Category Archives: Wildlife Photography

Birds, Photography, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography, Wildlife Photography

Birds in Flight – Wildlife Photography Tips #17

December 5, 2023 Anthony Leave a comment

In the realm of really great bird photographs – the National Geographic cover shots and international contest winners – the subjects are almost always shown in flight. And it makes sense: action shots are more engaging than static images, and the action of flight is the one thing that most expresses what it is to be a bird. So not surprisingly, within the world of wildlife photographers, Birds in Flight – or “BIF” – is a particular specialty with its own unique skill set.

Birds in Flight - Short-billed Dowitcher — *Short-billed Dowitcher. 500mm, f/7.1, 1/2000 sec, ISO 800.*

Capturing great images of a birds in flight requires patience, skill, and judgement. I don’t claim to be anywhere close to having mastered this particular aspect of photography, but I have learned a few things along the way. Consider this a beginners’ guide to BIF.

Birds in Flight – What makes a Great Image?

Technical qualities. Needless to say, as with any great image, a BIF photo should show crisp focus, proper exposure, and enough depth of field so that the whole bird is in focus

Activity. An image of a bird in its element is good enough, but it will be more engaging if the bird is doing something recognizable – carrying prey or nesting material, taking off or coming in for a landing, feeding, engaging with other birds, etc.

Composition. As a general rule the bird should be:

Flying towards the photographer or seen from a side view. The rear end view of a bird flying away is rarely interesting.
Looking towards the viewer. For the best results the focus point should be on the nearest eye.
Captured with its wings and legs held in an attractive manner.

And be sure you leave some space in front of a flying bird. The image will look a bit claustrophobic if the bird does not have room to fly.

Background. A bird against a featureless white or blue sky is not as engaging as it would be with a more visually interesting background – glimpses of its habitat, for example a Northern Harrier over grassland or a Red-shouldered Hawk flying amongst the trees, or failing that at least some interesting clouds.

Books, social media posts, and blogs on photography tend to slavishly favour the convention that the background should be out of focus lest it detract attention from the subject. This is actually a stylistic choice not a rule, and you should feel free to ignore it in favour of your own personal vision.

Birds in Flight - Blue-footed Booby — *Blue-footed Booby. 300mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 sec, ISO 400*

Birds in Flight - Feral Pigeons — *Feral Pigeons at Dough Fluhrer Park. 200mm, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 160.*

Approach

The really great photographs of birds in flight that you have seen in exhibitions and magazines are almost certainly products of a deliberate approach to photography. What I mean by that is that the photographer set out that day aiming to get a particular image. They planned the shoot, considering the light conditions they were looking for, the best background, and where the birds could most advantageously be seen. Thus preparation put them in the best position to get what they were looking for.

That approach does not fit in well with the normal activities of birding, which usually comprise walking around and seeing the birds as they make themselves available. However there can be good opportunities on a bird walk, particularly in open country, if you adjust your camera up in advance with the settings you would need for a BIF opportunity. Almost all of the images in this article were captured while out birding.

And sometimes you can just get lucky. I am quite pleased with the Red-rumped Bush Tyrant image which came about because on a really bright day I had dialed in a fast shutter speed just to avoid overexposure.

Birds in Flight - Red-rumped Bush Tyrant — *:Red-rumped Bush Tyrant. 500mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO 900.*

Birds in Flight - Red-tailed Hawk — *Red-tailed Hawk. 500mm, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 400.*

Settings

The most important setting you will need to adopt for shooting birds in flight is a much faster shutter speed than you normally use. Even birds like swans or herons that appear to be slow and ponderous are actually moving quite quickly. For example, as a Mute Swan flies by, its slow cruise speed of 30kph equates to almost nine metres per second – for a bird that is about a 1.5 metres long. Combined with the imperfect movement of your lens as you try to track the bird, at a normal shutter speed the resulting shot will be tend to be blurry, or at least not as sharp as you would want. So if you want to freeze the action and get a crisp shot you need a high shutter speed.

How high? There are two answers:

It depends on the bird – what it is doing, how close it is, whether it is heading towards you or across your field of vision. Experience will be your best guide in judging how fast the shutter needs to be.
But if in doubt, faster is always better.

