Species - Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
Location - Commercial Hide, Hawes, Yorkshire Dales
Grid Ref - Withheld
It was an advert that popped up on Facebook for a visit to a private hide in Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales, and after a few emails with Paul Fowlie Photography I arranged to meet Paul in the middle of Hawes. I wasn’t quite blindfolded but I was taken by car to a secret location where Paul has a couple of hides in some private woodlands.
After a short walk we arrived at the first hide which has room for about 3 photographers but luckily I had the place to myself today. Paul spent about half an hour laying nuts around the site, then returned into the hide. It wasn’t long before the first red squirrels appeared. Paul was excellent and offered tips on camera settings before he disappeared leaving me on my own for a few hours.
You don’t need a tripod in these hides, you can use either a beanbag or screw your gimbal head onto one of the special plates in the windows of the hide. There were dozens of red squirrels everywhere, with some guest appearances from a Tree Creeper, Blue Tits and Pheasants, and I bet I took well over a thousand images.
Eventually Paul returned and helped me set up for a jumping squirrel shot which I managed to get, then it was time to head back to the car but there was absolutely no time pressure from Paul. There is also another hide in the woods which I didn’t visit and this has a reflection pool which I intend to use on my next visit.
