Focus on Eric Hosking, OBE

FOCUS ON ERIC HOSKING, OBE J. R .

MARTIN

It was in 1929 that Eric Hosking, then a young man of 20, found himself unemployed as a result of the great depression. Like so many other people his efforts to find work were in vain and he was jobless for some time.

However, Eric had always been a keen naturalist and photographer and so, when some of his work was published in a national newspaper, the Sunday Dispatch, he made the bold decision to become a professional wildlife photographer. This was an unprecedented step, for at that time no other person was making their living in this way.

Shortly afterwards he made the first, of what was to be many trips to Suffolk when he came to stay with an aunt in Ipswich. She introduced him to George Bird, a well known local naturalist and bird photographer. George Bird was a m e m b e r of the Society, who d i e d o n 4th June 1950, aged72. It was he who first introduced Eric to Butley and the surrounding countryside and it is there, over the years, that Eric has spent many happy hours. A n d so, as the Society celebrates its 60th birthday, Eric Hosking, possibly the world's greatest wildlife photographer, reflects upon his association with Suffolk which also spans 60 years.

Much of Eric's early work was carried out in Staverton Park. The g a m e k e e p e r was G e o r g e Boast, a self-taught field naturalist, who Eric considers was one of the finest he has ever met. Eric recalls that 'George could walk past a hedge and see a piece of grass protruding from it and with conviction would say "Yellowhammer's nest there", and he would be right Staverton Park and its surrounding area was in those days a naturalist's dream. T h e r e were o f t e n nine pairs of Barn Owls nesting in the old pollarded oaks and it was not unusual to find as many as eight or nine nesting pairs of Wrynecks as well. Some of the Wryneck nests were in disused woodpeckers' holes. Occasionally a pair of Montagu's Harriers nested in a small wetland area just to the south of Staverton Park but now the area is no longer suitable.

Eric considers that in those days Montagu's Harrier was more common than the Marsh Harrier in this part of Suffolk. Once, in 1936, a pair of Hobbies nested, but unfortunately their eggs were taken.

Egg collecting was t h e n more common than it is today, and of course it was not illegal. 7 remember oncefinding a Cuckoo's egg in the nest ofa Goldcrest; a rare occurrence. 1 had it in mind to photograph the event when the Cuckoo 's egg had hatched, and to obtain some unique and wonderful photographs of those tiny birds feeding "their" enormous off spring. A few days later, before I had the opportunity to commence any photography, the nest and its contents disappeared. I was mystified. It was not until some years later that 1 discovered an egg collector had learnt ofthe nest when I had innocently remarked upon it in his presence, and had stolen it.'

DĂźring the post-war years some of his most remarkable photographs were obtained, as he pioneered some of the methods so often taken for granted by today's wildlife photographers. T h e famous 'Heraldic Barn Owl' photograph

Trans. Suffolk

Nat. Soc. 25

18

Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 25

was taken at Chillesford, in 1948, using the recently developed high-speed flash e q u i p m e n t which had been specially built for him. Incidentally, it was at Eyke, in 1936, that photographic history was made when, using the new Sashalite screw in flash-bulbs, he took the first flashlight photograph of an owl with its prey. It was of course a Barn Owl. Perhaps even more stunning is the p h o t o g r a p h of the 'Hovering Nightjar' taken at Tangham in 1949. This shot, of a cock Nightjar, was also taken using high-speed flash, and it clearly showed that the left wing had bent round so far that the primary feathers were pointed forwards. Tangham had then only just been planted with conifers, and most of those only stood around 1 ft. high, so conditions were still right for Nightjars, and photography.

But sadly, Eric began to witness great changes in the Butley area. Much of the heathland had b e e n , or was, in the process of being destroyed by coniferisation, agriculture and airfields. This had an enormous effect on such species as the Nightjar, Stone Curlew, Tree Pipit, Woodlark and Redbacked Shrike. 'Perhaps the Nightjar hasfared the best and, who knows, after the effects of the Great Storm, in October 1987, they may benefit from the clearance of the fallen timber - albeit temporary, if we are to assume that the forests will be re-planted.'