Shutter Speed Guidelines for Birds in Flight

I reviewed a lot of my own BIF images when researching this article and one thing I noticed is that most of the ones I like were taken at a shutter speed of 1/1600 or higher.

For large, slow-flying or soaring birds (Canada Goose, Red-tailed Hawk) you might get away with a lower speed, particularly if the bird is in a slower phase of movement. The White-faced Ibis below is gliding in for a landing. In this case 1/800 was fast enough to catch the bird and even the water droplets falling off of it but it’s the exception rather than the rule. 1/1600 is better as a baseline – it will improve the number of “keepers” in a shooting session.

Birds in Flight - White-faced Ibis — *White-faced Ibis at Erieau ON. 500mm, f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 250.*

Birds in Flight - American White Pelican — *American White Pelican. 500mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO 1000.*

Note that the closer you are to the bird the faster it will cross through your field of vision, so an even higher speed may be needed.

For smaller and/or faster-moving birds the need for speed increases. Each situation is different but as a starting point I would suggest the following minimum speeds:

Gulls and other medium-sized birds – 1/2000
Swallows, martins and small passerines (e.g. flycatchers, chickadees etc) – start at 1/3200 and be prepared to go up from there, especially if the bird is flying towards you.
Hummingbirds – these are a special case. When they are hovering, the best images often show a fair amount of blur of the wings while the body remains stationary (and thus in sharp focus). The blur gives the impression of how fast their wingbeat really is – up to 80 beats per second.

Birds in Flight - Bank Swallow — *Bank Swallow. 500mm, f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 500.*

Birds in Flight - Sapphire-spangled Emerald — *Sapphire-spangled Emerald. 500mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec, ISO 4000.*

Technique

Even the fastest shutter speed won’t guarantee a good image. You also need to be able to track the bird closely enough that your autofocus can achieve a lock. Modern cameras have fairly advanced abilities to achieve and maintain focus lock on a moving target, but you can help things out by developing and practicing good habits.

Tracking. When you are photographing a series of birds flying across your field of vision, the natural tendency is to aim at a bird as it approaches and then try to twist your body to track it along its line of flight. More experienced BIF photographers decide where they want the bird to be when they take the shot, considering background and proximity, and set there feet so that when the bird hits that point it is straight in front of them. This gives them the greatest control at the critical moment. They then wind their torso left or right to the point where the bird will first appear. It’s a simple trick but it works. The image at the top of the page was shot using this method. A series of Short-billed Dowitchers were flying across a lagoon so it was possible to predict their movement and be set up for the side-on flight shot.

Burst Mode. Even the best autofocus system will struggle to keep a moving target constantly in sharp focus. There will always be moments when the focus wanders a bit before the system corrects itself. You can help ensure you come away with some sharp images by firing bursts rather than single frames. To do this, set your shutter release mode to Continuous Low or Continuous High and hold the shutter release down when the bird enters your target zone.

A side benefit of firing bursts is that it also gives you a better chance of acquiring an image where the bird is doing what you want it to do – looking towards you, holding its wings in a graceful manner, etc. Note the series of unprocessed images of an Andean Gull below. This short burst took less than one second but you can see the variety of shapes and wing positions during that span. Longer bursts increase the chances of getting the shot you really want.

Environment. You can also use the wind to your advantage. All else being equal a bird flying into a headwind will be moving more slowly relative to the ground observer and thus easier to track.

Light

The use of fast shutter speeds significantly reduces the amount of light that reaches the camera’s sensor. In practice this means that BIF photography in low-light conditions will necessitate high ISO values with the attendant problem of excessive noise. The best results tend to come when there is full daylight but without the harsh glare of the midday sun. Days that are brightly-lit but overcast can provide excellent conditions as overly-bright highlights will be less of a problem, but in this case you will want to have something in the background other than a pale grey sky.

And if you are shooting upwards on a bright day, for example at a soaring raptor, remember that exposure compensation is your friend. Increasing your exposure by a stop or two will avoid the dreaded underwing shadow and help you bring out the colour and detail of the bird’s undersides.

