The hides at Sunnybank
The Clearing
The Clearing is one of several projects around Sunnybank including The Shrewdio and The Metre Squared project. Each has its own intrinsic criteria and goals to achieve, but all are ultimately designed to enhance both the quality of our lives as creatives and, more importantly, to improve the wellbeing of the flora and fauna we're so fortunate to have living here. The Clearing is by far the most ambitious of the projects having taken over two years of research, proofs of concept, sheer hard graft, setbacks, successes and shedloads of patience. Ultimately it's been worth every moment; seeing the first buzzard tentatively land on the carrion and watching their growing confidence even when my portable hide was introduced only a few metres away. This spring saw them bring their two fledglings in along with the arrival of Geraint the Grey - a magnificent goshawk who has also settled into life here at Sunnybank. We've also had two successful broods of three tawny owlets so the place can be noisy at night...
The Clearing - design and purpose
The idea for The Clearing came to me one day as I was looking at a patch of our woodland above The Studio at Sunnybank. It was overgrown with brambles, many of the trees were diseased or leggy to the point they had toppled over and the general ambience of the area was dark, damp and with very little actually growing in the shadows or subsumed by the almost impenetrable undergrowth. The potential for the woodland was helped hugely by the regular calls of kites, buzzards and tawny owls as they passed over and occasionally fleetingly visited. Fast forward two years, a chainsaw or two, many hours of manual labour by us both, some sweat, plenty of laughter and the occasional expletive and you now have The Clearing. Thousands of native bulbs have been planted, 'miles' of brambles removed, new hedging and trees are in place and many of the diseased trees felled to create bug hotels, mammal homes and natural perches for the birds of prey and mammals we now see on a daily basis. The entire area is monitored by a network of trail cameras to give us an overall view of who visits and when. Carrion is regularly put out to attract a variety of species and there's a number of different bird and mammal boxes in the vicinity including pine marten, dormouse, tree creeper and tawny owl.
The Whinnerah Hide
A deeply emotional part of this project was to create a permanent hide that was aesthetically pleasing, sympathetic to the woodland, comfortable and warm! Many hours spent in all weathers in my small portable hide gave me some incredible images of the species you see above but they were attritional sessions requiring absolute stillness and silence and they tested me at times to my limits. The Whinnerah Hide is dedicated to the memory of my mother Dot and her husband John Whinnerah. Both loved nature and being outdoors, were passionate about travelling to diverse destinations and were true Westmorlanders. My mother's Westmorland lineage goes back over five hundred years and John's family were well known for their philanthropy in and around the Furness area of Cumbria.
We are indebted to Bill Goddard and his team at www.rusticcampers.co.uk for their unswerving commitment to both this project and the reflection pool hide. The level of craftsmanship, attention to detail and ingenuity they drew on to create what is are really works of installation art that double up as hides in the woods was something to see. Using locally sourced wood and materials with the aim of maximising sustainability whilst minimising the overall carbon footprint of the project and working within the exacting brief that was my vision of the hides wasn't easy but we got there...
The Reflection Hide
After a highly successful visit to Bence Mate's hides in Hungary we decided a reflection pool hide in the clearing would work symbiotically with the Whinnerah hide and provide some excellent photo opportunities. This hide is now completed and, much like the Whinnerah hide, is a pleasure to look at and sit in with the huge expanse of water and natural wood surroundings all set in a peaceful environment.
The Shrewdio
The Shrewdio is one of the many metre squared (M2 project) wild spaces around Sunnybank. Utilizing characterful old wood, a small pool and native plants it's a quiet place where wildlife can feel safe and undisturbed. This is somewhere with regular food, shelter and plenty of fresh water but it's also less than two metres from where we comfortably sit indoors with only a sash window to open and look out upon a thriving community of mice, voles, shrews, birds and the occasional weasel. This is the closest you can get to truly wild wildlife who are free to come and go as they please.
