Flying Whooper swans heralded in birds of every family: herons, ducks and curlews; as well as a rook and buzzard whose wings were in perfect symmetry against the sky (one frame). There was a ‘cafuffle’ of fighting coots (taken over 3 frames), a cormorant drying its wings and a starling on a branch with red rose hips, adding a touch of magic!

There were two partridges in courtship, one doing a dance and flapping its wings (!) kittiwakes on a cliff face, a woodpecker feeding its young, a tawny eagle, the nightjar, a striped kingfisher in the Savannah, an African hoopoe, a wood sandpiper with its stunning reflection in water, a white-backed vulture flying in to a kill and millions of flamingos wading and flying over, making a dark ‘ceiling’ instead of the sky!!

Not satisfied with birds, Sandy’s collection of flies, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies all taken with a macro lens gave us incredibly sharp images.

Two shots of a white stoat (something he has taken 35 years to find!) has given him a new project (‘the very devil to capture on camera, they run like grease lightning!’ he said.) In the Masai Mara, he photographed the Thompson and Grant’s gazelles, water buck, Burchell’s zebra, an elephant family, hippos, white rhino, the black-backed jackal, a cheetah eating his kill, a leopard asleep in a tree and wildebeast clambering up a bank, having safely forded a crocodile-infested river! We could feel their anxiety and wave of relief, the power of Sandy’s programme so all-consuming!! Prints made from his computer bore out the stunning detail and sheer professionalism of his presentation!

One of our natural history photographers, John Shepherd, ARPS gave Cleland a well-deserved and enthusiastic vote of thanks.

Next week, at our penultimate meeting, we have the pleasure of welcoming back Colin New, a Gamma member from Sheffield.