T h e populations of other species have also changed. Birds such as Redstart, Whinchat and W h e a t e a r used to be common. 7 r e m e m b e r once, whilst Walking the heath just to the east of Bromeswell, that around every 50 yds. I wouldfind a Wheatear's nest. Sadly, this is no longer the case and hardly a pair now nests in this whole area.' Nightingales too were 'very common and I well remember the warm spring evenings when the air was filled with the songs of many Nightingales.

Once, when I was staying with Willy Bilham, the gamekeeper at Eyke, a Nightingaleperched on my open bedroom window, not 6 ft. from where I was lying. It was a wonderful, moving experience as it sang there, although the Bilhams were not happy about being kept awake for most of the night!"

Although some birds have suffered a substantial decline in recent decades others have done very well. O n e of the great success stories is of the Avocet.

A f t e r its disappearance f r o m Britain, around the year 1850, Avocets continued to be seen, in spring and in autumn, as irregulär passage migrants along the Suffolk coast. But it was not until 1946 that the nationally important colonies, at Havergate Island and Minsmere, were established.

N o w , the Avocet's breeding ränge is increasing at an encouraging rate both in Suffolk and in other parts of Britain. Oystercatchers too seem to have fared well as their ränge is spreading. Pairs can now be found inland, well away f r o m their traditional maritime environment; recently Eric has photographed t h e m nesting in a sugar beet field not far f r o m the river at Butley.

T h e n u m b e r of Magpies has dramatically increased too, and Eric recalls ' When I first came to Suffolk Magpies were rarely seen. Now, whether you welcome them or not, they are a very successful species here'. The Barn Owl population t o o , whilst not so large as 60 years ago, appears to be relatively stable. Eric believes they could benefit from the Provision of nest-boxes, particularly following the storm of 1987 when many of the trees which were used for nesting, were blown over.

Trans. Suffolk

Nat. Soc. 25

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 25

Suffolk

Natural

History,

Vol.

25

N i g h t j a r , Caprimulgus europaeus - cf hovering. N o t e how the farther wing has been bent completely r o u n d so that the primaries are pointing forwards.

Trans.

Suffolk

Nat. Soc.

25

FOCUS ON ERIC H O S K I N G , OBE

21

Eric had also, for many years, a close association with the Royal Society for the Protection of Bird's reserve at Minsmere.'When Cyril Newberry and I first saw Minsmere in 1933 it consisted of agricultural and pasture land. Little did we realise, as we looked down from the Dunwich Cliffs, that one day it would become one of the finest bird reserves in Europe. It was not until the Second World War, however, when the area wasflooded aspart ofthe nation's defences, that the area became famous for attracting birds. Most of the credit for its development must go to Herbert Axell, MBE, who, when he was the Warden, had the vision, energy, ability and determination to make Minsmere the RSPB's showpiece.'

Eric was fortunate to be there in 1965, during migration time, when the great 'fall' occurred on September 3rd. He said: 'There had been an anticyclone which stretched from Scandinavia down through much of Europe. this made conditions ideal for migration, and it is now clear that millions of birds had begun to make their southerly journey during that night. However, whilst they were on passage, they were suddenly confronted by a depression moving upfrom southern Europe in a north-westerly direction.

Throughout much ofthe morning rain had been steadily falling, but early in the afternoon the wind shifted suddenly to the south-east and the rain became a downpour. It was a fantastic experience for there were birds everywhere.

Redstarts and Wheatears started to literally fall from the skies. Many of them landed on the cars outside BertAxell's bungalow, there were birds everywhere.

Waders, including Ruffs, Greenshanks, plovers, sandpipers and stints packed the Scrape, whilst elsewhere passerines seemed tofill the reserve.

We decided it would be a good idea to obtain an estimate ofthe numbers of birds which were present. After a period of just over 6 hrs. Bert Axell, Michael Cant, Peter Makepeace and myselfestimated there were 7,000 Redstarts, 4,000 Wheatears, 1,500 Pied Flycatchers and 2,000 Garden Warbiers. The heavy rain was forming a shallow pond on the car park and into this were dropping Dunlins and Wood Sandpipers. Black Terns, along with many other terns, were arriving in flocks. Other birds recorded that day included many Curlew Sandpipers and 2 Temmincks Stints.