Equipment

In most situations all you need to start experimenting with birds in flight photography is the camera you already have (DSLR or mirrorless) and a telephoto lens. For close range work, for example chickadees at Lemoine Point, a shorter telephoto in the 200mm range will work, otherwise you should look for a lens of at least 300mm. My article on the September Blue Bill identified some good choices at various price levels.

The only caveat is that if you start to shoot in long bursts you may need to upgrade to a faster memory card.

If you become really enthusiastic about BIF then you may eventually want to look at a tripod with a gimbal mount. I may eventually head in this direction, but at the moment I almost exclusively hand-hold my cameras so I am not in a position to recommend specific options.

Practice

Like any other photography skill your ability to photograph birds in flight will improve with practice. Fortunately you don’t have to go far afield to work on your skills – nature has provided us with an ample supply of gulls, feral pigeons and Mallards that are abundant, easily found, and not too afraid of people. They are great subjects to work with as you start out on your BIF journey. Good shooting!

…and if you find all of this too easy, and you really want to drive yourself mad, there’s always IIF – insects in flight. 😊

Birds in Flight - Forster's Tern — *Forster’s Tern. 500mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400.*

Birds in Flight - Grey-headed Albatross — *Grey-headed Albatross. 500mm, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 200.*

Birds, Travel, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography

South Atlantic Odyssey

October 26, 2023 Anthony Leave a comment

An Expedition Cruise to Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and (almost) Antarctica

After years of planning, three latter-day explorers – Andrew Harrison, Geoffrey McMullan, and your humble author – banded together for the adventure of a lifetime: A cruise through the southern Atlantic from Tierra del Fuego to the Falklands, South Georgia, Antarctica and back. The trip contained moments of transcendent beauty and some truly grim events, but it was never boring. And yes, there were a few birds along the way!

I will spare you a blow-by-blow account of a trip that, with travel time, lasted most of a month. But here are a few highlights.

Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego

South Atlantic Odyssey - Magellanic Woodpecker — Magellanic Woodpecker

The company assembled in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. We were travelling with British touring company Birdquest so there was no quiet settling-in period. On the first morning we had a rather strenuous hike up Garibaldi Pass, but successfully achieved the aim of nabbing the highly-desirable White-bellied Seedsnipe. In the following days we roamed through beautiful parks, shoreline, and the municipal dump, along the way getting cracking close-up views of Tierra del Fuego’s star bird – the Magellanic Woodpecker – along with most of the other endemic and local species. The final pre-boarding day saw us hop aboard a small boat for a cruise of the outer islands. A three-hour cruise.

South Atlantic Odyssey - Thorn-tailed Rayadito — Thorn-tailed Rayadito

South Atlantic Odyssey - Upland Goose — Upland Goose

South Atlantic Odyssey - White-bellied Seedsnipe — White-bellied Seedsnipe

We also caught our first glimpse of our home for the next two weeks – the MV Plancius. Formerly a research vessel for the Royal Netherlands Navy, Plancius had been converted to expedition duties. It was amusing and mildly alarming to see this small 105-pax vessel, hidden as it was amongst much larger cruise ships, but we had been assured that its diminutive size allowed it to get into smaller anchorages than the big boys. This proved to be true, though there were other implications of its size that would become clear in time.

South Atlantic Odyssey - Ushuaia — Plancius is the dark blue one to the right of the big boys.

Falklands Part 1

Finally we set sail through the Beagle Channel headed for the Falkland Islands. For me this was terra incognita. My compañeros had both visited the place at the behest of her Majesty, but I got the distinct impression that work had significantly interfered with these birding holidays.

South Atlantic Odyssey - passengers on a Zodiac ride — Zodiacs were used to transport us to the landings. Inger Vandyke and Andrew Harrison compare notes.

After a pleasant day on the back deck getting acquainted with seabirds we made landfall, visiting Grave Cove and West Point Island in West Falkland. Gentoo and Southern Rockhopper Penguins were on their nests, as were masses of Black-browed Albatrosses, and a handful of Magellanic Penguins emerged from their burrows to inspect us.

