Birds and Wildlife in France and Britain
European Birds and Wildlife in Their Natural Habitat
If you love wildlife you'll love these videos and photos, which I took while on holiday and day tips across England and France, featuring nature, wildlife and birds in northern Europe. Including our visits to the wetlands in the Bordeaux Region of France, with close-up video footage of storks nesting, and our holiday in the Lake District, England where I filmed swans being hand fed. In this article are also photos of some of the wildlife in my back garden.
Learn more about some of the wildlife in these two great European counties by exploring this article, viewing the wildlife photos and watching the wildlife video footage taken by me.
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Comprehensive How-to guide packed with practical tips and advice to become a Wildlife Photographer.
British and French Wildlife Photo Opportunities
I love wildlife and at every opportunity, whether it be in our back garden or on holiday, I try to capture it on film.
The best Photography and filming opportunities of wildlife and birds are in wildlife parks such as Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, England and Parc Ornithologique, France; both wetlands for birds that are opened to the public, designed and laid out to make it easy for tourists to see wildlife close up in their natural habitat without disturbing that habitat.
There are also usually good opportunities to get good film footage and photos of wildlife and birds elsewhere in England and France where there's plenty of water e.g. lakes, rivers and coastal regions; usually swans and ducks, and seagulls on the coast, but occasionally you do get a passing chance to see and film other wildlife if you're quick with the camera; provided you don't make any sudden movements.
Filming urban wildlife in your own back garden is probably the most difficult. We have plenty of wildlife in our garden but with the exception of the Robin most wildlife that frequents urban gardens, especially foxes, are camera shy.
Seagulls in Flight and Jellyfish on British Beach
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Illustrated with graphical photography; an amazing insight into the wildlife and landscapes in all 48 European countries.
British Rural and Urban Wildlife and Birds
Over the years as we've travelled the length and breadth of England and Wales I've photographed and filmed British wildlife at every chance and have written several associated articles on the wonders of British wildlife. Two of these articles on HubPages feature birds feeding in the Lake District including swans at Lake Windermere and wildlife British birds at Sticklebarn Tavern, Great Langdale. Another article I wrote also covers the black headed gulls feeding in the New Forest and 'One Contented British Urban Fox'. Below are some of the video footage and photographs of British wildlife and birds I've taken during some of our British Holidays and day trips in Britain.
British Places Featured in This Article
Viewpoints for the Lake District Osprey Project. Just one of many locations in the Lake District to view nature at its best in Britain.
Feed and watch friendly wildlife birds as you enjoy a relaxing meal in the middle of the countryside.
Fantastic day trip to Slimbridge Wetlands in Gloucestershire to see wildlife birds in their natural habitat; with great photography opportunities.
Oulton Broad is one of many Broads in the Norfolk Broads worth a day trip to see the beauty of nature in England; good facilities for tourists.
Quiet coastal tourist spot east of London, great beach, promenade, café (not much else and not too many visitors), although local swan population.
A great historic city in North West England dating back to Roman times, a great place to visit; we filmed the squirrel while walking through the park.
Twitchers at Dodd Wood in the Lake District, England
Below is Just a Little Walk on the Lite Side filmed by me while on holiday in the Lake District which starts with a visit to the famous William Wordsworth's childhood home and quickly moves onto watching Twitchers watching birds as part of the Osprey Project in the Lake District, England.
British Birds at Sticklebarn Tavern in the Lake District
The Natural Beauty of Wildlife
This video of British wildlife birds feeding at Sticklebarn Tavern, in the Lake District, England, was taken by me when we stopped off at the Tavern for a bite to eat before making our way back to our holiday accommodation in the Lake District.
I’m not an expert on Ornithology so I can’t name all the British wildlife birds in the video but it was great fun watching them feed while we enjoyed a quite meal outside in this most scenic part of the Lake District.
Slimbridge Wetlands Wildlife Birds, Gloucestershire, England
If you love wildlife birds then there is no greater place in England to observe them in their natural habitat than at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire.
We only live an hour’s drive from Slimbridge so I’ve visited it several times over the years, and each time it’s a wonderful and fulfilling experience seeing so many wildlife birds, many native to Britain, living in their natural habitat. It makes for a fantastic day out.
Wildlife Birds at the Wetlands in Slimbridge
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeBirds on Oulton Broad in the Norfolk Broads, England
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeMistral the Swan and Her Family in Dovercourt, Essex, England
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeThe Full Mistral Story
- The Mistral Story
Read the full story of Mistral the swan from the ponds (boating lake) in Dovercourt, Essex, England.
Chester Squirrels
A Most Gracious Creature Befitting of the English Countryside
Squirrels are part of the British Wildlife. The Red squirrel is native to Britain but it’s a rare glimpse to see one because they have predominantly been displaced by the grey squirrel introduced to Britain over 100 years ago.
However, whether grey or red, it’s a delight to catch a glimpse of these magnificent creatures, and while visiting Chester we had that rare privilege so I took the opportunity to capture the moment on camera.
British Urban Fox
Contented Fox Early One Morning
The British Urban Fox is such a delight to watch, a passive animal that has adapted and fitted so well into British Urban Life.
We have the fortune of having a healthy population of Urban Foxes in Bristol and most nights they make visits to our back garden, under the cover of darkness; and being shy creatures we only often catch glimpses of them, and catching them on film is almost impossible; so this video is a rare and privileged footage I managed to take early one morning while on holiday near a sea port in southern England waiting for our ferry to dock to take us to France.
Urban Wildlife in My Back Garden
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Educational wildlife DVD, for all ages, that introduces you to and gives you an insight and understanding of European Wildlife.
Wildlife and Birds in France
Nature at its Best
When on holiday in France the best opportunities we have for filming wildlife is either in zoos, aquariums, butterfly farms or to see animals in the wild in their natural habitat in one of the wildlife parks (parcs) such as Parc Ornithological at du Teich in the Bordeaux Region of France.
I've written several associated articles on the wonders of French wildlife. The video footage on one article starts with a pigeon doing a little funny dance on a footbridge while we were feeding the swans on a lake in a local park in Bordeaux. Other articles I've written concentrates on the birds in the Parc Ornithologique at du Teich, a wild life bird park near Bordeaux which includes close-ups of storks nesting; and 'Parc Floral et Tropical' in the Vendee, France portraying nature at its best.
French Places Featured in This Article
A great day trip to see wildlife birds in their natural habitat; it’s similar to Slimbridge in England but a bit smaller; great for photography.
Tranquil Park packed with tropical plants and wildlife, and a city farm so tourists can get close to animals and appreciate nature at first hand.
Storks Nesting at Parc Ornithologique
Ornithological Park in Southern France
Here is my video clip of storks nesting in the Ornithological Park in France, so view and enjoy.
Parc Ornithologique du Teich
Bird Park in France
This video clip is of Parc Ornithologique at du Teich (Ornithological Park), a wetlands wildlife nature reserve for wildlife and birds; located in the south of France near Bordeaux; a most wonderful place to visit if you happen to get the chance to visit this region of France.
Park Floral et Tropical, Vendee, France
A tropical garden in the Vendee, France, packed with nature and wildlife, and a fantastic place to visit and spend a peaceful day leisurely meandering around the gardens soaking up the tranquillity and natural beauty of nature.