PEREGRINE FALCON PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Bristol
Late Feb/Early March 2027
Positioned high above the Avon Gorge in Bristol, this workshop puts us right at eye level with the fastest animal on the planet. They are easily missed in this vast landscape, but I know their favoured perches inside out - which is crucial for being ready to react the split second they take flight. I run these sessions during the courtship season to coincide with potential aerial acrobatics and mid-air food passes, though a healthy dose of patience is required between the action. Our main goal is tracking these predators on the wing, and I’ll show you how to configure your camera so you are completely ready when those blistering windows of activity happen.
Key Information:
Cost: £180 per person | £300 when booked as a pair
Group size: max. 2
Duration: 3.5 hours (starting at 8:00am)
Location: Avon Gorge, Bristol
Dates: Late Feb/Early March 2027 (Alternative dates available year-round upon request)
Fitness: Easy / Gentle
The Terrain: The physical walking on this session is very straightforward, involving a short, flat walk along a paved path from our meeting spot. However, we will need to step over a fence that sits below waist height to reach our vantage point. Crucially, our photography location sits directly alongside a very steep drop over the gorge, so a good comfort level with heights is absolutely essential.
Photography Level: All skill levels are welcome, but complete beginners could find this workshop a bit of a struggle. Tracking peregrines on the wing is a test of your camera’s autofocus and your own panning technique. Because it requires quick reactions, we will use the quieter windows of downtime to practice your tracking on the many other birds that fly through the gorge, ensuring you are warmed up and ready the instant a peregrine takes flight.
What You Will Need:
Camera: Your favourite DSLR or Mirrorless camera.
Lenses: A focal length of at least 500mm (300mm APS-C, 250mm M4/3) is recommended. Depending on their habits and the wind direction, the birds can be flying both far away and incredibly close during a session, so if you have a zoom lens this can be handy.
Binoculars: Not a necessity, but ideal to help pick out the falcons on distant perches.
Support: Whilst I always prefer to handhold for birds in flight, I would suggest bringing a monopod to rest your camera on for the quieter periods (I use mine with a SpeediGimbal). If you have a large, heavy lens then a tripod is a necessity. If you don’t want to travel with heavy equipment, you are more than welcome to borrow a spare monopod/tripod for the morning - just let me know in advance!
Extra equipment: Spare batteries and extra SD cards (burst-firing at high frame rates to track birds in flight will drain your batteries and fill up your cards much faster than usual).
Clothing & Food: Warm layers and a windproof jacket. Because we will be standing relatively stationary on an exposed cliff edge, you will feel the cold quickly, so wrapping up warm is essential (even if the weather looks pleasant). I will have a hot drink ready for us, but please feel free to bring your own snacks.
Good To Know:
Weather: The workshop will go ahead in most conditions, but because we are reliant on the falcons taking flight, heavy rain can significantly ground the action. Strong winds can actually be beneficial to us with regards to flybys, but I will always take your safety into account. If the weather forces us to cancel, I will look for an alternative date during that specific run of workshops. If that isn't possible, your payment will be issued as a credit voucher to use toward any future workshop or tour booking.
Meeting Point: To protect the birds' sensitive nesting environment, I don't publish the exact meeting spot publicly. Around 2–4 weeks before your session, I will send you a comprehensive pre-workshop email containing the precise parking info and a pin drop for our meeting point. If you are travelling from further away and need to book accommodation ahead of time, please feel free to drop me an email and I can give you some pointers on the best areas to look.
Parking: There is free parking available close to the location.
Supporting Local Wildlife: £10 from every single booking is split between Avon Needs Trees and Hedgerow Heroes to help fund vital woodland creation and hedgerow restoration, establishing crucial wildlife corridors and safeguarding diverse edge habitats.
The Post-Workshop Print: Every session includes a free, high-quality 8" x 12" print of your favourite photo from our morning together. After the workshop, simply send over your chosen file and I’ll print and post it directly out to you.
Other Species We May Encounter: Buzzards, Kestrels, Sparrowhawks, Red Kites, Jackdaws, and Rock Doves.
Participant’s Photos
