Local Birdwatcher shares his fantastic wildlife snaps

Through 45 years of marriage to his wife Cheryl, health scares, kids and grandkids, he has continued to take fantastic pictures using any and all equipment available to him throughout the UK, including some incredible shots of the wildlife at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ Fairburn Ings nature reserve at Castleford.

Les, an MOT tester who works full time, has taken to uploading pictures of birds that he has seen to Facebook, in places such as the “Pontefract Community Page”, where they have garnered rave reviews from locals.

“I have been into photography for a very long time – 40 plus years!” Les said when asked about why he does what he does.

"In February 2020 I had a heart attack that slowed me down a bit but soon I was out and about with my camera again.

"In March I ended up on furlough for three months - the weather was beautiful and noticed lots of birds in the garden. I thought I’d have a look. The first photo I took was of a bird in flight – a black bird flying from one side of the garden to the other. I was hooked”.

From that first picture, Les has gone from strength to strength, taking more and more impressive pictures of a variety of birds.

Les took his love of photography as a way to deal with his heart attack, saying: “The doctor said I needed plenty of exercise so to kill two birds with one stone (if you’ll pardon the pun), I was out every day with the camera looking for birds”.

"We joined the RSPB and visited the local nature reserves as often as we could.

"Fairburn Ings RSPB nature reserve is 10 minutes away from where I lives and there is a Kingfisher screen (planks of wood with holes in for the lens to fit through). We stood there for three hours waiting and praying one would come and then it did”.

"It was amazing! It took me 64 years to see my first Kingfisher and worth the wait - I couldn’t wait to go back. Three years later, I’ve lost count of how many times I have stood at that screen and still do - If I went there tomorrow and saw one it would be just like the first time”.

One of the more appealing aspects for Les, who is from Elmet, is the community that he has become a part of since he started taking his pictures, from the lovely comments he receives online to the other people who partake in the hobby.

"Since starting bird photography, I have met lots of people with the same interests as me.

"We all have the same passion for our hobby. The camera equipment we use can be as cheap or expensive as you like but the best camera you can get is the one you have with you.”