A fluffy baby tawny owl sits stock-still in the crook of a tree and falls asleep while I watch. An inquisitive roe deer doe emerges from the undergrowth to gawp at me from a few feet away as I walk a woodland path. Britain’s tiniest bird – a goldcrest – balances on a leaf as it hunts for insects among the vivid red and dark green of a winter holly bush.
These are some of my favourite wildlife encounters. They all happened within a mile or two of my home, and they were all captured in photos featured on this website.
I live in a suburban part of Halifax in West Yorkshire, but a few minutes’ walk takes me into woods and fields where I love to roam with my camera. It may not be a national park or a nature reserve, but it does give me endless opportunities to explore the wonders of “everyday” wildlife on my doorstep, and I hope this website might encourage other people to do the same wherever they happen to live.
After a long career in journalism – including 25 years as a TV producer on BBC Look North in Yorkshire – I’ve decided it’s time to swap news for nature, so I’ve started working as a volunteer for wildlife charities. You may come across me shivering on a windswept Pennine hillside trying to record sightings of elusive rare birds or pursuing endangered butterflies through a Dales meadow.
I write a nature blog for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Potteric Carr reserve near Doncaster. You can read it here: https://www.ywt.org.uk/blog
Please respect my copyright and get in touch if you’d like to buy any of my photos. I really hope you enjoy the pictures and words – and find the opportunity to head out on nature adventures of your own.
Rod Jones