Spring may not officially have started, but I am so ready for it! This is probably my favourite season with so many opportunities for spring photography. It is at this time of year that they weather gets warmer which makes for a more pleasant photography experience. There are also plenty of subjects to capture for a nature and wildlife photographer such as myself. 

Spring Photography – What to look out for?

Spring flowers

We have to wait until 20th March for the official first day of spring, but the first signs are already showing. While out and about getting inspiration for my next  project I am inspired by the emerging daffodils and crocuses. Flowers make brilliant subjects for photography. With the stunning colours and interesting shapes it is hard to not get a lovely photograph! 

Another seasonal flower to keep an eye out for is the bluebell. If you are lucky enough to live near a “bluebell wood” you should be able to capture some truly stunning images. The bluebells create a carpet of blue on the floor of woodland and will some chinks of sunlight streaming through the trees you will be able stunning scenes. 

Wildlife

Animal behaviour is changing too. With the longer, warmer days and more food available there is the emergence of animals coming out of hibernation. Many animals have their babies at this time of year which can also lead to some cute baby animal photographs.  

Frogs and toads are on the move to find their breeding ponds. Once the weather gets warmer these amphibians emerge from hibernation. The head to a safe undisturbed body of water to breed. Travelling in large groups at night, often having to cross busy roads to get to their pond.  To try and see some of these reptiles you will need to head to a freshwater pond. They prefer a body of water that has no currents.  Once the breeding season is over they tend to move away from the pond, so now is a good time to try and find some! 

Other animal behaviour at this time the appearance of baby animals, many of which are cute and fluffy!

Birds

cute spring duckling

The best place to see young birds is at a dedicated reserve such as WWT or and RSPB reserve. Here you can see goslings, ducklings and baby coots and moorhens wandering around quite freely. This makes it easy to capture some cute springtime images. You do not have to go to one of these reserves however as there are many sites when young birds can be spotted. Any park or area of countryside with a lake or pond can be a great place to start looking. This baby moorhen photo was captured at Swanbourne Lake in Arundel, where many birds feed and nest. 

Farm animals

Spring lamb

Lambs, calfs and chicks also make great subjects. Many farms open their doors during lambing season allowing people to come and see the baby animals up close. This is a great experience if you have young kids, but also makes a great photo opportunity. 

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The Quizzical Gosling

Spring photography opportunities – baby birds

I love this image that I managed to capture in Spring 2017. It was a lucky shot where they gosling happened to look towards the camera right at the perfect moment! I think the goslings are my favourite of the baby birds – they are ridiculously cute! Ducklings of course a very sweet too. A special mention too to the awkward scraggly moorhen babies – a truly ugly duckling with oversized feet and thin pin feathers. You can see some of my old images of some spring babies in this post from 2016.

Do you love this quizzical Gosling?

Buy it here: I want that gosling!

Sara Sadler

Photographer

I am a fine art photographer based in the South of England. I enjoy sharing my photographic adventures, hints and tips.

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sarasadlerphotography.co.uk