Photographing songbirds in the wild with a 300mm lens

For this Bobolink photograph I stood quietly with the tripod
in a nearby ditch and waited for quite some time for him to land
in the right light.


I took some bluebird photographs from the car window and some
standing quietly, a distance from the pole with the tripod.


I stood in the shadows and aligned myself with a tree when I knew that
the Baltimore Oriole was singing and flying back and forth in this area and he finally landed
fairly close.

I took some photographs of the female American Redstart from the car window,

and some standing quietly with the tripod in the field next to tall weeds.

Photographing songbirds in the wild, (not including those in your backyard), with a 300mm lens seems to have been a main theme with most of my blog posts. Most bird photographers recommend at least a 500mm for small song birds and I couldn't agree more. A 300mm is not ideal for birding. Even so, as far as quality is concerned, I personally feel it's one of the best lenses ever made. Mine is a Nikon 300mm 2.8 (mine, unfortunately, does not have V.R. - "Vibration Reduction"). Regardless of the lens quality, it is no doubt difficult to get close to small birds in the wild.

In spite of my situation, dealing with the death of four parents and still taking care of estate matters, I have a passion for songbirds, and investing in a longer lens would not be wise for me at this time. I am hoping that I can offer tips to those in a similar situation, who love birds, wishing to photograph them but not wanting to invest so much money in a 500, 600 or 800mm lens. I have considered selling my lens many times, but it works so well with larger creatures, and is easier to maneuver when walking around, that I can't seem to let go of it.

If I were to sum up what I've learned over the past few years regarding the best way to photograph birds with a 300mm lens, I would offer the following tips.

I have found that my most successful song-bird photographs taken with the 300mm (usually with 1.7 TC) have been from a vehicle window. By successful, I mean somewhat closer to the bird than what I normally capture while standing near a tree with a tripod. On two recent occasions, the vehicle worked so well, that the small birds landed on the car rear-view mirror! (Now that's actually too close for a 300mm!) My window tripod is make-shift at this point, though, and can be a bit shaky, so I plan to find something better in the future.

Just so you know, though, almost all of the songbird photographs taken with a 300mm will be cropped since you are further away.

When approaching a field, I look around for any kind of perch, such as a tree, tall weed or post.

If there is no perch, it will be very unlikely that you will be able to photograph any birds, unless perhaps they are ground birds, such as the Meadowlark.

Once you find a perch, take a camping stool and approach the area slowly and place it close enough to the perch with the sun to your back. The other option is to find a tree near the perch and align yourself with the tree so that you don't stand out to the bird. I know that you can't outsmart them, and they can still see you, but you may not startle them as much if you are somewhat hidden and quiet.

The best times seem to be from sunrise to usually no later than 10:00 am when it's too bright, and then from about 3:00pm until the sun sets, and again, always with the sun to your back and your shadow aligned with the bird location.

Make sure that you are wearing subdued colors, such as green, tan or brown. Whether this really matters or not is still up for debate, but it can't hurt not to wear bright clothing. I have been told by a friend, that the color doesn't matter, that what's more important is that you stay still and quiet. Her father used to hunt deer in a bright red jumper and still came home with one.

A have noticed that the birds usually make a chirping sound when they land on a nearby tree, so it gives me an idea that one is near and may come closer if I wait long enough. They usually start out deep inside the tree, sometimes looking right at me and refusing to come closer. Occasionally, though, I will be blessed and one will "forget himself" and land in a perfect spot, within view and out of the shadows.

Over the years I have learned to become "pickier" when attempting to photograph birds. (I still say "attempting" because coming home with a good photograph of one is never guaranteed.) If the bird is hidden, in poor light, or has a branch shadow streaking across his body, or there is a distracting background, I don't bother taking the photograph anymore. Many wise people have said that while photographing, do not spend your time looking at the LCD screen and deleting photographs since you may miss a good opportunity. I do agree, but I must confess that to this day I still quietly go through the LCD screen anyway because I have no desire to stay up late at night going through 100's of photographs that are not good. I can usually tell right away whether the photograph is blurred or has a dark shadow in the wrong place, so I delete those immediately. This way, when I go home, I may literally have only 10 photos to upload, rather than staying up late. This may not work for others, but it works for me. We are privileged to have this feature that film photographers did not have years ago.

