LEARN ABOUT YOUR SUBJECT
Knowledge in bird behavior and biology helps improve your photography.
Nowadays quite a few people start bird photography with no previous knowledge of birds. It’s clear that anyone who is just starting bird photography is in a different position than those who have spent decades observing birds, even if they are new to photography. Studying bird behavior, phenology (the rhythm of biological phenomena and the effect of various factors on this rhythm), and bird songs and calls, by spending time in the field observing and learning why and when birds do what they do, yields a wealth of information that cannot be found in books. Besides being fun, fieldwork gives you experience, and it gets easier to recognize one-off situations that are rarely seen, let alone photographed. These situations deserve more time and effort than most other events that you come across.
One way for a fledgling bird photographer to cut many corners is to hook up with a more experienced bird photographer. Many veterans have at least tried, probably many times, to photograph any species that you are starting with. Some of them are happy to share their knowledge. Another way to learn the ropes is by taking part in photography courses and workshops run by other photographers who give much-needed advice and support to beginners and advanced photographers alike. Workshops are also a great way to meet other people with similar interests. Some photographers prefer to roam the wilderness alone, but in my opinion cooperation and the exchange of information about locations yield better results.
Bird watchers observe birds with binoculars and telescopes. Binoculars are an essential tool for a bird photographer too, whether for following a bird in its nest-building activities or looking for places where birds are feeding. Sometimes your eyes are not enough for locating birds and you need a good pair of binoculars to spot, for example, a flock of partridges feeding in the middle of a field, or a Snowy Owl perching on the edge of a ditch. Binoculars will also help you determine if anything, like a twig, is obscuring your shot and help you see if there is a better view from a different angle.
As a rule of thumb, photographers should let birds approach them, not the other way around. You will soon learn that birds will move away from you or fly away completely if you try to get close to them. At least, this is the case in countries where birds are hunted. By nature birds are shy and wary, so you must outsmart them if you wish to get close. A photography blind is perfect, but sometimes it is enough to blend in with your surroundings by wearing camouflage clothes or by throwing a camouflage net over yourself and your camera equipment. Birds will lose their wariness and return to their normal activities as soon as you disappear from sight. Shooting from a blind can yield photos of bird behavior that would otherwise be impossible to witness or capture.
The chapter “How to Build and Use a Blind” elaborates, but in short, photography blinds work best in places where birds gather naturally, such as display grounds, breeding sites, and feeding and resting places. It is best to leave your blind in the same place for a period of time because birds will soon get used to it. You need to have an escort to see some species and to go into some areas, such as nesting sites. But no escort is needed on a stretch of shore full of feeding waders. Read more about the different ways to get a bird to come close to your blind in the chapter “Attracting Birds.”
Scanning the arctic terrain in the Finnish Lapland, looking for Snowy Owls
A Red-flanked Bluetail in the taiga (Tarsiger cyanurus)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 500mm f/4.0, 1/160 second, f/5.0, ISO 200, one-shot focus with one focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head. Kuusamo, Finland, June 2005.
It is worth knowing that even migrating birds can be territorial. Small birds have their own feeding territories and keep coming back to the same spot to look for food, even to the same branch. By observing such sites and behavior and calmly waiting nearby, you can get some great shots of small birds, which are usually elusive and super fast. Time and patience usually work in your favor!
What, Where, and When?
You should study bird phenology to learn about the timing of events in birds’ life cycles that recur on a yearly basis. It is especially important for a bird photographer to know when to photograph a certain species or behavior. Take, for example, most songbirds, like the Red-flanked Bluetail, which inhabits the taiga. They are easiest to photograph right when they return in the spring, because that is when they sing the most enthusiastically. The same applies to many other passerine species. After their singing season is over, they become more secretive and hard to spot.
You should lay out a time frame on a calendar by marking down the best times for photographing the species you are after. Your knowledge and understanding of what type of places draw the most birds in different seasons will grow with experience. The Capercaillie, for instance, has a relatively long displaying season, but the best week for photography is when the females arrive to the lek for mating. In southern Finland this is usually at the end of April, but the farther north you go, the later it takes place, until finally in Arctic Inari they mate in mid-May. Your time frame can never be exact, though, because birds take their cues from the seasonal changes in weather, mainly from the pace of the snow melt and the changes in temperature. Whatever kind of schedule you can give yourself for photography, try making it as flexible as possible.
Most bird species try to nest out of sight, and many make their nests deep in the vegetation or hidden inside a hole in a tree. It requires extensive knowledge and lots of field time to find the nests of small birds, and it takes true expertise to find a nest with a Common Cuckoo’s egg. In Finland, the Common Cuckoo’s host species is usually a Redstart, whereas in the Pusztaszer area in Hungary, a Common Cuckoo will lay its egg in the nest of a Great Reed-Warbler. To find a Common Cuckoo nest, you need to know the host. You can read more about nest photography in the chapter “Photographing at Nests.”
A Great Reed-Warbler feeding a young Common Cuckoo (Acrocephalus arundinaceus, Cuculus canorus)
Nikon D200, 300mm f/2.8, 1/1000 second, f/4.0, ISO 400, one-shot focus, Gitzo tripod and video head. Hungary, June 2006.
