Hedgehog houses in my garden and the arrival of Grumpy and Happy  , the two rescue Hedgehogs who will be living with us until their release later this year.

2018 has been a great year for my developing knowledge of all things Hog. I would never claim to be an expert , far from it and having rescue Hedgehogs has been a very short,  sharp learning curve . However my knowledge has grown together with a greater empathy for our little spiked garden visitors.

Ever keen to understand the hedgehog and increase my knowledge I came across a book on line , Hedgehog by Pat Morris . If your love hedgehogs this is definitely the book for you.

Four hundred and four pages dedicated to the life of the hedgehog , from an expert author and naturalist covering every aspect of hedgehog life . I can honestly say that I can’t put this book down at the moment and it’s been an invaluable source of information and reference whilst trying to understand my two little house guests.

Will it improve my Hedgehog photography, only time will tell but it’s definitely improved my understanding of this little Mammal and reconfirmed my love and respect for hedgehog

Hedgehog by Pat Morris

available in

hardback                978-0-00-823570-3

and paperback      978-0-00-823573-4

Kit Bag – Sigma 150-600mm Sport

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSMS S As a wildlife photographer at sometime or another we are all going to need a long zoom lens to fully capture that one shot , so what happens if you don’t have £ 9,000 pounds available for a 500mm L series lens, or your shooting with one body […]

by phans66 January 26, 2021January 23, 2021

PROTECTION FOR HEDGEHOGS

From the BBC A group of MPs is calling for hedgehog nesting sites to get the same protections as those for bats and badgers, in an effort to boost numbers. Former Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has tabled an amendment to the Environment Bill, which he said would help “Britain’s favourite animal”. The spiky mammals should […]

by phans66 January 26, 2021January 26, 2021

CITES

CITES by Peter Hanscomb CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Widespread information nowadays about the endangered status of many prominent species, […]

by phans66 January 25, 2021January 23, 2021