Advice on birding/wildlife captures

macvisual

macvisual

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Peter
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I'm very new to bird/wildlife photography and would appreciate any advice please. I'm using a D810 body and just ordered a new Nikkor 300mm f4 PF VR and hope to buy a 1.4 TC soon. I've a couple of fast 32gb SD cards and own both a monopod/tripod etc...
Towards the summer I hope to afford a 500mm f4 lens.

Silly question, (sorry), where does one go and find these amazing wildlife birds to photograph that are displayed here on this birding forum? How do you source out where they will be in your catchment area? Might there be local Photographic birding groups you can join in your area?

I'm slowly getting into bird photography and any tips/hints would be greatly appreciated, thank you guys n' gals! Apologise for my lack of experience/knowledge.

Any recommendations for a quality book regards all types of birds to get acustom to would be great also.

Regards;
Peter
Central Scotland
 
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Where exactly are you Peter?
 
There are 2 main ways of doing it

1) Pay and Display, as in, you pay someone who has already done the majority of the leg work, and probably has a hide, or access to land where certain birds/wildlife may frequent

2) Get out there and find things for yourself, talk to the locals (dog walkers can be especially useful as they tend to walk the same patch daily/weekly etc), join local wildlife groups etc

Don't expect to be handed these sorts of locations on a plate though, as most folk put in a lot of time and effort to find the right place/right time etc, so can be relatively tight lipped about specifics (with good reason)

But out of the 2 options above, i know which i find more satisfying ;)
 
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macvisual said:
I'm very new to bird/wildlife photography and would appreciate any advice please. I'm using a D810 body and just ordered a new Nikkor 300mm f4 PF VR and hope to buy a 1.4 TC soon. I've a couple of fast 32gb SD cards and own both a monopod/tripod etc...
Towards the summer I hope to afford a 500mm f4 lens.

Silly question, (sorry), where does one go and find these amazing wildlife birds to photograph that are displayed here on this birding forum? How do you source out where they will be in your catchment area? Might there be local Photographic birding groups you can join in your area?

I'm slowly getting into bird photography and any tips/hints would be greatly appreciated, thank you guys n' gals! Apologise for my lack of experience/knowledge.

Regards;
Peter
Central Scotland
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Check out local reserves (RSPB, WWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust etc.).
 
macvisual said:
I'm based in Alloa, about five miles from Stirling in the Central belt of Scotland.
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I'm not familiar with that area,only spent time in Alloa when I was a boy.
Local parks are good as the birds can be more forgiving of people and are often fed by locals.
You'll find places of interest on the rspb and swt sites, there may be a local facebook page for the areas wildlife photos,we have one for Ayrshire.
There's a Scottish birds and wildlife one too that i'm sure will have fellow photographers near you.
 
rpsmith79 said:
There are 2 main ways of doing it

1) Pay and Display, as in, you pay someone who has already done the majority of the leg work, and probably has a hide, or access to land where certain birds/wildlife may frequent

2) Get out there and find things for yourself, talk to the locals (dog walkers can be especially useful as they tend to walk the same patch daily/weekly etc), join local wildlife groups etc

Don't expect to be handed these sorts of locations on a plate though, as most folk put in a lot of time and effort to find the right place/right time etc, so can be relatively tight lipped about specifics (with good reason)

But out of the 2 options above, i know which i find more satisfying ;)
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Thanks Rich, yip I appreciate you need to get off your backside and go look for places/areas of possible interest. I'm a keen dog walker etc.
There's a local (large) Dam close to us that has a dedicated hut for keen wildlife folk for binoculars or long range lens photographers, so that's a starter for ten alright.

Thanks for the kind replies, keep them coming please.

pete
 
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Dog walkers have by far and away the best resource for me, from giving me information on best times to see rutting Red Deer, to locations on Adders and Little Owls

Problem is, it takes time, and i sadly don't have half as much time to spend doing the leg work as i'd like, so i still tend to frequent local Nature Reserves, and the more popular/well know birding/wildlife areas

Oh, local Facebook/social media groups can be handy too, they helped me get my first shots of Kingfishers this year, and that all came about from a local FB Group called "Pictures of Sheffield Old & New" where folk kept posting photos of a pair of Kingy's
 
I'm guessing having a dog with you whilst out birding is not a good idea as what your trying to photograph can be scared away with your pet dog?
We've a mature border collie and she doesn't bark whilst out etc.....our collie adores the outdoors/country walks.

