7 Songbird Photography Tips
How is it that a creature weighing just ten grams can cross the world and back each year? How can something so tough be simultaneously so delicate and beautiful? Spending time with songbirds is an annual highlight for me, and for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, there’s no better time than right now to get out and enjoy the spring migration. You might find birds stopping over, destined for more northerly climes, or newly arrived species that will stay to raise young in your area. Regardless of what exactly you discover, exploring your nearby patch with keen eyes and ears won’t disappoint.
Here are some tips that I hope will assist you in capturing better images of your local songbirds…
1. Learn to Identify Your Local Bird Songs
Developing your ear birding skills is in my opinion the single most important element of becoming a better birder and bird photographer. This is particularly important when it comes to locating and photographing songbirds. Though many species will sing from exposed perches in interest of better projection, most tend to do so from fairly high up and can at times be obscured by foliage. Others sing from completely concealed locations, making them next to impossible to locate by sight alone. While you don't need to have an encyclopedic memory of every bird in your province or state, at the very least, committing to memory the songs of your target species will increase your success greatly.
When I'm out pursuing a particular species, if the habitat looks right, I'll hop of out of my vehicle or simply roll my windows down and cruise slowly. Oftentimes within a few seconds I'll identify the song or call of my target, then begin to assess whether the situation might present some photo opportunities. 9 times out of 10, a songbird that I end up photographing is identified by sound, far before I’ve had the chance to see it.
In addition to the added benefits to your photography, learning to identify bird songs can greatly enrich your time in nature. Each passing week during the spring will bring you new little gifts as you detect the arrival of each songbird from their melodies alone - pretty cool!
2. Reading Up About Habitats
While to the untrained eye it can appear that birds are scattered throughout a given landscape without much rhyme or reason. In reality, breeding bird distribution is anything but random. Though some generalists like American Robins for example can be found just about anywhere, most have somewhat strict habitat requirements.
With respect to songbirds, the main criteria that will determine the suitability of a given area is the composition of plants. Some species will thrive in regenerating habitats with tangles of shrubs and forbs, whereas others might require old-growth forests. Some may only be found in low lying areas with standing water, while others occupy the crowns of the tallest trees, 100 feet overhead. The exact criteria will of course differ from species to species, but the main determining factors will be nesting opportunities and food availability.
There are two important steps I would recommend you take to achieve a better understanding of songbird habitats. The first step is learning about individual species through either a mentor or an online resource like Birds Of The World. The second step is learning to identify your local trees and shrubs. Applying this new knowledge while out in the field will allow you to make sense of what you’re seeing; distinguishing microhabitats in what before may've seemed like a uniform landscape. This can really help you narrow down where to search for a given species, making better use of your time in the field.
3. Keying In On Weather & Timing
Just like many other types of photography, weather plays a very important role when it comes to targeting songbirds.
Rain
While wet weather tends to be avoided by most bird photographers, precipitation can play an important role here. This is especially true if you're targeting a species that doesn't breed in your area.
Most migrant songbirds spend their days resting and foraging to refuel for the next leg of their journey. As the sun goes down, they take flight, aided by the denser, more stable air, and guided by the stars. When confronted with poor weather conditions, many birds become grounded and will wait for a better opportunity. When these events (known as fallouts) coincide with peak migration, the results can be quite spectacular. In areas along important migratory corridors, the trees will literally be dripping with birds. To best predict such conditions during spring migration, look out for a sudden shift from gentle south winds to strong northerlies, fog, or rain, which will stall the birds. The northern shores of large bodies of water can be excellent places to look, as they may represent the first available landing sites for many grounded migrants. Wooded parks and other isolated natural areas amidst urban sprawl can also be very productive - imagine what an oasis NYC's Central Park must be to a stranded migratory songbird!
Wind
There isn't a whole lot to say about wind, other than to avoid it at all costs when attempting to photograph songbirds. Singing is greatly reduced and also much harder to detect during windy conditions. Also, framing up a small bird on a swaying branch can be next to impossible. Factor the wind forecast into your planning, and look for protected areas in which to focus your efforts should it become breezy.
