English has been a photographer since eighth grade, when he acquired a portable Kodak Instamatic camera, but adjusting to the timing of the shutter speed and the weight of the lens required to capture birds took time. A background in hunt-ing waterfowl helped significantly and now the Wilmington native says he much prefers hunting birds with his Canon EOS-1D X and his 500-millimeter lens rather than a shotgun. “It is similar to hunting and that is why I think I have gotten fairly proficient at shooting birds on the fly, because I used to hunt a lot of birds when I was younger,” English says. “I got tired of killing stuff though. I would just rather hunt all year long and all day long with my camera, and I have a nice picture rather than a dead bird.” Early on an overcast morning, English quietly stalks through his favorite local shooting grounds, Airlie Gardens. Crouching, he steals up on the lake knowing there is a pack of gadwall ducks hiding out in the corner. English says he will have a split second to get a shot if he approaches from a particular angle. “You can go to some place and scope it out for maybe a couple hours or so and just see what the birds are doing and where they land,” English says. “Birds have a routine. They seem like they do the same thing at about the same time every day; and, if you learn that, you can usually set up somewhere and anticipate where they are going to be.” The gadwalls are hiding in their usual morning position and after a rustle of water, the flapping of wings and rapid-fire click of English’s shutter, it is all over until he can sneak up on a couple of mallards he knows are at the other end of the lake. Another of English’s favorite subjects is a kingfisher that resides around a Wrightsville Sound pond. 43 Clockwise from top: tricolored heron; great white egret and bluebird. Opposite: osprey. All birds were photographed at Airlie Gardens. www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
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