Are there generally any best times to photograph birds, as like early dawn for example...?
 
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macvisual said:
I'm guessing having a dog with you whilst out birding is not a good idea as what your trying to photograph can be scared away with your pet dog?
We've a mature border collie and she doesn't bark whilst out etc.....our collie adores the outdoors/country walks.
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I am not really in a position to comment as I quickly realised I didn't have the patience for it but getting these shots requires sitting still and quiet for hours and hours, something I've never known a collie to do. It's fine if you're the only person there but it won't go down well if someone has been sitting there for three days to catch a glimpse and then a dog barks and scares it away.
 
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As Ned pointed out, i wouldn't recommend taking a dog with you, but talking to others has been a real benefit for me

And yes, early morning, and dusk are generally the best times for wildlife, not only as they are generally more active at these times, but you will also benefit from more pleasing light

When the Deer are rutting i am generally in place when it's still dark, and you pretty much find your way by sound alone, if you have ever heard a Red Deer bellow, it's not a difficult thing to follow ;)
 
if you have a back garden , put a few feeders up with the usual bird seed etc.,

practice on those - you will get many birds in the garden

bring them to you by putting food out daily ........ and cut some good looking branches and place them strategically

birds will come back time and time again and perch on the same branch if you give them a limited choice

I usually have my tripod etc., set up against a window and at "tea break" time sit there for 30 mins or so - you will be surprised what comes into the garden, especially if you are rural

Both these were taken sat in the house looking into the back garden through the living room window

first with a Nikon 300mm f4 AFS and the second with the 300mm f4VR PF lens + 1,4TC with the D750 ........ on perches that I put up

BOOK = Collins Bird Guide - Lars Svensson - £16 - indispensable, IMHO

LINK

Sparrowhawk.jpg



Woodie_7.jpg
 
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Great replies so far.......excellent, keep more info coming if you can, it's greatly appreciated.....!

Apart from a Nikkor 300mm f4 PF VR lens arriving early next week (and soon to buy a 1.4 TC), are there benefits to also adding a 500mm f4 lens along the way for longer reach requirements ?

Thanx;
pete
 
macvisual said:
Great replies so far.......excellent, keep more info coming if you can, it's greatly appreciated.....!

Apart from a Nikkor 300mm f4 PF VR lens arriving early next week (and soon to buy a 1.4 TC), are there benefits to also adding a 500mm f4 lens along the way for longer reach requirements ?

Thanx;
pete
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Before dropping that much cash I would seriously give it a go first, you might find you don't have the time/patience/skill for it. If you do like it and find that the 300+TC is too short then you know you need longer.
 
If you want to goe longer, the 1,7TC is supposed to work well with the PF - OK it's f6.3 not f5.6, (I think), but the PF has VR and it is not bad handheld at slow shutter speeds

1,7 = 510mm
1,4 = 420mm
 
macvisual said:
Great replies so far.......excellent, keep more info coming if you can, it's greatly appreciated.....!

Apart from a Nikkor 300mm f4 PF VR lens arriving early next week (and soon to buy a 1.4 TC), are there benefits to also adding a 500mm f4 lens along the way for longer reach requirements ?

Thanx;
pete
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You will soon discover Peter that reach is everything with birding unless its in your garden, I use a 500mm F4 with a 1.4 teleconverter, the converter never comes off.

My Springer Spaniel goes everywhere with me including birding, he never sits still for very long but the birds seem to take no notice of him, of course if we are somewhere where there are other birders or a sensitive area he is on his lead, but usually for the type of birding I do the only other people I see are dog walkers.
 
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macvisual said:
Great replies so far.......excellent, keep more info coming if you can, it's greatly appreciated.....!

Apart from a Nikkor 300mm f4 PF VR lens arriving early next week (and soon to buy a 1.4 TC), are there benefits to also adding a 500mm f4 lens along the way for longer reach requirements ?

Thanx;
pete
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I've been using the 300mm (model before the one you're talking about) plus 1.4tc for the last 5 years. Only now have I saved up enough to buy the 500mm f4. The previous combo served me well and you'll get excellent results from it, but as has been said, in birding you always need more. That's why I've got the 500mm and 1.4tc. I'll still use a 300 plus TC for walkabout when I can't be bothered carrying the weight and bulk of the 500 around.
 
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