Sam Carter is an award winning photographer specialising in pet and animal photography throughout Hampshire and Surrey.
Main website: www.pawprintsphotography.co.uk
Although most of the animals I photograph are usually pets, this week I managed to grab a few sneaky shots of some baby blackbirds.
The mum had decided that in the grapevine, 3 inches above my front door, was the perfect place to build her nest this year. It actually only took her about 3 days to build the nest and then she was straight on it, I assumed sitting on eggs. I counted the 3 weeks that the eggs should take to hatch and listened out for any little chirps that might indicate some new arrivals. Mum was off the nest for prolonged periods by now but I couldn't hear any cheaps or chirps.
Yesterday, while she was off foraging I took the opportunity to grab a couple of photographs to see if there was anything in the nest or whether the fortune I was spending on blackbird seed, suet pellets and meal worms was all in vain. I held the camera above my head, careful not to get too close to the nest or to touch it, and fired off 3 images.
Not only did she have chicks in there but there were 4 of them! From the looks of them I would guess that they are coming up for about 2 weeks old. Baby birds are not the most graceful or elegant looking animals, they tend to be all beak. Few people would probably use the word 'cute' to describe them, but I think they are. Mind you, I'm a sucker for any baby animal!
If you need help or advice about wild birds nesting in your garden or baby wild birds, you can get information from the RSPB's website by
clicking here.
If you have a pet, whether its furry, feathered or scaled, take a look at our website and see just how affordable it is to have a professional photographic portrait of your pet carried out.
http://www.pawprintsphotography.co.uk/.
