National Botanic Gardens Wales Visit 2024 – Part 1 – Birds, Bees And More

Our annual visit to the National Botanic Gardens of Wales took place this week, and after some awful weather, we were graced by beautiful sunshine for the day. This was the longest we had spent in the gardens, with a group of extraordinary people who love photography and capturing the best the place has to offer. For me, it was an opportunity to use my Nikon Z6ii and new Tamron 150-500mm to capture birds, bees and other wildlife.

This is part 1 of a 2 part series, the second part of which will be looking at the shots that are not birds, bees and insects!

The National Botanic Garden of Wales is a place of international significance, nestled in the beautiful Carmarthenshire countryside. Covering 568 acres, it’s a fascinating blend of modern and historic elements. The centerpiece is Lord Foster’s glasshouse, and visitors can explore themed gardens, the British Bird of Prey Centre, and a national nature reserve. The garden’s mission includes research, conservation, education, and providing an enjoyable experience for visitors.

Here I firstly share my bird images, which were all shot in manual mode, using the Nikon Z6ii and Tamron 150-500mm (like all the photos on this page today). Images were processed from raw in Darktable.

I have to say, I was hugely surprised by the accuracy of the Nikon Z6ii’s autofocus. I hear so many people moaning about the autofocus of cameras with birds, but the combination of the camera and lens was absolutely amazing. Most of the shots that I disguarded were the shots where I missed do to me either panning way to fast or missing the birds completely as some of the were really really fast!

In all by the hardest terrain, the Z6ii more than proved its worth. The only place that I missed focus was when the bird was flying really close to trees or bushes. It was hard enough to see the birds with your eyes at these places, so I can forgive the camera for sometimes missing and hitting a branch sticking out!

Compared to my images taken with my Fujifilm, that served me well for many years, the difference when viewed on a big screen is night and day. With autofocus hitting the face and eyes at a much higher rate, and far more clarity in the details of the birds. But of course, this is to be expected with a full fram camera.

The following are the more “macro-esque” images that I took with the same combination of camera and lens.

Yet again, I was blown away by the versatility of the camera and lens. I have honestlt never had so many great photos with so much details in them. I hope that you have enjoyed this, please keep an eye out for part 2 in the next day or two.