Next day we counted around 25 Wrynecks and 12 Bluethroats. Other birds included a few Dotterel, some Tawny Pipits, Icterine Warbiers and Ortolan Buntings. Curiously, by the 5th, although there remained well over 200,000 small passerines on the reserve, nearly all of the Garden Warbiers had gone.

Yes, it was an amazing experience.' Despite the incredible arrival of those birds it was regrettable the occurrence could not be recorded on film,'you see the most unfortunate part of this remarkable incident, as far as I was concerned, was the poor light which made photography impossible.'

Of cรถurse Eric has photographed birds in most parts of Britain and in many other countries. Indeed he is a widely travelled natural history photographer who has been on many ornithological expeditions. For example he was the Photographie director on all the expeditions led by Guy Mountfort including those to Bulgaria, Hungary, Jordan, Pakistan and Bangladesh and the two memorable visits to the Coto Donana in Spain.

But time and again it is to Butley that Eric returns, for he has always been 'very happy here\ and although the countryside has changed a great deal, Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 25

Suffolk

22

Natural History, Vol. 25

since he first came to Suffolk, some things have changed little. David Boast, the son of his f o r m e r friend George, who died in 1972 at the grand old age of 97, is now on hand to offer advice. Indeed, the wheel has gone füll circle, for Eric's son David, himself a professional wildlife photographer and m e m b e r of the Society, came to live in Suffolk in 1988.

Although Eric lives in London he has often been tempted to move h o m e , but, as he explains, 7 was born in London and have lived there all my life.

Indeed I have lived in the same house all of my married life. However, ifever I did move I would go to my second "home" - SuffolkWhen he does come ' h o m e ' to Butley he often chooses to photograph the common birds. 7 have been fortunate enough to have photographed many rare and exotic species from all parts of the world. But I still find common birds, such as the Robin, fascinating to study and photograph, for they are just as important as the rarer ones.' Surely a lesson for us all. H e still regularly climbs into a pylon hide to p h o t o g r a p h 'his' beloved Barn Owls, but now finds it'rather difftcult to climb higher than 20 ft. after my recent operation to replace a knee joint/' Düring his long and happy life Eric has been given many awards. These include the O r d e r of the British E m p i r e , with which he was h o n o u r e d for his services to natural history and conservation, the Cherry Kearton Memorial Medal f r o m the Royal Geographical Society, honorary life membership of the British Ornithologists' Union, of which he was Vice-President f r o m 1969-71, and the R S P B ' s Gold Medal. In 1967, he was awarded the H o n o r a r y Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society. This was followed, in O c t o b e r of that year, by an exhibition of his photographs which was attended by H R H the D u k e of Edinburgh, who is also a keen bird photographer.

I n d e e d , Prince Philip has spent some time with Eric in the field and there is no d o u b t that Eric made an impression upon the D u k e , for as his Royal Highness states, 7 know few people who enjoy their work and their life as much as Eric Hosking does, in fact I doubt whether he recognises any distinction between working and living.'

Düring t h e past few decades his work has appeared in many other Photographie exhibitions around the world. I n d e e d , it is difficult to think of a n o t h e r individual who has highlighted Suffolk's wildlife so extensively. Eric believes that the Wildlife Photographic Exhibition held in Ipswich in 1983, in which he and his son David were the principal photographers, was very successful in terms of creating interest amongst the general public. What delighted Eric so much was the n u m b e r of people, and particularly school children, who visited the exhibition, for he strongly supports the necessity of encouraging young people to take an interest in the wildlife that surrounds them.

J. R . M a r t i n , 17 Moss W a y , West Bergholt, Colchester C Q 6 3LJ

Trans. Suffolk

Nat. Soc. 25

Plate 7: Avocet, Recurvirostra (p. 17).

avosetta

— a classic Hosking photograph of this now familiar Suffolk wader (Photo; Eric Hosking)