What to expect:
There are three permanent hides at Sunnybank - the Shrewdio, the Whinnerah hide and the reflection pool. There are also three very busy feeding posts and the option of a portable hide so there's plenty to do and see when you come on a workshop here. I've put together a brief description of what each hide is about, distances, gear, clothing etc. I personally would definitely read them before I booked - just saying...
The Shrewdio
Two person indoor viewing area into an outdoor metre squared project
Working distance 2-4 metres
Gear Bean bag, tripod or handheld
Mirrorless is best 70-200mm or 100-400mm lens
Indoors looking through sash window so dry but can get chilly so coat/layers
Availability All year
Daytime or night
Lighting Natural light Reflectors (supplied) 20w flickerless led lights (supplied)
Flash not allowed
Experience level
Suitable for beginners through to experienced photographers
What you might see Bank vole (common) Short-tailed vole (common) Yellow-necked mouse (common) Field mouse (common) Common shrew (less common during daytime) Pygmy shrew (less common) Water shrew (seasonal)Weasel (rare) Various garden birds (regular)
Bird Feeding Stations
Various feeding stations around the grounds
Working distance2-6 metres
GearTripod or handheld Mirrorless or DSLR in quiet mode 70-200mm, 100-400mm, 600mm lens
Outdoors with some shelter pack wet weather/warm clothing & hiking boots
Availability All year
Daytime only Lighting
Natural light 20w flickerless led lights (supplied)
Flash not allowed
Experience level Beginners through to experienced photographers
What might you see To date we've seen nearly 50 different species of bird here at Sunnybank including: Coal tit (regular) Goldfinch (regular) Long tailed tit (seasonal) Marsh tit (regular when quiet) Greater spotted woodpeckers (regular) Sparrowhawk (less common)
The Whinnerah Hide
Purpose built three (possibly four) person hide in the woodland with power, heating, ergonomic office chairs and external lighting. One main carrion table plus extra perches, bird feeding station
Working distance12-15 metres
Gear Bean bag or tripod Mirrorless, totally silent camera 100-400mm, 600mm, x1.4/x2 extender
Indoors but can get cold despite heating so warm coat, gloves and hat, hiking boots/wellies, balaclava will lower your profile and keep you warm
Availability All year
Daytime or night
Lighting Natural light 20w flickerless led lights (supplied) 3 large external led lights
No flash allowed
Experience level Advanced beginner, intermediate and experienced photographers
What you might see Tawny owl (regular at night) Buzzard (regular) Sparrowhawk (uncommon) Goshawk (less common) Badgers (regular at night) Deer (uncommon) Fox (less common)
The Reflection Hide
Purpose built three person hide overlooking a large reflection pool in the woodland with power, heating and external lighting. Bench seating with ergonomic cushions
Working distance 2-5 metres
Gear Bean bag or tripod Mirrorless, totally silent camera 70-200mm, 100-400mm lens
Indoors but can get cold despite heating so warm coat, gloves and hat, hiking boots/wellies. A balaclava will lower your profile and keep you warm whilst low rustle, dark clothing will increase your chances of wildlife coming in
Availability All year
Daytime and night
Lighting Natural light 20w flickerless led lights (supplied) 3 large external led lights
No flash allowed
Experience level Intermediate and experienced photographers only
What you might see Buzzard (regular) Goshawk (less common) Badgers (common at night) Tawny owl (common at night)Fox (uncommon) Please note:Both The Whinnerah and Reflection hides are closer to the wildlife than many other hides. This allows more people to capture often elusive wildlife without needing huge lenses. The paradox, of course, is you have to be quieter, limit movement more and be prepared for a longer wait whilst these incredibly wary species assess the space they're coming into. Drop a cup, have your mobile go off or make any other unnatural noise and it might result in a further wait or no visit that day. I strongly advise you to ask yourself if you're up to keeping fairly still and quiet for a number of hours - although there is scrim netting up in