Is this the wrong time for Bird and Wildlife photography?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ค. 2024
- So, you all know that this little photography adventure is, for me, a new thing. Since spring (finally) hit and the green appeared on the trees, I have been finding myself struggling more with the wildlife photography than before.
Is it just me? Is it just the wrong time of year for wildlife photography? HELP! Advice is much needed!
The birds are active now with chicks, constantly finding food so can be difficult to photograph. Early morning and into the evening are your best bets for birds and mammals until the end of summer. I know a lot of birders move to butterflies and dragonflies during the summer months.
To be honest, sitting still for a bit, staying in one place, letting things settle round you helps.
If your out and just hear or see wildlife, even if it's not a good image, should be good result. It's all learning, it clears the ind and wildlife photography is the ultimate mindfulness intervention as you can not be anything other than there and in the moment!
Also, wildlife knows when you're about to pack up, or your time in an area has run out and everything will show itself as you leave.
Oh tell me about it, the amount of time I am heading back to the car... like in this video, and my previous one especially!
Earlier morning is best, and l mean get to your location before sunrise! Yes it does hurt to be woken at 4 or 5am! [lm definitely not a morning person] but l guarantee when your there at that unearthly hour you will feel the magic of just being there!
I too, am not a morning person, so I feel your pain! :D
This is my first spring doing wildlife photography as well and I was surprised how light the activity is. I think it is mostly because of nesting since lots of animals aren't in their usual areas.
I agree, I would have thought there would be a lot more activity visible... I shall remember for next year and be better prepared! Ha!
Most of my photographer friends switch to Dragonfly and Butterfly subjects once it gets past the middle of May for this reason, the small passerines in particular become much more difficult when the leaves are out. They are also much less likely to show themselves as they are already paired up and busy nesting and taking care of young.
First good video
Second for me it doesn't matter what season it is
I do nothing but struggle to get any kind of a birdshot or animal shop for that matter
Mostly because I'm legally blind with permission that it brainstorm and ocular migraines out the wazoo every single day so I live with a crap load of pain so getting out is step one step two is not looking up at the Sun or anywhere near it which makes things worse except three going out only when it's cloudy and even then I'm subject to certain frequencies that trigger my ocular migraines
So the best I can do is my weekend warrior photography for a limited amount of hour and a half maybe 2 hours if I'm lucky but I don't drive so I have to ride a bike everywhere I go and then walk the rest of it and then I have to ride my butt back home up cardiac arrest hill which is a nice lovely 2000 plus feet climb
I find early starts are good this time of year, while it's still quiet out people wise!! You'll be surprised at what's about at 5.30 in the morning 🙂
Don't say that... i'm really not a morning person ;) Haha!
@@mikestebbingsphotography you may have to become one, I have gotten every warbler post mid may before 7am in the US this year
Persistence is key - but I imagine it's nesting time. by mid-summer should be more opportunities. Fall to spring is the best time with little to no tree leaves
I cannot wait for Autumn/fall, hopefully the activity will be much better!
@@mikestebbingsphotography I suppose I too should focus on shore birds and other wildlife - cheers
@@i.norman That's where I am off to tomorrow!
@@mikestebbingsphotography Good Luck and I should do the same before summer is over - haha
You're doing great, Mike. You're becoming more and more natural in front of the camera, and I am loving the progress. Great stuff, mate.
Thanks buddy!
Yes mate, that's why you go for more open landscapes now. In the middle of a green forest you need so much luck. There are plenty of birds, you can hear them constantly throughout the video, but you can't see far and those buggers love hiding. You could scout out some nests for posting, woodpeckers are usually relatively easy to find. Once you know a location, and you can get close, find the spots they land... You can get nice set-ups sometimes. This is where you need knowledge of the birds you want to photograph to give you the most chances, and for that you just need a lot of observation and patience really.
Great advice, thanks!
It’s the shiny white legs mate. Scares them away 😉 Kidding, but seriously, one thing I’ve learnt in the short amount of time I’ve been doing wildlife photography is that there are very rarely any guarantees. Wild is wild, and they will do and go anywhere they bloody want. The trick is to persevere and keep going out.
I'll have to start putting on fake tan ;)
mid-may to August, I switch to insects after 9am, birds like us don't want to be in the heat of the day so they are high in the canopy keeping cool in the shade with full bellies the only birds I can get after 9am are your fly catchers, blue birds and swallows and to get them I have to mow the lawn.
Don't tell Mrs. S, she will have me out mowing the lawn all the time ;)
There you are.. you got a nice Red kite in the end. You know it is all about being out in nature and empty your head as we say here in Holland. Me too, I like walking around and doing stalking photography. I simply don’t like sitting in a hide for hours or walking around like a kind of tree in a ghilly suit. I like your style, nothing pretentious. Take care and I am looking forward to your next video to come.. cheers Ron😀👍
Thanks Ron. I'm not a patient person... so why I took up wildlife photography, I will never know! Haha!
Hi Mike it’s an awkward time is spring birds migrating back start breeding almost straightaway now most will be on eggs or have young.
August the birds start to relax and feed a bit more also look for warblers and other migration birds feeding up ready for the flight back over seas in late August and early September.
find a potentially good spot to sit or stand eventually you’ll be rewarded.
I have been bird spotting for 40 years but recently brought a Nikon p 950 bridge 83x optical zoom A hide 2 trail cams and rucksack .as I already have the coolpix p100 .
I’m trying to find out if both my camera can use the same plug charger I can start to photograph and film the wildlife now.
There was a park near my house. I went there whenever I had free time. Sometimes nothing, other times JACKPOT … In that one park alone I photographed birds I’ve never seen in my 53 years of living. Birds I didn’t know existed. My point is find a spot and frequent it. Best of luck
Fair point, I tend to go to a lot of the same places at the moment so very familar with the areas... just very hit and miss with the birdies!
Nice video Mike and like yourself this is my first spring shooting Wildlife. I think as with all wildlife there is always no guarantees but for myself I have noticed all the leaves have made it a lot more challenging haha.
Personally I think Spring is a cracking time but as ever its very much about being in the right place at the right time. I've had a few trips where I've struggled to see much, then others where I have been spoilt for choice !
Thanks as always buddy! Its those pesky beautiful green leaves that keep getting in my way!
Thats just the way wildlifephotography and birding is some times.
Is there records accessible on numbers of birds?
I wouldn't call it a failure.
You're making videos and talking. That's your problem. 😁
Ha, well, yes, that is a fair point.
Spring is an amazing time for bird photography.
If you can find a tit nest then the adults will be in and out with food for the chicks very frequently. Many migrants are returning.
More leaves does mean it can be harder to spot them, but select your areas carefully and then have patience as you observe and listen. Sometimes the most obvious (and easily overlooked) places are best; I came across a great tit nest in leaves on a stone wall and a family of pheasants right there. Heavily leafy woods can be tricky for spotting and for light. Don’t forget lakes and beaches.
And don’t feel too bad for having days where you blank, we all have them. Sometimes even weeks or months when we don’t get what we’re hoping for. Stick with it and be patient.
You might want to set up a blind and then put up some food in certain areas within that focal length that you wish that could actually help I'm thinking about doing that down at Rocky River there's quite a few sections I could just sit my butt down and not worry about anything unless the birds come to me