South Atlantic Odyssey - Gentoo Penguin with chick — Gentoo Penguin

South Atlantic Odyssey - Striated Caracara — Striated Caracara, a.k.a. Johnny Rook

It was an excellent day, though the increasingly stiff wind should have been a clue that all might not be well. And sure enough, as we transited the islands headed for Port Stanley those winds increased to seven on the Beaufort Scale and it emerged that we would be unable to dock at Stanley as the port was closed. Somewhat disappointed, we pushed on through high seas and strong winds on our way to South Georgia.

Sailing, sailing, over the bounding main

Three full days of seawatching ensued. Along the way we crossed over the Antarctic Convergence and the air temperature dropped significantly, but the hardcore birders still kept watch from the deck while more timid passengers huddled in the lounge.

As we sailed through the Roaring Forties and on into the Furious Fifties another aspect of the Plancius’s size manifested itself. She definitely was bounced around by the wind and seas, and displayed a strong tendency to roll. With our bunks oriented at 90 degrees to the ship’s axis this introduced the novel experience of falling asleep whilst continuously sliding from one end of the bed to the other! But one adapts.

South Georgia

Finally we arrived, but the wind that had plagued us was not prepared to relent. Gusts of 40-50 knots meant that our first planned landing in Prince Olav Harbour was converted into a zodiac cruise. We were next due to visit the King Penguin colony on Salisbury Plain. Conditions remained unfavourable so we did some scenic cruising along the coast, but finally the wind relented and we were deposited on a long sand beach with no one to keep us company but a couple of hundred seals and around 200,000 King Penguins.

South Atlantic Odyssey - Salisbury Plain — Salisbury Plain

We had been warned not to approach within 5 metres of the penguins, but the penguins evidently did not get that memo. They were extremely interested in these novel creatures that had entered their domain, and despite evident disappointment on discovering that we were not edible, they continued to observe us closely.

This became the pattern for the next few days: sail around a bit, boat into shore, commune with penguins and seals, and move on again. King, Gentoo, Chinstrap, and Macaroni Penguins each had their turn in the starring role, with a strong supporting cast of skuas, petrels, shags, terns and the perky South Georgia Pipit.

Elephant Seals! The little black 50kg items are the babies.

Me and my new friend. Photo by Inger Vandyke.

We did make the obligatory stop at Grytviken to view the rusting remains of a massive whale-processing facility that was the final resting place of 175,000 whales and countless seals. And needless to say a fine dram was hoisted at the grave of the master mariner Sir Ernest Shackleton.

M/V Plancius and friend, Grytviken Harbour.

A small section of the abandoned whale oil processing facility.

South towards Antarctica…

Too soon our time among the spectacular wildlife of South Georgia came to an end and in high spirits we turned south for the three-day run down to the South Orkney Islands and the Weddell Sea.

We were now crossing into the Screaming Sixties, and learning that the seas there truly earned their name. In the teeth of a proper gale – Force 9 and 30-metre swells – the mighty Plancius crawled southwards at a true speed of about seven knots. Sadly, seawatching was curtailed as the decks were made off limits to passengers.

On the first night outbound tragedy struck. A fellow passenger had a fall and badly injured his head. Suddenly plans had to change. Antarctica was no longer on the programme as we turned around and headed back to the nearest medical facilities at Port Stanley – three long days away. The ship’s doctor and medical professionals amongst the passengers did their best for the casualty, but after about 24 hours he succumbed to his injuries. We later learned that he was one of three passengers killed on Antarctic cruises that season.

Falklands Part 2

Being obliged to continue on to Stanley so the Coroner could conduct an investigation, we were able to see the birds of the East Falklands that we had missed on the first go-around. After a morale-building round of fish and chips at the Victory Bar. A thorough search was conducted.

South Atlantic Odyssey - Southern Rockhopper Penguin — Southern Rockhopper Penguin, KIdney Cove.

South Atlantic Odyssey - Magellanic Penguins — Magellanic Penguins, Saunders Island.

