Photographer’s Incredible Nature Shots Were Mostly Taken in His Garden

May 07, 2025

Matt Growcoot

On the left, a small bird with outstretched wings flies against a yellow background. On the right, two playful fox cubs wrestle on green grass, one lying on its back and the other nibbling its ear. — Photographer Andrew Fusek-Peters trained his camera on British gardens.

When thinking of nature photography, it’s easy to picture an African savannah, an Amazonian rainforest, or an Arctic plateau.

But of course nature is all around us, and British photographer Andrew Fusek-Peters proves that you don’t have to travel far to capture spectacular nature photos.

Fusek-Peters tells PetaPixel that of the 250 photos in his new book Garden Safari, 72 of them were taken in his garden and 150 of them were taken in his local area.

“What I’m saying is, ‘Look at what’s outside your window, look at what’s in your backyard’,” he says. “It is worthy of study and of conservation concern.”

Three red squirrels are captured mid-air as they leap from a bird feeder toward a wooden birdhouse; the background is a lush, green, out-of-focus landscape. — Red squirrel

A great egret with outstretched wings takes flight from a tree branch at sunset, its white feathers glowing warmly against a dark, blurred background. — Great white egret

A small black mole with a pink snout and large front claws crawls through green grass and leaves. — Mole

Fusek-Peters is based in Shropshire — a lush, green county in the middle of England. He has spent ten years documenting birds, insects, and mammals, but for the past two years he has concentrated his efforts on the book and sometimes traveled further afield to capture animals not found in his local area.

“I live in the middle of the countryside, but most of the foxes get shot around here, so I had to go to Clapham in South London to get a fox family, which is weird, isn’t it?” he mulls.

Fusek-Peters also flew to Alderney, one of the Channel Islands, to capture photos of the very rare blonde hedgehog, which, he explains, possibly came from hedgehogs being sold by Harrods as pets in the 1970s.

“The hedgehogs they sold were carrying this very rare gene, the aberrant gene that causes them to be blonde,” he says. “And then there are no predators on the island, they multiplied and now 40% of the hedgehogs on Alderney are blonde hedgehogs.”

Two goldfinches with vibrant yellow, black, and red markings face each other mid-air, wings spread and talons extended, appearing to engage in a territorial dispute against a blurred natural background. — Two goldfinches fighting

Two albino hedgehogs with pale fur and pink noses face each other while standing on green grass at night. — Blonde hedgehogs on Alderney

An adult fox sits in green grass, facing a playful fox cub standing on its hind legs with front paws raised. Purple flowers and lush green plants fill the background. — Foxes in London

Close-up of a slow worm, a legless lizard with smooth, shiny scales and a brownish-gray body, against a blurred green background. — Slow worm

Rare and Elusive Animals

Among some of the most challenging captures in the book was the otter which Fusek-Peters says took “months” of camera trap work.

“We knew that an otter was going through this particular path along this stream and this particular garden in South Shropshire, but it took a lot of patience and a lot of missed shots,” he explains.

A brown otter stands on rocks at the edge of a shallow stream, surrounded by green ferns and plants, with its nose close to the water. — Otter in a garden stream

A sequence showing a woodpecker taking off from a tree and flying through green leafy branches, with blurred wings indicating motion and sunlight filtering through the foliage. — A woodpecker takes flight

A close-up of a vibrant jewel wasp with iridescent blue, green, and red coloring, perched on rough, fibrous rope with a blurred natural background. — Ruby-tailed wasp

But Fusek-Peters is perhaps most proud of some of the bird shots he captured. PetaPixel previously featured his photos of rainbows appearing through birds’ wings, which are also in the book.

“One of the rarest birds I witnessed is called the firecrest, and I’ve been trying to get a photograph of that bird for years,” he says. “And then in our tiny village in Shropshire, they bred last year. I mean, it’s just bonkers.”

A small bird with an orange crest and yellow-green feathers perches on a branch, its beak open as if singing, against a blurred green and yellow background. — Male firecrest

Two small birds with blue and orange feathers are captured mid-action; one is perched on a branch with wings spread, while the other is in flight, facing the perched bird, both appearing to interact energetically. — Fighting male bramblings

Fusek-Peters says that capturing certain birds midflight, such as the goldfinch, or two siskins fighting, took a “brutal” amount of work.

“They’re not going to perform for you, are they? They’re fighting because there’s some food and they’re cold and it’s winter, and they want the sunflower seeds,” he says. “I’d say 10 to 20 thousand photos that are really rubbish for one photo that might be good. You’ve got to put in the time.”

Garden Safari is published by Graffeg and is out May 8.

Image credits: Photographs by Andrew Fusek-Peters