We put a lot of effort into finding locations for species that our clients are keen to photograph and we can apply decades of experience and fieldcraft…but we can’t control the weather. As we left the lowland coastal strip of Northumberland on Sunday, gaining altitude in a search for Black Grouse at some of our favoured spots in the North Pennines, the rain started to patter on the car windows. As the wind strengthened, and the pattering turned to a shower, this added another factor to our considerations; 1) find birds, 2) position vehicle so that a) client has a clear shot and b) lighting angle is good, were joined by c) rain isn’t drenching client 🙂 With all of those achieved it just remained for Arthur to fill his memory cards with those species that the North Pennines produces such close views of; Black Grouse, Red Grouse (with chicks), Curlew, Common Snipe, Lapwing, Golden Plover (with chicks) and Short-eared Owl being the stars of the day. As we drove a steep remote road towards Weardale we even had excellent, and close, views of the often elusive Greyhen, and throughout the day we found several groups of Blackcock (including 7 in one field). To be honest, if we could control the weather…I’m not sure we would 😉