The Art of Bird Finding

Photographing birds in the wild is a hit and miss game. The first thing you need is to know where the birds like to be and what their habits are. You've got to meet them where they are. Next, you've got to be there at the right time. This involves varying amounts of luck. Yes, you can choose, as we did to be in the right place at the right time of year. But there is still the problem of being within photographing range of a birds at any particular moment.

But to get a bird like this Gray Eared Thrush to stand on a nearby rock and pose for us (remember, there are four of us with tripods and large lenses gathered about 15 feet away), requires a little more assistance.

This is accomplished using a bird call app on an iphone and a bluetooth speaker. The speaker is places in the bushes in the desired location and we "call" the bird to come. Some come to dispute the "visitors" invasion of his territory (like this one), others come to congregate in a more social fashion. Is this cheating? Is this really any different than putting our a bird feeder to attract birds?

But much of the trip was heavily dependent on simply spying the bird nearby. This Arctic Tern was simply standing on a rock near the road.

This Golden Crowned Sparrow was another visitor to one of the "calling" sessions. Birds like to perch up on something so they can see around them, so being near a rock or stump is a good bet for attracting the bird and getting a well posed shot.