PHOTOGRAPHING AT MIGRATION FLYWAYS
Many species are easier to photograph while they are migrating than in their breeding grounds.
It’s been said a few times in this book, but it’s worth repeating: it’s better to have the birds approach you than for you to approach them. Blind photography probably conforms to this principle in its purest form, and it is well suited to photographing migrating birds at staging sites as the birds stop to rest and feed. You can also get good results without a blind by waiting calmly in the right spot. Photographing migrating birds is based not only on knowledge about staging sites and ideal weather conditions, but also on tenaciously waiting for good opportunities.
Photographing Resting Birds on Migration
Over the years I have photographed feeding and resting birds along their migration paths on numerous occasions both in my native Finland and abroad. In Finland my favorite staging sites are two islands on the Gulf of Finland, Utö in the Archipelago Sea and Långskär in the Åland Islands archipelago. Both islands are out on the open sea and offer the first opportunity for rest after a long flight over the sea for the migrating birds as they are heading north. There are also many sources of food for a variety of bird species. While the spring and autumn migrations are in full swing, the islands see a wide range of bird species, offering something new to photograph on a daily basis. You can read more about Utö in the chapter “Utö Island on the Baltic Sea.”
When you’re photographing at staging sites, remember that the sites are vital for the birds’ welfare as places of rest and refueling before continuing their journeys. Especially when photographing the more shy and wary species, it’s best to use a blind and stay hidden there for long periods. This way you get close to the birds, and they get to rest and feed in peace.
Many small birds, such as Red-breasted Flycatchers, are easier to photograph at staging sites than in their breeding biotopes in the murky forests.
A great place for photographing resting birds on spring migration is Eilat in Israel, which is covered in more detail in its own chapter. The area offers many types of feeding biotopes for different species within a relatively small area, and in spring it’s the first green oasis after crossing a big desert as the birds are heading north from their winter grounds in Africa. There is no legal bird hunting in Israel, which has made the birds quite trusting, and they are easy enough to approach within photographing range.
Many islands in the eastern Mediterranean, such as the Greek island of Lesbos, are excellent stopovers for birds on spring migration.
A migrating Red-breasted Flycatcher on an island in the Baltic Sea (Ficedula parva)
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 800mm f/5.6 plus 1.4x extender, 1/250 second, f/11.0, ISO 500, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head. Parainen, Finland, May 2010.
European Bee-eaters stop in Eilat to refuel on migration (Merops apiaster)
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 800mm f/5.6, 1/2000 second, f/9.0, ISO 1250, continuous focus with an extended central focusing point, handheld camera. Eilat, Israel, May 2009.
Photographing Flying Birds on Migration
Many well-known sites for migration observation can be very good photo sites. What is decisive for a photographer, though, is not how many birds pass the site on their migration, but how often they pass close enough to be within a good photographing distance. Ten migrating Common Buzzards that fly close to the photographer is better than 20,000 migrating birds high up in the sky.
As a rule of thumb, birds flying into a headwind are better for photographers than birds flying with a tailwind, because a headwind forces the birds to fly closer to the earth’s surface. When the birds are flying with a tailwind, the best time for photography is in the early morning, before the birds have gained their cruising altitudes. Other key factors in migration behavior are visibility, cloud cover, and precipitation.
Species that are otherwise hard to photograph, such as many raptors, can be quite easy to photograph on migration. Birds often flock during migration, even if they disperse into pairs upon reaching their breeding grounds. In Finland, a flock of Common Wood-Pigeons or cranes, for instance, is easiest to photograph at a staging site or after the breeding season because they gather in communal feeding flocks before starting on their autumn migrations.
Migrating European Starlings in Falsterbo (Sturnus vulgaris)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 500mm f/4.0, 1/2500 second, f/5.6, ISO 400, continuous focus with 45 focusing points, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head. Falsterbo, Sweden, October 2004.
Breeding successes and failures cause some species’ numbers to fluctuate greatly, and with certain nomadic birds, for example, you may have to wait several years before there is any chance of good photo opportunities.
Birds tend to use different routes for their spring and autumn migrations. In Finland, good spots for spring migration include the Porkkala Spit in Kirkkonummi, the archipelago on the eastern Gulf of Finland, the archipelago outside Kristiinankaupunki, and the Parhalahti fishing harbor in Pyhäjoki. In autumn the premier place for migration is the tip of the Hanko Peninsula, which is covered in more detail in the chapter “Hanko Peninsula, Finland.”
Other great locations near Finland for spring migration include the Curonian Spit in Lithuania, Cape Kolka in Latvia, and Põõsaspea Spit in Estonia. Autumn migration, from a photographer’s perspective, is good in Estonia in Põõsaspea, Sõrve on Saaremaa Island, Puise in the Matsalu Bay, and Falsterbo in Sweden.
Falsterbo, at the southernmost tip of Sweden, is the best place in Scandinavia for photographing birds on their autumn migration, and it is one of the best locations in Europe. Millions of birds pass through and over Falsterbo, including tens of thousands of raptors, a few hundred thousand Common Wood-Pigeons, and more than 100,000 European Starlings. There is no shortage of targets for your camera. For a photographer, the best time is probably from mid-September to mid-October. Winds from the south and southwest and clear skies are on photographers’ wish lists.
Tarifa offers good opportunities to photograph many raptors, such as Short-toed Eagles (Circaetus gallicus)
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 800mm f/5.6, 1/1600 second, f/5.6, ISO 800, continuous focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head. Tarifa, Spain, September 2008.
In addition to these locations, other proven areas include Tarifa in Spain and Eilat in Israel, both of which are especially good for raptor photography. Eilat is best in spring, and Tarifa works well in both spring and autumn.
Each location has its special features, but they all share one common denominator: many factors must fall into place to make a good day.
The main raptor migration in Tarifa is between the last week in August and the end of September. I’ve been in Tarifa at the end of August and in the first two weeks of September. On a good day, thousands, if not tens of thousands, of raptors pass Tarifa, but that doesn’t automatically mean you get good opportunities to use your camera. The migratory paths vary from day to day and can even change during the day.
Tarifa is quite large, and there are remarkable variations in the local elevations. You can go many days without finding an ideal place for photography. There is a beautiful new roofed observation center at a watch point a few kilometers east of the town Tarifa, by the main road. Mornings and evenings tend to offer the best opportunities.
The ideal conditions for raptor photography develop when strong easterly winds, the Levante, blow for several days. Coming from the north, the raptors can drift too far west, and when they hit the coastline they turn back east toward Tarifa, where they cross the ocean to Africa. Flying into a headwind forces them to fly low and slow, which makes them very easy to photograph, and a dark mountainside in the background is often a nice bonus. The Levante can be so strong that it makes photography difficult. Try to find a good spot next to a building or a rock, where you can photograph without the worst of the wind hitting you.
Find out if there are good migration lines or staging sites in your area, and make field trips to determine how well they suit your photography.
Although the best migration paths tend to be found along the coasts and other clear flyways, anyone can find good spots in their area where birds come to rest. These spots often draw migrating birds and offer good opportunities for photographing them.