Lighting
Lighting conditions can make or break any shoot, and songbird photography is no exception.
They are fast moving creatures that rarely pause for long, and when they do, it's often to sing. This sort of behaviour often necessitates the use of relatively fast shutter speeds. Though sunny weather will of course offer the brightest light, these conditions come with a few challenges. During the spring and early summer months, the sun may only offer an hour or two of shootable light each morning and evening, otherwise being too harsh and high above the horizon. Factoring in any obstructions such as tall trees or mountains, you may not even get to take advantage of the best quality sunlight. Living in a very mountainous area, this often poses an issue for me. If forced to shoot on a fully clear day unexpectedly, I'll often try to seek out fully shaded areas where the light will be even, albeit perhaps not the most pleasing. Even when seeking out the shade, some light will often sneak in, creating difficult dappled conditions, especially in the forest interior. With these challenges in mind, I will often plan my songbird photography shoots to coincide with cloudy weather. This allows me to shoot throughout the day, taking advantage of the nicely diffused light for several hours. The perfect situation to me is when the light is bright enough to allow for fast shutter speeds and create a nice catchlight in my subject's eye, yet diffused enough by high cloud so that I don't cast a distinct shadow. This is of course somewhat arbitrary and a variety of conditions can create compelling images, though I do find it to be the most productive.
Seasonal Timing
Male songbirds tend to sing and defend more actively while the process of establishing territorial boundaries and pairing up takes place. Once nesting begins, many birds will become far more retiring and inconspicuous. My best opportunities have often come earlier in the season, before birds become occupied with the duties of chick rearing.
In my experience, the earlier in the season the better. As an additional bonus, many trees and shrubs will be budding out with fresh foliage and catkins, making for some excellent perches. Using resources such as eBird will give you insight as to when certain species are arriving in your area.
4. Considering Topography
I believe utilizing the topography of the landscape to our advantage is one of the most undervalued field techniques in bird photography. While hauling heavy lenses and tripods around, it's no wonder we're more likely to choose the path of least resistance and simply put down our gear wherever is convenient. However, working in flat terrain can have real drawbacks. As a rule, eye-level perspectives in wildlife photography will often result in the most powerful, intimate images. Given most songbirds spend much of their time well above the forest floor, you may often find your lens pointing up at some pretty absurd angles. As you might imagine, rarely will this result in a flattering shot. This can also result in undesirable backlighting and highlights marring your backgrounds. Just as in landscape photography, considering the terrain around you is a very important step in achieving a better point of view.
Many species of warblers for example live out much of their lives in the canopy. Other than to drink and bathe, it's unnatural for them to descend way down to our level. With that in mind, I'm often on the lookout for hilly terrain, within shooting distance of adjacent trees, that will allow me to access an eye-level vantage point. It doesn't have to be a towering cliff, even a hillside with a moderate grade can improve your angle dramatically.
Also consider how terrain behind your subject will influence your background. A flat expanse will likely result in bright sky backgrounds, even when your subject is fairly low down. Positioning yourself with a hillside or distant foliage directly beyond your subject will often greatly improve your background.
5. Utilizing Call Playback
True to their name, upon arrival to their breeding grounds, male songbirds stake claim on territories by announcing their presence through emphatic singing. These advertisements act not only as warnings to any nearby rival males, but also as solicitations to females with which they hope to pair up. The song or physical presence of any interloping male almost always elicits a strong reaction, with the resident male giving chase. The early period of the breeding season is a very quarrelsome time.
Playing a recording of a given species' song will quite often cause the closest male to answer back and investigate closely. This is used commonly for research purposes, and as you can probably imagine, it can significantly improve one's chances of observing closely and capturing excellent images of these often frenetic birds.
It's very very important to understand that use of call playback should be done sparingly and only after considering some important factors...
