I usually concentrate on photographing large birds just because I don’t see them everyday and they fascinate me. But a lot can be said about photographing the little song birds. In a lot of ways, they are easier to photograph. That is, as long as you are patient, use some good small bird techniques and have a little knowledge of your subject.
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Below are just a few techniques and camera settings I used to make these two photos. By the way, both of these birds were photographed at Nygren Wetland Preserve in Rockton, Illinois.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
How did I make these photos:
- Picked a nice sunshiny day when the skies were clear.
- Went out late in the day to get some side-lighting and a little more warmth in the colors.
- Positioned myself in the back of a forest preserve far away from the general public.
- Selected a spot near several small trees. These trees were actually growing on a hill side, so my camera lens was level when focused halfway up the tree.
- Had my camera mounted on a tripod.
- Had my lens prefocused in an area of the tree where I thought the birds might land.
- Stood close against my tripod where I could get to my camera controls and viewfinder with minimal movement.
- Stood very still and remained silent.
- Waited for the birds to come to me. Most of my time was spent watching the birds move through the trees and listening to their songs. Not a bad way to spend an hour or two even if you don’t get any good photos.
My camera settings:
- Auto White Balance. Due to the occasional passing cloud, the color temperature was shifting. I almost always shoot in RAW, so I can fine tune the white balance during post production if needed.
- Aperture priority mode at f/5.6. I want very shallow depth of field to isolate the bird from the background.
- ISO 100. I did have Auto ISO engaged with the minimum shutter speed set to 1/250th of a second. There were some passing clouds, and I didn’t want to risk my shutter speed dropping too low.
- Continuous Release Mode-Low, which I have programmed for three frames per second. Could have went up to six frames, but I typically only fire in bursts of two or three frames anyway.
- Autofocus turned on. I do manual fine focusing for each bird to get the eyes tack sharp.
If you want to read more about shooting small perched birds, Steve Berardi over at Photo Naturalist has a great article titled “9 Tips For Photographing Perched Birds.” Steve’s website always has a wealth of information on all things related to nature and wildlife photography.
These photos were made using the Nikon D7000 with Nikon AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6, tripod mounted.
If you have any small bird tips or techniques that you would like to share, please post a comment below.
I returned to Nygren Wetland Preserve last Sunday in hopes for seeing the same 15 American White Pelicans that I saw on Saturday. I was in for a very big surprise. There were actually a few hundred pelicans present, broken into small groups of 50 or so throughout the preserve.
I spent the afternoon at Nygren wandering around and photographing this amazing sight. Several times while I was there, additional flocks of 30 to 50 birds would arrive, land and settle in with the others.
It was a heavily overcast day. Most of my time was spent sitting with my camera mounted to a tripod. As long as I maintained a low profile, these big white beauties didn’t seem to mind my presence and would swim right past me. Occasionally, when flocks were flying within the wetlands, I would remove my Nikon from the tripod and shoot handheld.
Sitting along the banks of one of the small lakes, a group of pelicans swam toward me. When they got near the bank, they all turned in the same general direction and began swimming with heads plunging into the water. I suspected, and later confirmed online, that pelicans work cooperatively to herd fish. So, not only did I get a good photo, but I also learned something new about pelicans.
One thing I found absolutely fascinating about the American White Pelican is the growth on the top of its bill. Each one of these is unique to a bird. I equated it to something similar to a fingerprint. Turns out the growth is actually a nuptial tubercle, which is a fibrous plate that will fall off when mating season is over. Hey…that’s two new things I learned.
I hated leaving Nygren Sunday. I knew all to well that I probably wouldn’t see these large flocks for at least six months when they make their southern migration. And it would be at least a year before I would see them again with all their bright orange and yellow mating colors. Maybe next year, I can make plans to spend more time out there with them.
These photos were made using the Nikon D7000 with Nikon AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6, both tripod mounted and handheld.
It’s been an amazing week photographically speaking. I’ve been wanting to photograph the American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) migration as it passed through northern Illinois. By the end of March though I was fairly disappointed and convinced that I had missed the opportunity this year.
Last Saturday, I decided to take one additional trip out to one of my favorite locations for wildlife, Nygren Wetland Preserve in Rockton, Illinois. My heart filled with joy when I saw a small bright white patch in the waters on the east end of the preserve.
After hiking over to the east side, I got to a vantage point directly across from the pelicans. It was a overcast day which gave me some nice even lighting and kept the exposure range down to an acceptable level.
All total, there were around 15 pelicans at Nygren resting up before continuing their journey. These birds are just incredibly beautiful creatures and a joy to watch. With 10 foot wing spans, they are masters of flight capable of nearly vertical takeoffs and long smooth glides. I truly am addicted to these birds now and look forward to capturing their visits each year from now on.
This isn’t the end of the story though. There is much, much more to report. Stay tuned.
These photos were made using the Nikon D7000 with Nikon AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6, tripod mounted.
I pass by the pond at Rock Valley College in Loves Park, Illinois many times a day. Usually there’s just the usual population of Canadian Geese, some Mallard Ducks and a pair of Mute Swans. Yesterday I caught site of this Great Blue Heron wading along waters edge.
Luckily, I had my cameras with me and was able to stop and make a few photos. I didn’t stay long though. It was bitter cold outside, the Heron was a little uneasy that I was there, and the Canadian Geese who are either nesting or preparing to nest where hissing at me.
The winter of 2010/2011 hasn’t been the best for me as far as getting out and photographing the Bald Eagles on the Mississippi River. There were conflicts with my job, poor weather, or just a lazy photographer (me) who couldn’t motivate himself to get up early and drive 120 miles to the Lock and Dams in Davenport, Iowa.
A couple weeks ago, I was driving through Rock Falls, Illinois. Crossing the Rock River, I discovered a small island in the middle of the river just full of Bald Eagles. Looking it up on a map, the small island is easily accessible by bridge and the Bald Eagles were primarily hanging out in Lawrence Park.
Since it was only an hour from my home, I returned the following Saturday to see if I could capture some good photos. Although the sky was somewhat grey, I spent several hours in and around Lawrence Park making photos of the eagles feeding on fish. Here are two of my favorites.
