Cattle Take Priority

The idea was to visit a field in Lilley Bottom Lane to try to take shots of Red Kite, but no amount of patience was going to reward me that afternoon, so as the cattle neared me I poured my concentration into trying to find meaningful shots of them as they came ever closer to me. I was a little concerned that despite being on a recognised human-designated footpath, they may well have very different ideas about my continuing presence, but I stood my ground, taking shots of either small groups or single animals, all using the Tamron 150-600mm.

The light was milky sunshine at best and increasingly being given over to cloud, and the breeze stiffened and lowered the temperature, but steadily as the herd approached they migrated towards the lower slope, until the main body had passed and congregated at the water trough close to the kissing gate entrance by which I had come in. They had always looked far closer than in reality, through the camera lens!

The lowing of the cattle increased as they passed and took water, then they suddenly upped speed and returned in the direction from which they came, clearing a path to the gate, and seeing still no sign of my initial subjects – the red kite, I decided my purpose had been fulfilled, and I collected my tripod and camera and returned to the car. What had surprised me was just how many different breeds there had been in the one field.