2014 has been a good year for me photography wise. Since starting in 2011 I have seen and even managed to photograph species that I never thought I would ever come across.

My top 5 highlights of the year are as follows and are not necessarily picked on the shot but the whole day/experience.

5th place

Collared pratincole…..This bird appeared locally and attracted a lot of attention and proved very difficult to photograph, every time I had chance either before or after work I would go down and try again for a better chance, perseverance eventually paid off and I was only one of a few that had the bird come close enough to me for a reasonable shot.

Collared pratincoleNortham, Devon

4th place

little Owls…..This was another great encounter, whilst I have photographed these birds before I had never attempted them in flight, and in great company with Neil Neville another photography highlight for me.

Little OwlI cut off the wing tip on this shot so have used photoshop to make the image worth keeping

3rd place...

Barn Owl…..The reason for this is certainly not the shot as I have only just started to get any pictures and this was actually New years eve. This is based on the fact that this project has given me a real boost as I was at times starting to get bored with just taking the same old shots. Already i have put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to get this site working and I am really looking forward to the next 12 months working it.

2nd place…

Capercaillie….This bird is just fabulous to watch and is one I never thought I would encounter so to actually photograph it was a real thrill, fortunately I had someone with me (not a photographer ) to share this experience with.

1st place….

Kingfisher…Now this bird richly deserves my top spot. Myself and Rob Cross have been down by the river for more hours than I care to think trying to get some good shots of this bird. Perched shots were achieved, quickly followed by perched shots with fish. Each year these were improved upon and as always we were looking for something more, we managed this with a few landing shots which in turn inspired us to try for the diving and emerging shots. So much time, effort and planning has gone into getting these results it just has to be my 2014 highlight………hopefully this year it will again put in an appearance so we can try again!

KingfisherPrivate site, River Torridge, Devon