Hello and welcome, here’s a bit about Higgy…

Hi, I’m Higgy! This is actually a nickname that I inherited as a boy many years ago and has stuck with me ever since! Locally I still get called Higgy and having used this nickname as a user name online, makes it sensible to also use it here for continuity and so that everyone knows who I am!

Growing up in the country and in particular spending much of my youth fishing and watching wildlife at my local lakes and moor, means that I have always had a keen interest in wildlife. About eleven years ago circumstances pushed me back more heavily towards wildlife and I have been sharing this passion and my experiences ever since.
I also have a keen interest in gardening for wildlife and for the last eleven years have been developing my own garden for wildlife, whilst keeping it as a safe, child friendly and usable space for my family and friends to enjoy. I am so fortunate to have been able to turn these passions into a successful business and I take great pride in the work that I now do with local conservation groups within North Somerset.

My passion for photography has evolved over the last few years having started as a means to keep a photographic record of my garden project and the wildlife that visits the garden. Photographing ‘my’ wildlife soon became extremely addictive as I was finding and photographing many new species on a regular basis. Photography has also helped to identify exactly what has visited the garden since I started developing it in February 2010. From this photographic record we already have a bird count of 48 species and a butterfly count of 22 species and numerous other bugs and insects! In fact, our total species count is almost at 800 different species of wildlife now!

Photography is now a real passion and following some health issues it has enabled me to get out and about and meet some fantastic people who are doing so much good work for nature and conservation within the North Somerset area.

I have now worked closely with many local conservation groups, but in particular ‘Yatton and Congresbury Wildlife Action Group’ (YACWAG) that are based in the same village as me. During the last five years I have been more than lucky to find and record rare species on their reserves, including: Four-lined Horsefly – Atylotus rusticus and Yellow Loosestrife Bee – Lysimachia vulgaris among others.

I am proud to supply many of our local charities with photographs captured on their reserves and provide these for their use free of charge. I have also taken on several paid photographic jobs and am proud to provide further support in the supply of nesting boxes and moth trapping events for both charity and private customers.
I also have access to a large local organic farm where again I take photographs to record the wildlife that they have worked hard to encourage and now protect on their land.
All of these projects have helped me grow as a photographer and develop my skills, although I will always be learning and trying to improve! The difficult and sensitive habitats that I now regularly visit and work in have allowed me to develop good field craft and of course a healthy respect for both the habitats and the wildlife that lives within them.

If you have a project or assignment then please keep in mind the use of a photographer who has wildlife welfare at the front of his mind and is slowly proving a track record for working within sensitive areas and respecting the wildlife within.

The continued development of my craft and now business combined with a real passion for wildlife and links with my local wildlife group have given me the chance to work with local schools. I am currently working with one local school where we are slowly developing an area specifically for wildlife.

I share my photography and experiences and knowledge of wildlife gardens and habitats through photographic presentations and talks. Audiences are hugely diverse and I could be talking to schools and local groups or large organisations and clubs. I have been extremely lucky to be included on the RHS and Wildife Trust speakers lists, giving me opportunity to travel around the Somerset area. You can find out more about this on the ‘presentations and talks’ page on this website.

If you want to find out more about my work on wildlife garden design and gardening for wildlife, including supply of nesting boxes and other items please visit my business website: www.somersetwildleproducts.com or contact me through my contacts page for further information.

Hope to see you out there soon!!!….

Higgy 😊