Some day, if I ever do invest in a longer lens, I'm sure that all that I've been through capturing the songbirds with the 300mm will help me to seriously appreciate the longer lens. I don't think I'll know what to do with myself when and if that day comes!

Eastern Phoebe juvenile, Palm Warblers non-breeding plumage, Eastern Bluebird, Black-crowned Night Heron

Photographs copyright
Brenda J Jones
please do not copy

The Juvenile Eastern Phoebe was at the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed. I did not realize that the Juvenile's have a yellow wash on their bellies.

The Palm Warblers and Eastern Bluebird were at the Pole Farm. The Palm Warblers are in their non-breeding plumage here, (October) so the dark crown on the head is not as prominent.









I am posting several photographs at once to make up for lost time.

I didn't realize that I never posted the Black-crowned Night Heron from the Millstone Aqueduct so I'm adding that here.

We stopped at the Pole Farm and were told not to park on the grass (where a great deal of photographer's and dog-walkers park regularly). This over-regulation by some is very sad for myself and a couple of other photographers. People who are being picky about these things may be surprised when the time comes for the farm to become developed with paved parking lots and bike paths right through the farm, with a possible astronomy viewing area and memorial, which has always been threatening on the horizon. Once that happens, wildlife will be a thing of the past at the Pole Farm and standing on the field edge or parking on the grass will seem like mild "offenses" by comparison.

Palm Warbler singing

The sun refused to come out steadily a couple days ago when I stopped briefly by the Pole Farm, so I did the best I could at capturing one of the Palm Warblers singing. Since it's October, the Palm Warblers are in their non-breeding plumage.

Palm Warbler, non-breeding plumage

I did manage to squeeze in a quick visit to the Pole Farm yesterday while running errands, and noticed Palm Warblers in a nearby tree in their non-breeding plumage. They quickly dispersed when a hawk landed in the tree.

Sorry for the delay...

Though I miss it dearly, I have not been able to photograph much lately due to a situation that has arisen that needs our immediate attention. In the meantime, I will post photographs now and then that I have already taken in the past (since I have thousands anyway).

Also, I am in the process of selling our late father's collections here if anyone is interested or knows of anyone interested in these models:
http://shop.ebay.com/handmadepapercards/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340

Brenda

Monarch Butterfly, Great Egret

Although I have gotten some photographs I'm happy with, I've just been too busy and have missed posting to the blog lately. The Monarch Butterfly was at the Pole Farm. I had not been there in quite some time and wanted to check it out again. There has been a "dispute" about photographers walking through the fields. One photographer friend had been approached by a ranger and told not to walk into the fields. There are quite a few dog-walkers that had been walking through the fields as well. I have mixed feelings about this. As long as one is careful and walks gingerly to a particular spot and stays there, I don't see any harm, but if one tramples the grass I can understand that it would have an effect on the upcoming habitat for the migrating owls. The foxes, owls, meadowlarks, etc. do need the taller grass to safely hide.

After walking the paths all the way around the farm and taking photos of the Monarch Butterfly, I returned to my vehicle and decided to do a "tick-check". My socks were rolled up over my pants, so I thought I was safe. However, after looking more carefully under the rolled up socks, I found at least 7 ticks on each sock, so I earned this photograph.

The Egret was feeding at the Millstone Aqueduct on a recent, softly lit morning with a mixture of sun and clouds.

Indigo Bunting, female Rufous Hummingbird at Jewel-weed

Even though he was in the shadows, I was thrilled to see the Indigo Bunting male. The female was nearby with an insect in her beak, and it seemed that he was protecting her and possibly young ones that I did not see or hear. She was hidden quite well. She's the one with the green insect, food in her beak. I believe they may have been feeding fledglings since I didn't see or hear chirping from a nest anywhere, but just in case, I only took these photographs and then left so that I would not upset them.

I have only seen female Rufous hummingbirds, so I am wondering if the males may have begun migrating already. They were eagerly drawing nectar from the jewel-weed scattered about the field.

Goldfinch and Robin Fledgling in Thistles and Weeds

We visited the John Heinz Refuge in Philadelphia again recently and saw a Robin fledgling sitting quietly in a clump of Thistles and weeds. With only one clear eye, I did not see him and my husband had to point him out. The male Goldfinch turned out to be more of challenge, hiding behind the leaf in the photo until the last fraction of a second before taking off.

