2014 saw the opening of a new Reflection Pool for bird photography. Last year’s pool proved successful in attracting a variety of species including jay and great spotted woodpecker and I had a number of clients who enjoyed fantastic bird photography. To attract a greater variety of species I decided to move the pool to a new location on the farm. It took a few days to get everything moved and prepared, along with the dome hide. Feeding started around late November and after a few weeks I was getting the usual birds visiting the site.
My main reason for choosing a different location was to encourage finches onto to the reflection pool – namely bullfinch, goldfinch, yellowhammer and reed bunting. With this in mind I chose a spot by a hedgerow often frequented by these species. Situating the pool within around ten feet from the hedgerow would make some of the warier species feel more comfortable and the nearby bracken and bramble gave extra cover too. By Christmas I had succeeded in getting three species of tit, chaffinch, robin and blackbird onto the pool edge. Now in mid-January these birds are regularly visiting and extremely comfortable on the pool end. An exciting addition in January has been a regular pair of reed bunting and occasional male bullfinch. Goldfinches continue to visit sporadically to feed on nyger and will hopefully make the leap onto the pool soon.! Redwings and fieldfares regularly fly over head , so an offering of apples will hopefully coax them down.
A large dome hide is set up next to the pool with a shallow pit dug to get a lower level. The hide is much larger than the standard dome hides which gives plenty of room (5 foot square; 5′ 8″ high) for one person and lots of equipment. At a squeeze it is possible to fit two people in the hide. The hide is North facing with the sun coming gradually over the hedgerow in the morning and then uninterrupted sun until late afternoon. The site is in Thorner, between Leeds and Wetherby, a couple of miles from the A1.
If you would like to book the hide for a day visit the Reflection Pool Hide page. Any questions please contact me at paul@naturephotographycourses.co.uk
Farmland Bird Photography Reflection Pool
