Hey there, my friend! I hope you had a lovely bank holiday Monday. As for me, I spent mine Exploring Sabden’s Countryside, and it was it a treat! The weather was pretty good – a bit cloudy with a chance of rain, but it stayed dry. I had a lazy morning and headed out just after lunch.
So, here’s the deal – a local birdwatcher had reported that there were two Redstarts on a barn near Sabden, and I had never seen or photographed one before. Of course, that’s what I was hoping to see!
Sabden is a quaint little village at the base of Pendle Hill, and I parked just off Stubbins Lane, across from St. Nicholas Church.
I headed west along a gravel track, which was about 450m long. Along the way, there was a large pool with plenty of wetland shrubs growing, which was quite interesting.
The track ran parallel to Sabden Brook, which is a great place to spot meadow pipits, wheatear, linnets, and pied wagtails. Just a quick note though, since this is farmland, there is livestock along the track, and it’s important not to disturb them.
The track was raised, which helped me be on eye level with the hedges and bushes, and that gave me a great position for photographing birds.
At 1.57km along the track, there was a small tree copse with trees that had a lot of character. I could hear curlews and lapwings in the fields nearby.
Eventually, I reached a farm where the path forked north and south. The farm had a host of wild birds such as stonechat, wheatear, linnets, barn swallows, goldfinch, dunnock, and pied wagtail.
Whenever I’m near someone’s farm, I always find it important to mention that I’m there and ask permission to take photographs. After a quick chat about life with the farmer, he said it was fine to take some photos.
Farms are constant working environments, so it’s important not to get in the way and to stick to the public paths, which I did.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t see or hear the two Redstarts I was hoping to spot, but the day wasn’t wasted. I photographed my first Barn Swallow and watched them for a good half an hour swooping and catching bugs.
It was time to head back to the car, and on the way back, I saw a meadow pipit that posed well for a photograph.
Overall, it was a nice walk, and it was great to have a chat with the local farmer. The track isn’t muddy and is well-gravelled, so I wore my walking boots, and I had my Nikon Z50 with me.
My camera settings were pretty straightforward, and I kept the ISO low since it was a nice bright day.
The aperture between f6.3 and f11.
AF set to pinpoint and dynamic with continuous back button focusing.
Shutterspeeds between 1/400 and 1/3200. I used a camera strap sling, and a small rucksack with a drinks bottle, waterproofs, memory cards, and batteries.
That’s about it, my friend!
It was a lovely bank holiday Monday exploring Sabden’s countryside, and I can’t wait to revisit the area over the seasons.
Till next time, keep exploring.
