Tips needed on photographing birds in the wild

u1bd2005

u1bd2005

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Name
Daniel
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Been searching a bit and reading through the sticky at the top of this section and really interested in capturing some good shots of some birds, im in the countryside so seems like something cool to do while on my walks.

Ok, so saw a Magpie land pretty close to me earlier today, was really quiet getting my camera out of my bag and managed to get a few quick snaps using the auto-settings on my camera, then tried to get in a little closer but it flew into the bushes/trees and out of sight, so I left it at that.

Was more of a spare of the moment thing today, captured the shot, but thats all it was, nothing special but has made me want to get some more quality photo's of birds etc... while they're in the wild.

What I'm thinking is important:
  • Fast shutter speed
  • Decent zoom
  • Keep as quiet and still as possible

Is there anything else you would recommend to help me get better photo's of them, and what would you think would be a good shutter speed to use, I use a Panasonic DMC-LZ20 Bridge Camera.

Thanks :)
 
Why not put up a bird feed station? That way you work at a set distance, attract a variety of birds and don't have to travel
 
Agree about a bird feeder, if you have somewhere you can put one.

It will allow you to practice and improve your skills. With a bit of work you can rig up a branch to be a feeder so it looks more natural.

What you learn there you can use elsewhere.

Also try a local park for swans, geese and ducks.

However, probably as important is learn about bird behaviour.

We probably all know that robins are quite tolerant of humans. Other birds that are fairly tolerant are coal tits, song thrushes, blackbirds.

The finches tend to sit and eat whereas the tit family will fly in, grab something and be gone very quickly.

Woodpeckers are very wary and as you have found out so are magpies.

Good luck

Dave
 
thanks for the tips guys, already have feeders/bird table etc... in my garden, but other than the odd pigeon or robin don't get many types in my garden.

It's more he interesting types such as magpies that I'm interested in, would probably be good practice to pop by a nature reserve for a bit of practice though.

And I suppose I could always practice on the less interesting birds too just t develop my skills :)
 
The best seeds I have found for attracting birds to feeders are sunflower hearts. They are not the cheapest but I find then far better than any other seed.

If you have magpies close to your home then you could try live meal worms. They, too, are not cheap but are the magpies around our house seem to be able to spot live meal worms within a few minutes.

Dave

BTW Live meal worms are liked by many birds - robins, in particular, will come very close to get meal worms.
 
Hi set your camera to center focus the highest iso that you can get a decent picture with - you can try this on a static subject to start with and av mode will give you more control.
Most bird have a safety zone and this distance varies - robins you can get close to but magpies woodpeckers jays etc are very wary but one way round this is to use a hide

There are various types of hide and if you stay still and move very slowly the birds will come to you especially if you feed them - fat balls, fat squares and peanuts are very good.

You should place a perch near to the feeders for the birds to land on before the go to the feeders - if you get a small log or stout branch you could try drilling shallow holes in and filling them with peanuts or fat mixture - if you make your own fat squares do not use lard use Britannia dripping it will not go all runny

good luck

Regards

Mike
 
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