What time to Shoot Birds in these places.....

[Turbonetics]

Haha...those sifus very skill in camo and sheath so that the bird would not detect them.
Focal length also important.

The birds are better in camo themself,that's why we always hear the calls but can't see the birds.
Most of the time the birds will see u before u see them,unless u use a hide and wait for them to come.
But some birds are so skittish that when they see a hide,they will not perch nearby..they are smart creatures.
my recent attempt on one of a skittish bird that hide doesn't help..I had to hide behind the bushes and about 15-20m away from its usual perch.

For starters,i would say go out and find the birds to shoot first rather than wait..its easier to shoot the bigger birds first like Egret and Herons or common birds like Sunbirds,Oriole...etc

 

[daredevil123]

Are these birders shot from Taiwan?
I notice they seem to prefer ballhead over Gimbal?
any idea on the reason(s) behind it?

Yes bro, these are Taiwan birders. And 99% of them prefer Video Fluid heads. I see many taiwan birders using the very very expensive Sachtler fluid heads (almost double the price of Wimberly). I am using one as well but the cheapo Manfrotto one. My Gimbal is mostly in my drawer.

With Fluid heads, you can follow small fast moving birds very well, since there is resistance to make your movement very smooth. So you do not over pan or over tilt. And since you shoot mostly with a cable release, vibration to the camera is minimal. One hand on the control handle, one hand on the cable release. Downsides is that it is more difficult to shoot portrait orientation, and birds in flight across are still better shot with gimbal. With Fluid heads it is easier to shoot fast moving small birds that jumps around, eg, like sunbirds and tits.

 

[Fable]

The birds are better in camo themself,that's why we always hear the calls but can't see the birds.
Most of the time the birds will see u before u see them,unless u use a hide and wait for them to come.
But some birds are so skittish that when they see a hide,they will not perch nearby..they are smart creatures.
my recent attempt on one of a skittish bird that hide doesn't help..I had to hide behind the bushes and about 15-20m away from its usual perch.

For starters,i would say go out and find the birds to shoot first rather than wait..its easier to shoot the bigger birds first like Egret and Herons or common birds like Sunbirds,Oriole...etc

Thanks for the information. Agree to start with sunbird, heron etc for starter.

 

[richiemccaw1]

This is exciting stuff. Whole new ballgame as compared to landscapes.

 

[daredevil123]

The important thing is to learn about the birds' behaviors in a particular place. Birds in different places have different tolerances in terms of safety distance. They also have different habits in terms of feeding and some of them do follow a routine. You cannot expect to go out to a location the first time without prior knowledge and expect to have the birds perching around you 4-5m away. You need to learn their habits.

You can try shooting sunbirds feeding on flowers in gardens like botanical gardens or GBTB. The birds there are more tolerant of human presence because they see people all the time. but they still have a safety distance. Break that distance and they will still fly away. Sometimes if you move close to them, the movement will also scare them away. Most of the times, it is better to know where the birds like to perch or feed, and wait for them to come, camping at a safe distance away.

You also need to learn how some of the birds behave. Like a Common Kingfisher, after diving for a fish, it will have to land on a spot to eat it. All these spots will be spots the birds are familar with. After observing for while you will know that bird's pattern and its preferred locations. After the CKF swallows the food, you wait for it to poop. After the poop it will fly off within a few seconds. And after 2-3 dives, it will ruffle its feathers to get the water out of its wings. All these understanding of the birds, will enable you to prepare for certain shots, like taking off, or landing shots.

This is an example of how close I managed to a sunbird in a park in Vietnam. It was too attracted to the flower buffet. What we did was to wait for the birds to come feed on the flowers. And BTW, this kind of flowers is one of the favorites for sunbirds. Birds of paradise flowers is another favorite for sunbirds. So not only do you need to know the birds, you need to know their habits, know the plants/fruit/flowers they like to feed on, and know their routine.

 

[richiemccaw1]

I have also thought that bird shots are heavily cropped. How true is this? This is part of the reason why I have not been very into birding since my current set up consists only of 10-16MP cameras.

 

[daredevil123]

I have also thought that bird shots are heavily cropped. How true is this? This is part of the reason why I have not been very into birding since my current set up consists only of 10-16MP cameras.

Some shots you have to crop. Some shots the birds are so close you cannot frame the whole bird in. The shot above of the sunbird is very lightly cropped only around 10% cropped away. It is cropped for composition sake.

16MP is enough for birding, even for cropping. I am using a 16MP camera myself, and a Fullframe cam too, giving me less reach than APS-C.

