Welcome to my world!

Through this website, I hope to share a bit of the passion I have for wildlife and, in particular, birds with you! I have been described as fanatical, crazy and downright stupid when it comes to my escapes in the field, but there can be no bigger adrenaline rush than eventually getting to see some creature that you have only have dreamt of seeing in the past. There are still so many things I have to get to see in my lifetime and that, in itself, is an integral part of what keeps the passion alive!

This website is really just a collection of some of the photos I have managed to get. I consider myself to be a birder / wildlife enthusiast who takes photographs as opposed to a bird or wildlife photographer, but really just enjoy getting the odd shot to remind me of some of the wonderful things I have been able to see. I still have a lot to learn about the art of wildlife photography as some of the photos on this site will show you!! Sometimes I even battle to find the subject in the viewfinder...

Photographing Cliff Swallows in the Free State © Margaret Hardaker

   
Although I am not a particularly good photographer, I have been fortunate to have managed to get a few shots published in various books and magazines. As is normally the case, copyright of any photo on this site (unless otherwise stated) remains with me. If anybody would like to use any of the photos present on this site, please contact me and let me know what you would like to use them for so that I can consider your request. High resolution images of all photos shown on this site (and many more that are not present) are available for sale for commercial publications and websites. I am also happy to allow use of my photos for any cause that I deem worthy, in particular non-profit conservation bodies.

Other than birds, this website also includes photos of many of the other creatures that I enjoy looking for like mammals, reptiles, frogs and dragonflies. The great thing about having these additional interests is that if I am out and the birding is a little slow, I can always turn my attention to one of these other groups, so I never get bored and there is ALWAYS something new to see!

Photographing Yellow Bittern in The Seychelles © Margaret Hardaker

   

Birding in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam © Margaret Hardaker

Photographing in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens © Margaret Hardaker

   
If you happen to find any errors on the site, whether it be with identifications, subspecies allocations, labels for gender, age, etc., please be so kind as to let me know. I would like this site to be as accurate as possible but, occasionally, errors will slip through...

I will be adding to the site on a continual basis both with new species as well as updating photos when I manage to get a better shot (there are many photos that definitely require improvement!), but for those of you that are keen to see where things are at the moment, please click on the links in the left margin.

The last update to the site was on: 26 December 2009

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Me with Aurora House Snake © Tiana Stanton

Me with Aurora House Snake © Tiana Stanton

   
The photos on this site have been taken in a number of different places on my travels and so far there are photos here from the following countries:
   

   
   
South Africa Lesotho Botswana Namibia Zimbabwe
         
Mozambique Australia New Zealand Seychelles Brazil
         
 
Venezuela Malaysia Vietnam Ethiopia