Bird Photography

If I were to post a list of all the bird species photographed in my garden it might surprise you. That's not to mention the ones I've seen but haven't captured yet. This isn't out in the sticks, it's within spitting distance of Junction 9 M6, We've been feeding daily for about 3 years now, costs us a bomb, but we still haven't seen the full benefit yet I'm sure. Just when we think we're getting no more new species we get a surprise. The main thing is once you start feeding you have to keep it up.
 
theMusicMan said:
[*]Maybe get yourself a hide... like this one...

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John
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Hi John,

Do you have a link or company name for the manufacturer/supplier of that hide please? That's just the thing I'm looking for and can never find anything as good from Google searches.

Thanks, Guy
 
I understand the worth of hides, but I do find that they restrict your all round view a lot.
 
fracster said:
I understand the worth of hides, but I do find that they restrict your all round view a lot.
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Fair point, but the one I have provides 180' view, and one with 360' viewing is available from the same supplier I provided the link to earlier.

Not having a hide sometimes means you get wet too!!

Swings and roundabouts eh!
 
theMusicMan said:
Fair point, but the one I have provides 180' view, and one with 360' viewing is available from the same supplier I provided the link to earlier.

Not having a hide sometimes means you get wet too!!

Swings and roundabouts eh!
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Oh yes indeed........:lol:

As you say, some they suit,some they don`t......:)
 
Thanks for everyone's input on this - it seems to have created some interesting discussions

Andrew
 
Ok, gonna jump in here rather than start a new thread as it is kinda related.

I am panning a day of bird photography (well an attempt at it). Going to spend the day at a local RSPB bird reserve and just take my time and see what I can get outof the day.

Now I know as with most photography it is a case of weather, lighting, practice and trying different things until you get it right, but surely a few pointers couldn't hurt.

I was wondering, as a guide, what sort of settigs should I be aiming for wih regards to ISO, F-Stops.....etc.
I mean I am going to have a good 8 hours to play with (the time between my sister dropping me off before she goes to work and then picking me up when she finishes). Have been checking the weather and it is supposed to be sunny (but not gonna hold my breath).

I know my biggest challenge is going to be to slow myself down and takng my time with each shot rather than firing off as many shos as I can. But camera setting advice would be a HUGE help as it would give me a starting ponit.

I do have a selection of lens (canon 18-55, 28-80, 80-200, sigma 170-500, plus a2x convertor which I don't know how to use properly with regards to settings).

Thanks in advance guys.
 
I'll give you my own approach...

I always work off a tripod with a gimbal head where possible. Servo AF - one AF spot enabled and IS ON. Try to keep that spot over the bird's eye, or at least the head. Keeping the shutter speed up is usually the challenge, and you can only go as fast the light will allow so I use AV mode and find myself shooting most of the time fairly wide open. Stopping down is a luxury often, without increasing the ISO too much. I don't like going above 800 ISO if I can help it, and prefer to go lower if possible.

If you're shooting from a hide, some hides are set up so it's difficult to use a tripod or even a monopod, in which case you'll need to improvise support with heavier lenses, a bean bag or rest the lens on your camera bag etc.

Good luck. :)
 
I've put up a feeding station in our garden complete with water dish, a seed mix wth lots of different seed, a feeder with nuts in and a ball feed thing. Its been up about a week but have had no interest at all so far. There is one big tree near our garden (about 60ft tall!) which is about 15meters from the feeding station and there are a few gardens with lots of trees bushes and shrubs in. The feeding station is right on the edge of our vegetable patch and we have a pagola and a shed right near the feeding station which should provide good stop points for the birds.

What else should we doing to try to attract them to our garden? I can get a photo of the gardn if it may help you give some advise?
 
I think you need to be patient Craig it takes time for the word to get around the 'hood. Birds are very vunerable when they're feeding and they know it, so they like feeders situated fairly high where they're safe from ground predators (Miaow). They feel safe too if there's cover close to the feeder they can readily dive into. Try a variety of feeds, say seed, fat balls, and peanuts for starters. Don't forget fresh water!! Try not to site the feeders too close to the house which makes them a bit wary

A pic of your set up would probably help. :thumbs:
 
CraigDouglas said:
I've put up a feeding station in our garden complete with water dish, a seed mix wth lots of different seed, a feeder with nuts in and a ball feed thing. Its been up about a week but have had no interest at all so far. There is one big tree near our garden (about 60ft tall!) which is about 15meters from the feeding station and there are a few gardens with lots of trees bushes and shrubs in. The feeding station is right on the edge of our vegetable patch and we have a pagola and a shed right near the feeding station which should provide good stop points for the birds.

What else should we doing to try to attract them to our garden? I can get a photo of the gardn if it may help you give some advise?
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Do you have a resident Sparrowhawk???

That will definitely make small tweeters stay clear of your garden.

My garden is pretty quiet at the moment anyway and I read on an RSPB related link that that can be due to the breeding season being over and a plentiful supply of post-summer food being available in the fields etc.

Once that source dries up you can be sure your feeders will get the desired attention.
 
About 1200mm IIRC mate.........:D
 
Joe T said:
1. More focal length
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Joe T said:
2. More focal length
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Joe T said:
3. More focal length
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I disagree!! Good field craft is always going to beat focal length...and is a lot more rewarding :)

Of course, you aren't going to be getting decent shots with 50mm....(edit...unless you are NikonF4s ;))

I have upto 400mm at my disposal, but quite often just use the 70-200 2.8 without the 2x extender. With a decent hide and a good bit of research it is possible to get the shots with 200mm. I'd been chasing kingfishers around Manchester with 400mm for close on 2 years and had shots, but nothing that were amazing, or even 'really good.' The first shot of a kingfisher I got that was 'really good' was almost full frame at 200mm...just lucky I discovered a well known Suffolk location :D
 
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