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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Farnboro John" data-source="post: 1699698" data-attributes="member: 36432">Thank you very much.  It comes of thinking very hard about how to get close enough to the various animals for a picture, because what works for one species (or individual) won't necessarily work for another, and trying for pix is a whole order of magnitude more difficult than just getting a sighting (which can be hard enough in itself).  As a result my fieldcraft and photographic technique has become more varied and inventive over the last five years than the change over the previous twenty - and still there are animals out there that I get a headache trying to think what might work on them!There are a few common themes:Hours in the field matter - the more you are out the more you will see, and the more mistakes you will have the opportunity to learn from.....Bait is massively useful, sometimes in unexpected ways e.g. shrews coming to seed in late winter/early spring as well as the expected rodents.  Multi-day baiting works even better.  it matters when you put the bait down: don't expect rodents to get much seed if you put it down in the morning then leave, the birds will eat it.Learning to move slowly and in a controlled manner is more useful than hiding behind things.  This includes the restraint to raise your bins or turn your head very slowly when instinct makes you want to whip round or flick your bins up. Moving very slowly also allows you to pick exactly where to put your feet, which keeps noise down.  Learning what surfaces make what noises leads you to choose the quietest, and this can change depending on dryness/dampness as well - there's always something else to learn.....Its amazing how well an oblique approach works.  An animal that will spook if you go straight towards it will often keep still if you aim ten yards to one side or the other.Keeping still is of course even better.  Watching animals for patterns of movement or finding game trails can put you in the perfect ambush.  Of course you can't always look  in both directions at once: lying on a track waiting for voles I once half-turned at a small sound behind me to find a Brown Hare stepping carefully over my legs.  I stayed still and watched it go about its business - watching me warily but not spooked.There's plenty more.  No doubt others have their tips as well.John</blockquote>

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