Birds, Mammals and Wildlife Gardening – Bird Photography

Once you’ve got many bird species visiting your garden, why not try some avian portraiture? It doesn’t require vast amounts of equipment, although a telephoto lens is invaluable because whatever camera accessories you use, the most important tools in your camera bag will be patience and preparation and the knowledge you have of which birds visit, and when.

Here’s a handy list of what might help you to take truly stunning pictures:

• Zoom or telephoto lens – the chances are you won't be able to get as close as you want. And you shouldn't try to get too close anyway, as you will change the bird’s behaviour and may scare it away from your garden permanently, so use a zoom or telephoto to get closer without moving.
• Extra batteries - Before settling down for a day’s filming check the batteries in your camera and snap a few pictures to make sure everything is working. have extra batteries and film or memory cards in arms reach in case this is the day that your rarest visitor decides to put in an appearance and conditions are perfect for snapping away.
• Tripod and shutter release – for the serious photographer, a tripod will help you to avoid camera shake and blurry pictures, especially with a telephoto lens. A small lightweight tripod is also useful when photographing birds in dim light, where the camera sets a slow shutter speed. A shutter release allows you to be away from the camera, so, for example, you can set up your camera near a nest box, move to an acceptable distance and still get pictures of the parent birds entering and leaving, undisturbed by your presence because the camera won’t worry them at all!

Birds, mammals and wildlife gardening ‘photograph’ photograph by jurvetson, used under a creative commons attribution licence

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