The start of the nesting season varies from one year to another, depending on whether spring starts early or late and also on the food situation. In a good vole year owls start breeding weeks earlier than when the vole population is low. If the vole numbers are at an all-time low, owls may skip breeding altogether.
Different species migrate at different times. Each species has a so-called peak migration, which is when the largest numbers migrate. In spring, adult waders are in a hurry to reach their breeding grounds in the Siberian tundra, and they stop for only the shortest possible breaks along their migration routes. On their autumn migration, which takes place in July, they are less hurried and are relatively easy to photograph in breeding plumage while feeding on popular wader shores. Highly visible formations like headlands, waterways, and mountain ranges are the leading lines that channel birds in their migration flight, and staging sites along these routes draw migrating birds every year for much-needed rest and food. These are good locations for photographing migrating birds.
Bird Behavior
Birds have excellent eyesight; they can spot a predator circling up above far quicker than we can. Birds keep an eye on the sky by tilting their heads sideways. In the picture, a Red-necked Phalarope was feeding on a pond in the arctic tundra when suddenly it flattened itself down against the water’s surface. It tilted its head sideways and looked up into the sky. This helped the photographer spot a Gyrfalcon circling above! Other waders behave in the same way when they’re on open shores. Similarly, small birds stop dead in their tracks when they hear a warning call or see a predator.
A Red-necked Phalarope flattens itself against the surface of the water as a Gyrfalcon circles above (Phalaropus lobatus)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, 500mm f/4.0, 1/500 second, f/11.0, ISO 400, one-shot focus with one focusing point, ground pod. Varanger Peninsula, Norway, June 2006.
Another useful piece of information is that birds take off into a headwind. This is handy to know when you prepare to take flight shots or when you approach birds, which is best done with the wind behind you or at your side. You should never chase birds into flight. Instead, you should check the wind direction and stay in a good spot to wait for the birds to take off. This way they may fly past you at close range. Most birds indicate clearly when they are about to take off. Geese, for example, shake their heads a couple of times, and cranes make coughing noises and perform a specific sequence of steps just prior to lifting off.
Ravens have different calls for different predators (Corvus corax)
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, 800mm f/5.6 plus 1.4x extender, 1/320 second, f/16, ISO 800, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head, blind. Spain, November 2010.
Bird Songs and Calls
Knowing bird songs and calls is a huge advantage, especially in the woods. A Common Crossbill’s alarm call can lead a photographer to a napping owl. The very secretive Red-flanked Bluetail’s gentle alarm, tschak, can reveal its nest to a bird photographer who has keen ears. If you hear a Curlew male give its unmistakable, plaintive, and lonely cour-leee, you can expect Curlew mating to take place soon.
It is easy to learn birds’ songs from recordings, but many of their calls and alarms can be heard only out in the field. The importance of these little sounds cannot be overstated because the many little clicking sounds, agitated chatterings, squeaks, and shrill whistles can help a bird photographer navigate toward interesting subjects and exciting action.
Sitting in a blind and waiting for something to happen can be tiresome, and you may find your eyes just won’t stay open. Try to keep your snooze to a light catnap, though, because ravens will tell you when an eagle is flying. It pays to stay tuned to the sounds that carry into the blind because they will help you be ready when something starts to happen. The action is fast and often doesn’t last long, like an eagle chasing ravens as it arrives at a carcass.
Ravens have a rich and complex repertoire of sounds, and there is a certain call for different dangers, like an eagle flying, or Goshawks and Gyrfalcons. You will learn to discern the ravens’ many alarm calls, and after a while you will know without looking out from the blind which predator is causing the commotion.
Listening to what is going on outside is also useful in a goose blind. Geese pair up while migrating north, so when they land on any of the stopover or staging sites along their routes they feed and chat with one another in a calm fashion. If their communication becomes excited, you know that something is about to happen; they might be getting ready to take off, or maybe a neighboring male has come too close to a paired female and there will be a chase or a fight. These are opportunities you should not miss!
A Golden Eagle chases Common Ravens from a carcass (Aquila chrysaetos, Corvus corax)
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 300mm f/2.8, 1/1250 second, f/3.2, ISO 1600, continuous focus with 45 focusing points, Manfrotto 501 video head, blind. Utajärvi, Finland, January 2008.
By keeping an eye on the Common Ravens and listening to their calls, you won’t be caught by surprise when something happens (Aquila chrysaetos, Corvus corax)
Nikon D3S, 400mm f/2.8, 1/500 second, f/4.0, ISO 1600, continuous focus with 51 focusing points, Manfrotto 501 video head attached to a blind. Utajärvi, Finland, January 2011.
Every piece of information you glean about your subject raises your chances of getting better photos. You should start by knowing where to find your subject and how to photograph it—this comes only through years of fieldwork. And then you should be prepared to have patience and give your projects the time they need. This is a good recipe for taking successful shots, and when you add a pinch of luck, you can take a winning shot!
Bean Geese squabbling and feeding on a field in spring (Anser fabalis)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 300mm f/2.8, 1/1000 second, f/5.6, ISO 200, continuous focus with 45 focusing points, ground pod. Liminka Bay, Finland, April 2004.