Although the vision improves slightly each week, I can't read words, signs or numbers on a clock yet. My husband and I just happened to read Psalm 33 this morning, and I couldn't help but notice this verse:

Behold, the EYE of the Lord is upon those who fear Him, upon those who hope in His mercy,
...Our soul waiteth for the Lord, He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His Holy name. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee.
Psalm 33: 18,19,21,22

John Heinz Refuge

After many doctors visits for my eye (Uveitis--vision has now changed from a cloud to a blur, so it is slightly better, thank the Lord. The doctor said it will take time for the eye inflammation to clear up, but the steroid drops have now been reduced to 4 times a day, down from every hour and 6 a day.) We stopped at the John Heinz Refuge in Philadelphia, Pa. and came upon the following scenes:

A Barn Swallow chattering away, a soft "chatter-chatter-chatter-chatter" followed by a "SQAWK!" I kept snapping until I got the "squawk". I fell in love with this little bird and wished I could have taken him home.

Then we came upon a Great Blue Heron being attacked by a Red-winged blackbird. He must have been hunting too close to a nest. The blackbird was relentless and kept pecking him. The patience of the heron was quite amazing. Nevertheless, his hunting was rewarded with a great, huge catch.

We passed a young wild rabbit on the way back to the parking lot and while in the parking lot we saw a snapping turtle halfway across the road. I carried him to safety after taking the photo.

Green Heron, Mardi Gras Rose

We've had unending rain on the east coast and we're beginning to forget what the sun looks like. There was one slight break in the clouds when I took this Green Heron photograph. I gingerly tiptoed underneath trees until I was in full view of him, then backed up to get a better angle.

A friend asked me to photograph her Mardi Gras Rose.

As an update, my left eye is still foggy, and I'm still praying and believing God for clear vision.

Open Thou Mine Eyes

©Brenda J Jones


In the past couple of weeks I was diagnosed with acute Uveitis/Iritis, an auto-immune disorder which can lead to blindness. I have cloudy vision in my left eye and have had a steroid injection and am taking many medicinal drops. After a period of severe pain, the final verdict was that "we just made it" and the iris did not remain "stuck" to the lens, which would have meant permanent vision loss, so I am rejoicing and praising God for that. I am continuing to pray that this cloudiness passes.

I am reminded of how precious our eye-sight is and all the more what a blessing it is to be able to see and photograph God's wondrous creatures. I am thankful to my friends, family and loved ones who hold me up in prayer for continued healing.

I hold fast to the Word of God and one of my favorite verses that I came upon this morning is Psalm 119:18
"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."

Hymn:

Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine!

Clara H Scott, 1895

A good friend's Love and Peace and Mardi Gras Roses have bloomed beautifully.






High above me, the Song Sparrow did what he does best whole-heartedly, with eyes half shut.


The sun had already set by the time this Chipping Sparrow hopped down to peck, so the flash was necessary.


A dragonfly hovered in front of me as I sat by a pond, allowing me to capture him in-flight.




The Common Yellowthroat perched for a fraction of a second and I noticed the black feathers on his side and wondered if he had been injured at some point, but fortunately his actions did not indicate illness, rather he seemed quite healthy.

Prairie Warbler, Beaver Swimming

Of all the photographs that I've captured in the last couple of weeks, the most exciting to me was the Prairie Warbler. Not only are they beautiful, but their ascending song sounds similar to a camera flash recharging http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Prairie_Warbler/sounds

We noticed that the warblers were more active between 8-10 am and then again after 6 pm. We spoke to a knowledgeable friend about this and she pointed out that 12 to 5 is soap opera time for the warblers so you probably won't get them between that time-frame.

The Baltimore Oriole was over a lake trying to remove fishing line for his nest. This was rather heart-wrenching because I've heard that they can unintentionally strangle their young with it. He was quite determined, but I didn't see him fly off with it, so I'm hoping he didn't succeed.



The beavers are very active right now along the canal, but so are the hikers and joggers, so I wasn't able to capture them out of the water.







I'm thanking another friend for allowing me to photograph some of their backyard birds as well.

American Redstart female

The female American Redstart is making a nest near the area that we saw the males playing in flight. What thrilled me was that she came so close to me that she was almost too close for the 300mm minimum distance focus range. I love it when they do that.

