On Monday we have the pleasure of welcoming Peter Warne to the Society.
Peter Warne is a member of Loughton Camera Club and has been photographing and documenting the wildlife around Copped Hall, holding study days and exhibiting there from time to time.
He will give us a quick introduction to what’s going on with the house, but his main talk will be about the wildlife to be seen in the various habitats. He will also try to anticipate questions we may have on wildlife photography and the value of fieldwork
From the Copped Hall website;
My involvement with the programme to investigate the wildlife of Copped Hall began in April 2012 building on the earlier work of Iris Newbery. We have now published one of our short reports upon the findings – available through our regular sales channels – and I am pleased to report that the species list is already running to a total of 90. The bulk of these species are birds because they are the easiest to see but we continue to add mammals and a wealth of invertebrates.
The joy of carrying out this work for the Trust is not just that for a biologist and would be photographer it is a wonderful opportunity. It is equally the interaction I enjoy with the gardeners and restoration team.
Our builders Robert, Paul and Adam are very knowledgeable wildlife watchers and it was they who pointed me towards pied wagtails nesting in the rooftops of the mansion.
Paul and Adam also have the doubtful honour of having their pictures of a young little owl included in the presentations I have been making to various institutions in the area. This was a particularly important find after finding a dead owl last year and fearing we might have lost our breeding pair.
On the subject of owls, we know from the evidence of barn owl feathers that we still have breeding pairs of this beautiful bird locally and a male tawny owl makes its presence known by hooting at least twice a day. Heard but rarely seen. Our other birds of prey continue to attract attention and kestrels, sadly declining elsewhere, are frequent sightings alongside good numbers of buzzards.
Peter will be holding photography workshops at Copped Hall in 2017.
17th May 2017 – £25 – Wildlife at Copped Hall
12th August 2017 – £50 – Close up of flora and Fauna
You can see more of Peter’s work on Flickr.