Photographing Birds at the Pond

 Backyard Fun With Blackbirds

In the spring, around the second week of April, my back yard comes alive and begins to sound like a jungle when all the migratory birds arrive.  The most interesting grouping is a varied assortment of black birds:  Red-winged, Yellow-headed, Tricolored, Brewer's and even some starlings. 

The birds congregate in the 50 foot, 15.24m elm trees, which are close to the pond, near my back fence and as if on signal, they float down to the pond for drinks and baths. 

Not only are the birds quite entertaining, they also offer some great photo ops when they are drinking and splashing around in the pond.  All I need to do is set up my Nikon D90 with the 500mm 4.0 lens on the tripod and wait quietly on the walkway in the back of my house. Once I become still and out of sight, the birds will begin to trickle down to the waterfall and pond from the trees.  

 

To be far enough away and go unnoticed by the birds, I am shooting at a distance of approximately 48 feet, 14.63m and even with a 500mm lens the birds appear much smaller in the camera.  Many times, I will have to crop in on the image to bring the bird up to fill the frame.

Since the 500mm lens is manual focus, I really have to concentrate in order to get the bird's eyes in sharp focus. However with the continuous drive of the D90 shooting up to 4.5 frames per second, I have a pretty good chance to catch the action with some sharp images. 

 Opening the aperture to f/8 allows for greater depth of field but also calls for a slower shutter speed.  In order to get up to a speed of 1/500sec. for stop action on the birds, I adjust the ISO from 400 to 800 depending on the light to bump up the shutter speed. 

 I don't think there is anything quite as entertaining as watching birds splashing around in water, taking baths.  It is not necessary to have a pond to attract birds, any shallow object filled with water will do.  The best location is always under or near a tree.  And this has just given me an idea for my next blog entry:  "Let's Make a Birdbath".  So check back next week and see what objects I've found that will make great  bird baths!  

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

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Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

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