Northern Mockingbird, Polyphemus Moth

Enroute to another destination we stopped by Lake Galena in New Britain Township, Pennsylvania only briefly. We were in a picnic area and storm clouds were threatening overhead, but I was at least able to capture these two photographs before leaving...the Mockingbird who turned out to be a "ham" and an interesting moth on the public restroom outside wall called a Polyphemus Moth - Antheraea polyphemus. He had his wings closed and almost looked as though he was sleeping since his antennai were down and closed and you couldn't see his eyes. If you look online, you'll see beautiful wing designs with what looks like eyes.

God has created each of these creatures with their own unique design and purpose.

American Redstart, Wild Rabbit with torn ears

There were two male American Redstart warblers fluttering and playing in flight. They were quite small and did not look full grown to me. I saw a larger one last year in this area. Their colors are stunning, and their sweet song can be heard here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Redstart/sounds

This poor wild rabbit looks as though he's had a rough life with his torn ears, which I'm sure tell some kind of narrow escape story.


We had our first Art & Craft Show this past weekend in Doylestown, PA. Most of the vendors sold home-made craft decorations and there were many family activities. My husband and I enjoy going to them, but it's really more appropriate for Photographers to go to art shows, where you find oil, acrylic and watercolor painters as well, so in the following year, our goal will be to go to more of those.

We are slowly upgrading our display using Graphic Display Systems http://www.graphicdisplaysystems.com
If you do decide to purchase from Graphic Display Systems, you can give them my name, Brenda Jones and they will give me a credit. Their motto is: "You'll be selling while others are still setting up!" and we must say, we agree, since the displays slip right together very quickly.

I have also just recently ordered Epson canvas and am looking forward to printing some of the wildlife photographs on canvas. My only concern is whether my R1800 printer will cooperate...we'll see.

Delaware Valley College A-Day, Northern Waterthrush

My "Egret with Frog" photograph in the previous blog entry was published in the Town Topics Princeton newspaper to publicize an event at the Charles H Rogers Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, April 25th (today). For more about the Rogers Refuge, visit

http://www.rogersrefuge.org


This is quite a busy weekend. We are selling Wildlife Photographs at the Delaware Valley College A-Day this weekend. There is quite a crowd. Tomorrow is the last day for it. I will soon be posting all of the upcoming craft and art shows that we have scheduled for this year.

In the meantime, my husband, the great spotter he is, saw this unusual bird before I did. It took me awhile to locate him. He's a Northern Waterthrush. The other photograph is of a Canada Goose in a territorial defense threat flight. The Waterthrush has a soft yellow color to his belly along with those brown stripes. He searched ever-so-quietly for insects in a pond, flipping over leaves and looking under twigs. He came up with what looked like some type of worm or larvae while we watched.

Charles Rogers Refuge, Eastern Phoebe, Egret with Frog

Another photographer has updated us about a wildlife refuge near us that was in peril. You can read about his report here, which has a happy ending: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesstephens/3407752567/

The refuge was dried up due to a pipe blockage. The turtles and other wildlife were in peril. To resolve the issue, they had to get a boat and diver to remove a log, debris, and a dead snapping turtle from the pipe.

We visited the refuge yesterday and I was just amazed as to the number of frogs that are expressing their delight with the water. The frogs were so loud that it was literally ear-piercing! There peeps called this egret to dinner and he feasted on three frogs while I was there.

For more about the Rogers Refuge, visit

http://www.rogersrefuge.org

Palm Warbler, Osprey, Turkey Vulture

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS COPYRIGHT BRENDA J JONES, DO NOT COPY

We decided to take a long drive to the Celery Farm in Allendale, New Jersey, a hotspot for photographers. Some convenient small platforms were filled with photographers enjoying the sunny day interspersed with passing soft clouds. I photographed Palm Warblers who initially were curious about the camera clicks and started to make their way closer to me before people passing by frightened the birds away. It may be wise for us to go in the morning next time to see if there is less foot traffic.

There were quite a few Turkey Vultures in a nearby tree and someone mentioned that they think there may be a nest there.

I took the Osprey photograph a week earlier at the Millstone Aqueduct.

