@ you bird photographers

Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 61

How do you find is the best way to capture a bird as they are generally quite skittish. Do you find some random place that looks good, set up your tripod and just wait it out or go "hunt" them and hope you can get things set up quick enough?

Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:50 pm

Whatever it takes to get the shot as long as it's within reason and a method that's ethically sound.

Some birds you have to go after, like Turkey, Raptors, etc. It's like hunting and you have to know something about their habitat and habits. It's really tough work but it can pay off.

Some birds frequent known spots, like shorebirds and waterfowl and you can set-up, sit and wait. It can be boring and it's certainly not a guaranteed shot but it's the only way to get some birds.

The best way, as far a ease of use and high percentage photos, is to set up a feeder in a location that is appropriate for taking photos and provide interesting or unusual perches for the birds, like song birds and migrants, to land on. A hide or blind makes it even better. I use this type of set-up about 90% of the time.

Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 350 Location: Ontario, Canada

Most birds have a schedule and make the rounds of their territory. Once the schedule is noted by watching them for a few days, set up a blind and be in the blind and ready well before they may show up.

An example of this is the catbird. They make the rounds of my yard skipping from tree to tree on 1 hour intervals - 1 hour clockwise and 1 hour counter-clockwise.. The hummimgbirds came to my front flower garden in the afternoon at about 1 hour intervals this past year. Birds like chickadees are constantly about. Hawks seem to have a 3 or 4 day rotation in my area.

Once I've decided to try and capture an image of a particular bird species, I sit and wait in a blind using their schedule as a guide so I'm not waiting in vane. But sometimes I get lucky and other opportunities land in front of me.

A bird feeder with some nearby natural branches makes a good starting place for practice of the fun hobby of collecting bird images.

Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 6:15 am

Also.. be an opportunist... I've taken loads of amazing pics of wildlife that I've (almost literally) stumbled accross. Have your camera around your neck and go for lots of nice walks in nature.... you'll develope a good eye & ear for movements & sounds through the undergrowth...

Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 7:32 am

A backyard blind and feeder is a great way to capture some beautiful close ups of species common to your area and to get the experience needed in handling the camera in the fleeting moment that the bird may give you to capture an image.

Depending on the species you want to capture your technique(s) will vary but one thing remains the same, if you want a specific bird or animal you have to understand it's habits, what it feeds on and the habitat it perfers. Once you can find what the species likes to feed on and be in an area where that food or prey is plentiful then the odds climb dramatically that you can actually see the subject and maybe capture an image.

Joined: 10 Feb 2005 Posts: 51 Location: Bumpass, VA

The above info is all good. Additionally, since you are a beginner birder, I would suggest you visit areas where birds are use to people: public ponds, parks, marinas, etc. This way the birds are less skittish and will give you more practice capturing them. One word of caution: birding is very addictive.

Joined: 18 Feb 2006 Posts: 268

Shoot them with tranquilizer darts first, then they dont fly away.

Joined: 04 Dec 2006 Posts: 79

kerryg wrote:

Shoot them with tranquilizer darts first, then they dont fly away.

If is a phesant, shoot it with #7 shot, pose it, photograph it, and eat it. Yum-Yum.

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