Wildlife photography talk at U3A

Westbury and District U3A was entertained by a talk by wildlife photographer, Philip Mugridge, on 13th November. 

The audience was enthralled as the pictures were shown. Not only were they beautiful to see, but Philip also talked about some of the techniques he uses when photographing both animals and birds. 

The talk started with the birds at Slimbridge during winter, many of the pictures showed birds in motion at takeoff and landing. Philip explained that many birds shake themselves before taking off so he knows when to have his finger on the shutter. In addition, his modern digital camera takes eight pictures a second, so he has plenty of pictures to select from. 

Winter views of frozen trees, as well as the wildlife of Finland followed, as did red squirrels in Scotland. The squirrels love hazelnuts and will find any whole ones placed near them and remove them to their hoarding place. However if the shell has been cracked, the squirrels eat the nuts as they find them, inadvertently posing for photographs. 

A visit to Lake Michigan in late spring and early summer enabled Philip to photograph newborn chicks; the pictures showed some chicks nestling on their parents’ back. In this case boat trips were common on the lake and so the ducks and other wildlife were used to the presence of humans. 

There were many questions which Philip answered during refreshments. 

Next month, on Tuesday December 11th, members are out for a Christmas Lunch followed by a visit to Salisbury Christmas markets on Thursday th. Monthly meetings at the URC restart with the new year on January 8th, new members are always welcome.