Wood Duck, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-winged Blackbird

This is a distant (...very distant!) photograph of the Pileated Woodpecker in flight. He cried out in between pecks quite loudly in the trees nearby, then flew off to the next batch of trees at the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed in Pennington, NJ. An interesting tidbit about the pronunciation of the name: I thought it was pronounced Pil-eated as in to take your "Pill", but it is "Pay"leated (as in apple PIE.) dictionary.reference.com/browse/pileated

The sun was setting when this male Red-winged Blackbird sang his heart out on a plant stem in the field at the Mercer County Park Northwest Pole Farm.

It was an overcast day in Rahway, New Jersey when I took this photo of this lovely Wood Duck who likes to hang out with the Mallards. Honestly, he looked so lonely that I felt sorry for him. I hope a mate joins him soon.

Barnegat Lighthouse wildlife

We've had many overcast days lately. The sun refused to shine when I attempted to photograph the Barnegat Lighthouse, so I had to settle for the misty look.

We had a nice walk on Long Beach Island last Saturday. You can walk out on the rocks and follow them for quite a distance.

The Harlequins love to hug the coastline. They ride the surf toward the rocky cliffs and wrench barnacles from the rock surface. This male Harlequin passed right in front of us. The Common Loon in winter plumage shook and stretched its wings before continuing its hunt for crustaceans.

Afterward when the clouds covered the sun once again, way off in the distance a harbor seal popped up out of the bay and looked around, then dove under, disappeared and resurfaced closer to the ocean. This seal photo is greatly cropped.

Short-eared Owls at the Mercer County Park Northwest Pole Farm

Hi,

Now that the wet and dark weather has passed (yippee!!), the sun and sky were really beautiful last evening.

I'm just showing you some newbies from the Pole Farm yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon couldn't have been better with just the right kind of light reflecting off of the snow.

As I walked down the path, 3 short-eared owls and I startled each other since they were behind a cedar bush

and we didn't see each other until I was upon them.

They exploded from their perches and circled with their moth-like flight and then completely disappeared into the dried grass,

and all the while my camera was under my left arm and my tripod under my right.

This is why I do envy those who have a steady hand and are able to capture those unexpected moments tripod-free.

I was rewarded though, since they came back toward me later, even though the photographs are cropped.

Brenda

Chuck Pilling's Bufflehead Ducks / Blueridge mountains / Full Moon

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS COPYRIGHT BRENDA J JONES
PLEASE DO NOT COPY
CONTACT FOR PURCHASE

I had two online photographs sales recently, a Short-eared Owl and a Bufflehead Duck (see labels for sample photographs). The Bufflehead duck will be posted at the Pilling's Pond in Seattle Washington, a neighborhood duck pond. According to Wanda Fullner of the Pillings Pond Preservation Socity, Pilling's Pond is the site where the Bufflehead was bred in captivity for the first time. The breeder was the late Chuck Pilling, a self-taught ornithologist, who became the first in the world to breed in captivity Merganser, Bufflehead, and Harlequin wild ducks. In 1990 he was inducted into the International Wild Waterfowl Association Hall of Fame for these achievements.

Here is the touching story of Chuck Pilling:
http://www.highlightskids.com/Stories/NonFiction/NF0297_pillings.asp


On another note, since my husband and I are eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring, I uploaded a couple photographs that I took on a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia of a lovely white country church in the valley, and another of a field in West Virginia.

Recently, while standing at the Pole Farm attempting to capture the short-eared owls, we couldn't help but notice the brightness of the full moon. The 300mm with 1.7 TC captured the details nicely.

Canada Goose pose

When sitting by a lake, even if partially frozen, usually the most common visitor is the Canada Goose. Someone once said to me, "Oh no, not another photo of a goose!" Because they are so common, I purposely avoided taking too many photographs of them thinking that I would be boring people.

Now I see Canada Geese in a different light. What a great opportunity to practice. They allow one to practice flight shots, various lighting angles, poses, expressions, composition, etc.

If find that there is no need to avoid photographing a creature just because they are very common, but rather to learn from them.

Comical Vultures

On Monday, two Black Vultures sat on a nearby roof. They were more preoccupied with soaking in the warmth from the rising chimney heat and not overly concerned with me and the camera.

I asked several family members to suggest a caption to go with the photograph, and my favorite came from my uncle.

"Don't look so discouraged. Something will die soon."

Photograph Copyright Brenda J Jones
Caption copyright Dan Adams