While playing a bird song to afford ourselves a closer look likely seems pretty innocuous to most people, one must keep in mind that this will cause some extra energy expenditure for the birds it influences. My personal ethic when it comes to this is, not to use call playback in areas frequented by other birders or photographers. Assuming I may not be the only one using this technique, I wouldn't want to expose a particular individual to repeated disturbances. I do most of my photography in well off-the-beaten-path locations, so this is rarely an issue. I can be nearly certain that any bird I've attracted closer by using call playback will never again experience this in its lifetime. The reality is, birds are extremely hardy creatures. Not only do many travel thousands of kilometres per year through adverse conditions unimaginable to us humans, conflicts with rival suitors and even other species of birds are a very normal and necessary part of life. As I've explored both sides of this sometimes contentious topic for the past number of years, it's occurred to me that a bird capable of flying into a headwind across the entire Gulf of Mexico in a straight shot, will suffer next to zero adverse effects by travelling 20 metres to briefly inspect you. With that said, it's critical that we rein in our enthusiasm and keep the bird's well being in mind. Spring is the time for nesting, and certain species can be sensitive to disturbance, so always err on the side of caution. I'm always on the lookout for signs that may indicate a stressed bird and never use calls for extended periods of time. Typically, birds will quickly investigate the area, then return to their favourite singing perches.
6. Working the Forest Edge
When targeting songbirds, it might seem natural to enter the forest itself in order to track down our subjects. After all, that’s likely where the songs are emanating from. While you certainly can have success this way, and the experience of wandering beneath the trees, peering up into the world of warblers is pleasant, in my experience this doesn’t tend to be a very productive method with regards to photography.
Beneath the forest canopy, light can be scarce. Not only will this necessitate high ISO’s and slow shutter speeds, but this paucity of light will also limit low perching opportunities. Well inside the forest where far less light permeates, a less developed understory creates little appeal for most songbirds. The flowering and fruiting shrubs and small trees that thrive along the forest edge tend to be far more attractive to songbirds of many varieties. Not only for feeding, but also for nesting where the dense growth creates plenty of cover.
Here are a few landscape features I look out for when tracking down songbirds…
• Light gaps where fallen trees have allowed for a more developed understory
• The outermost edge of the forest along quiet backroads
• Regenerating clearcuts
• Powerline corridors
• Natural forest glades
One consideration to keep in mind while shooting along the forest edge, is how you orient yourself. As the vegetation growing along the outer edge tends to be at a fairly consistent plane, shooting directly towards the forest will often result in backgrounds that are very close behind your subject. By instead shooting down the line rather than at 90 degrees to the forest edge, you can target your subjects as they perch on isolated branches that offer more distant backgrounds.
The exact habitat preferences of each species will of course differ, and not all will prefer edge habitat, with certain species being far more reclusive than others.
7. Developing Stealthy Field Habits
Though you may encounter the odd obliging songbird, most are typically quite wary of humans. Being the lowest on the bird food chain typically results in very timid and skittish temperaments. With this in mind, it’s important that you consider your presence in the field and how it might impact your photographic success. Speaking broadly, songbirds perceive you as a threat and will move away from you, increasingly so the more obvious your presence is.
In my experience guiding dozens of photographers each year, the most common bad habit I see is a lack of awareness of how one’s movements, voice and overall presence impacts the subject, and in turn, the resulting images. This is especially relevant when dealing with nervous subjects such as small birds. Keeping in mind these few considerations can greatly improve your success in the field…
When shooting from a tripod, extend your legs and/or raise your centre column so that your camera is close to eye level. This ensures that you don’t need to suddenly duck down to look through your viewfinder, causing unnecessary movement.
Suddenly swinging your lens around in response to a bird popping into view very close will likely cause it to spook. Though you may risk missing the initial moment, being patient and responding slowly will often benefit you in the long run.
Should you need to communicate something to those you may be shooting with, get into the habit of doing so by whispering.
If you’re waiting for a bird to approach and are predicting it in a certain spot, get into position beforehand. Any movements - especially walking to change position - is likely to stop your subject from approaching.