 

[daredevil123]

Thanks for the information. Agree to start with sunbird, heron etc for starter.

TS, Sunbirds will give you a workout already. They are very fast moving jumping from one spot to another.

Usually, the bigger the bird, the slower they fly, the easier to shoot. One of the exceptions is Eagles. Because they have such great eyesight, they can see you even from 2 miles away (3.2 km).

 

[richiemccaw1]

Some shots you have to crop. Some shots the birds are so close you cannot frame the whole bird in. The shot above of the sunbird is very lightly cropped only around 10% cropped away. It is cropped for composition sake.

16MP is enough for birding, even for cropping. I am using a 16MP camera myself, and a Fullframe cam too, giving me less reach than APS-C.

Thanks this gives me abit more confidence in my current setup for birding.

If I may, do you usually AF or MF when it comes to birding? Some Nex guys have been using FD telephoto primes for birding. Just wondering how feasible it is. Focus to infinity and fire away

 

[daredevil123]

Thanks this gives me abit more confidence in my current setup for birding.

If I may, do you usually AF or MF when it comes to birding? Some Nex guys have been using FD telephoto primes for birding. Just wondering how feasible it is. Focus to infinity and fire away

I use both. Depend on what I want to achieve. Mostly on AF. And even on AF, you need to know when to use what, single point tracking? dynamic 21 point? dynamic 51 point? or 3D matrix? Each is useful for different situations.

But I never use infinity. Because the best birding shots have a clean blurred out background. If you use infinity focusing, you cannot achieve that.

But this is just me. I am relatively new in birding compared to many of the bros here.

 

[richiemccaw1]

Good point about the separation.. Didnt remember that. MF is not easy with birds man.

 

[the mac 13]

I recently bought some camo net, planned to sit and cover myself with the net or even walk with the net around me, I wonder will it be effective in camo-ing?

Something like this: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e1100...271300471894&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:SG:3160

 

[daredevil123]

I recently bought some camo net, planned to sit and cover myself with the net or even walk with the net around me, I wonder will it be effective in camo-ing?

Something like this: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e1100...271300471894&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:SG:3160

When moving around, the net might not be the best. And easy to snag on something. When you find your spot, setup the net and wait. That is best use for the net.

 

[Fable]

Question : Is it advisable to bring along bird foods (grain, seed etc)
for birding shots at these places?

 

[the mac 13]

Ok, while camping, in your experience, have snakes ever come up to you? That's my number fear.. :embrass: Is there like some spray to protect you from the snakes like mosquito repellent?

 

[Turbonetics]

I recently bought some camo net, planned to sit and cover myself with the net or even walk with the net around me, I wonder will it be effective in camo-ing?

Something like this: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e1100...271300471894&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:SG:3160

Ok, while camping, in your experience, have snakes ever come up to you? That's my number fear.. :embrass: Is there like some spray to protect you from the snakes like mosquito repellent?

The net that u bought is best set up at a place and wait for your subject rather than walking around with it though it may help to certain extend.
some birds are very smart and when they see movements,they will still fly away or avoid perching near by.
as for snakes,they seldom come up to us but u still have to be more careful on the field though most of the time they will just slide away from u..very common people walk and look up the trees to find birds and didn't notice snake is just on the ground infront of them.
usually if iam shooting in the field area,i will wear my "market" boots.

 

[Turbonetics]

Question : Is it advisable to bring along bird foods (grain, seed etc)
for birding shots at these places?

haha,this is a question that nobody will answer u...lol

 

[the mac 13]

Thanks. I usually wear my hiking boots for the comfort and ability to walk in mud. Thanks for the tips all!

 

[daredevil123]

The net that u bought is best set up at a place and wait for your subject rather than walking around with it though it may help to certain extend.
some birds are very smart and when they see movements,they will still fly away or avoid perching near by.
as for snakes,they seldom come up to us but u still have to be more careful on the field though most of the time they will just slide away from u..very common people walk and look up the trees to find birds and didn't notice snake is just on the ground infront of them.
usually if iam shooting in the field area,i will wear my "market" boots.

+1 Great advice.

Snakes usually avoid people. Most snake bite accidents happen when humans step on snakes unknowingly or disturb their habitat unknowingly.

For me, if I am shooting in thicker growth areas or slightly muddy areas, my old SAF combat boots will come into play. No more reservist for me, so the boots don't need to be shiny. If I need to go into thick mud, my pua choo kang boots will come out.

 

[Fable]

Does good binocular helps in birding? I am thinking of getting it.