I tried bird photography with Sony’s longest super-telephoto zoom lens and the new A7R VI — and after seeing my pin-sharp shots of rare and beautiful birds, I’m obsessed

Man holding the Sony FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS supertelephoto zoom lens, he's standing on a boardwalk in a nature reserve.

There's an open nature reserve with a wetland, encircled by woodland, about a 10-minute drive from my house, and it’s one of my favorite places to go running. Sunrise on a cold morning here can be magical for photography too — the sun-kissed mist hovering over the water makes for dreamy conditions.

Throughout the year, the nature reserve attracts a range of migratory and rare species of birds, making it a popular spot for birding — people will drive a good hour or more to visit with their long lenses, spotting scopes and binoculars.