As we finish another journey around the Sun, wildlife photographers will reflect on their year and think about their favourite wildlife moments. On this last day of 2024, I've taken some time to do the same, so here are my highlights from 2024!
2024 had barely kicked off and we were away on our Around the World trip; a holiday of a lifetime with a good handful of memorable WILDlife moments thrown in.
To pick just a few from that trip .... Grey Whales off the California coast, Fur Seals and Albatrosses off the South Island, New Zealand coast at Kaikoura, all brought dramatic WILD action to an already exciting trip.
Back home, while spring in the Northern hemisphere was still hitting the snooze button, I discovered that our little vacation apparently sent out party invitations to a dashing male Sparrowhawk. Diving into my freezer stash of unfortunate cat-related bird casualties, I rolled out the red carpet right outside our study window. This led to some VIP close-ups of him thoroughly enjoying his complimentary buffet!
The yearly frog frenzy in our garden pond kicked off on the exact same day as the past five years. This shot of one of our amphibian guests, surrounded by the colourful reflections in the pre-spring water, and is my favourite from this year's attempts to capture the scene.
After supporting our local Fox pair with food through the winter, they repaid us by bringing their young to visit, where they got along well with the hedgehog family that appeared each night.
It's been a few years since I paid a visit to Tom's Kingfisher hide and despite a gloomy dark day, these incredible birds lit up the view as they always do!
It's mid-summer, and we're off to the enchanting Outer Hebrides! If you missed my blog post about this incredible adventure, don't worry - here are some of my favourite moments from this year's WILDlife photography escapade. The Northern Isles are truly magical, and my journey with my good friend Ian Ireland was packed with unforgettable experiences!
The biggest plot twist from Mother Nature in 2024? The Northern Lights gatecrashing a quiet Autumn night, here in sleepy Warwickshire! Who knew we had VIP passes to the celestial disco?
I don't enter as many photography contests these days, but I did submit a photo from a previous trip to the Outer Hebrides to the Society of International and Wildlife Photographers (SINWP) Bird Photographer of the Year competition, which benefits the RSPB.
My photo of a juvenile Cuckoo being fed high on a wire by it's exhausted Meadow Pipit 'parent' and taken through the open sunroof of my BMW X5 'safari vehicle', won a Highly Commended honour ..... and very happy with that I was too!
.... and so to the final few shots of 2024, taken on a brief visit to see Joe & Kate in LA. Walks on the beach and around the Marina where they live, yielded some great end of year sightings to a tremendous 2024 of WILDlife photography.
So all that's left to do is to wish all my family, friends, followers and fellow WILDlife Photographers the happiest of New Year's peace, prosperity and good fortune.
Here's to a great 2025 for us all!
What a fabulous array of photos Andy. I thoroughly enjoy your yearly round up
Some wonderful images together with great memories I'm sure. I look forward to meeting up with you sometime in 2025.
Regards
Andy, Jersey