Forget London Zoo, Joe Hart snaps the animals that roam the capital freely

Rattling tubes, an abundance of concrete, high-rise offices and hoards of busy people; London might not be the first place that pops to mind when you think of wildlife, but Joe Hart’s ongoing photo series might prove otherwise. He’s spent the past few years pursuing and recording the capital’s wildlife, from those animals we’ve all come to expect: slinking foxes, speedy squirrels and flocks of pigeons, to those less common: regal deer, long-necked herons and displeased swans. Capturing them in expected spots such as parks, food-waste ridden squares and atop fences, the series is a reminder that cities have much more nature on offer than you may expect – it just takes a little digging.

Joe’s foray into photography began with something as arguably unpredictable as wild animals – drunk students. Born in London, before starting secondary school Joe moved to Scotland, later heading to Aberdeen for a design degree. To earn some money while a student, he started taking shots in nightclubs, before catching the bug and soon finding himself back in London assisting and getting to grips with the medium professionally, mere days after handing in his final university project. “Fast forward ten years and I am laying on a park floor shooting photos of pigeons and squirrels,” says Joe. “It’s been quite the ride.”

The project was sparked by a creature many London dwellers will be familiar with – the mysterious parakeet. Many myths have (ahem) flown about as to why the bright green parrot (native to Australia) has ended up in the city’s skies, from the most accepted theory that they simply escaped from captivity in the 1990s, to more outlandish ones, like Jimi Hendrix releasing a pair on London Carnaby Street in the 1960s. “I’ve always found [parakeets] fascinating, colourful anomalies thriving in the city, their numbers mysteriously growing each year,” says Joe. “I love observing them parading around Hackney Marshes making an absolute racket during a morning run or an afternoon beer!” It was this fascination that eventually fuelled Joe’s interest in other animals who’ve made London their home.

One style Joe was keen to steer clear of with the series was traditional wildlife photography. Instead, he wants to inject a bit of humour into his work, as well as capturing the creations as “heroically” as he can. Though, actually getting the photos is no walk in the park. “I wish I could claim I had a foolproof technique, but honestly, it’s a lot of trial and error,” he says. A trick he keeps up his sleeve to attract the creatures is snacks, picked up after he learnt that parakeets were particularly partial to apples.

Not all the final images in the series are straight up photographs – but for good reason. The horde of pigeons taking over Trafalgar Square is actually a collage of images stitched together, made to evoke Joe’s personal recollections. “My childhood memories of Trafalgar Square are of a wild pigeon party, but I hadn’t given it much thought since,” he says. “After a bit of research, I discovered they've been using a hawk to scare them off, and it’s mostly worked.” He wanted to recreate his “nostalgic vision”, returning to the square multiple times (and overcoming some pigeon-shaped hurdles) until he finally pieced together his ideal shot.

The series is ongoing, as Joe’s still pursuing the perfect shot of some particularly hard animals to capture – “insert pelican here!”. In sum, Joe says the series has two aims; first, to amuse, and secondly to inspire others to do a bit of their own exploring, “making the most of the quirky wonders London has to offer”.