We were also able to fit in a few more birdy islands in West Falkland on the way home, inter alia bagging the endemic Cobb’s Wren.

And just to show that the weather gods have a sense of humour, we had calm seas and warm winds all the way back to Ushuaia.

South Atlantic Odyssey - the AOS crew. — Anthony, Andrew, and Geoffrey.

Ezeiza

The story would not be complete without a shout-out to this leafy suburb of Buenos Aires close by the airport. Or more properly to the birds therein. I found a handful of new life birds while overnighting on the way down and back, including the remarkably odd Guira Cuckoo.

Epilogue

This was, quite possibly, the trip of a lifetime. The wildlife spectacle of South Georgia is equalled only by the great migration on the Serengeti plains. Add in the remoteness, the arduous conditions, and the limited number of people willing and able to make the trip and it becomes something truly special. Are we sad to have missed standing on the Antarctic continent? Definitely. Are we likely to take another month of our lives and another big pile of cash to do a regain? Flat no to that. Would we recommend it to others? Yes, strongly. But with a quiet talk about the actual risks and the physical requirements to navigate one’s way around a rolling ship a long way from help.

South Atlantic Odyssey - Southern Giant Petrel and Antarctic Prion — Southern Giant Petrel and Antarctic Prion.

More photos from the trip can be found on my Flickr page.

Birds, Wildlife Photography

1000 Birds

April 5, 2023 Anthony Leave a comment

I remember well the first time I saw 100 bird species in a day. Obviously it was a good day in its own rights, but there was something very satisfying about that nice round milestone number. As there was when I saw my 500^th bird species, my thousandth, and so on. So when 2022 started to look like the year of the great pushback after endless lockdowns, I began to wonder whether it might be possible to hit another milestone: to see 1000 birds in a year.

In global birding terms this is not exactly a stretch goal: people have seen as many as 6833 species in a year, but they were younger, and either richer, intending to get richer by self-promotion, heavily sponsored, or all of the above.[i]

But for an ordinary bloke of ordinary means, and with 65 years on the odometer, 1000 seemed like a tough but not totally implausible goal.

And if it could be done, 2022 looked like the year to do it. The combination of trips long-planned and trips cancelled and rescheduled multiple times due to the pesky virus might just put the number 1000 in play.

Rufous-crested Coquette, Waqanki Lodge, Peru, 20 July. - 1000 Birds — Can I be one of the immortal 1000? Rufous-crested Coquette, Waqanki Lodge, Peru, 20 July.

1000 birds – the theory

So I checked my records and some trip reports.

A decent year in Ontario, allowing for time spent out of the country but no rarity-chasing, should be about 230.
Santa Marta Ecuador and La Guajira in Colombia should be good for 250 or so, though with a certain amount of overlap (boreal migrants seen in their wintering grounds and then seen again in Ontario).
Ecuador was bound to be good, but how many of those species would be overlaps with Colombia?
Birdquest was regularly reporting 600+ species in northern Peru. But with trip reports by bird tour companies, you always have to ask whether that was 600 seen/heard by the guide or a realistic 600? And again, how many of those would be overlaps with Ecuador?
The South Atlantic would be epic but there were only about 60-80 species to be had. (Albeit great ones such as my first penguins outside of a zoo).

But when I added up the conservative estimates it looked like 1000 was do-able. If all went well…

1000 birds – the execution

Which of course it didn’t. Omicron put paid to the January expedition to Colombia, and severely restricted my efforts to get the desired winter birds in Ontario. So no Lapland Longspurs, no Northern Saw-whet Owls, and no Northern Shrikes were seen, though fortunately we were able to get to Algonquin Park in February and notch all the finch specialties as well as the wily and elusive Black-backed Woodpecker.

White-winged Crossbill absconds with a prize. Algonquin Provincial Park, 18 Feb 22. - 1000 Birds — White-winged Crossbill absconds with a prize. Algonquin Provincial Park, 18 Feb 22.

Ecuador

In March I was off to terra incognita, in the form of Southwest Ecuador. Ecuador is, of course, on my to-do list, but the timing of this particular voyage allowed me to avoid losing a deposit from a cancelled trip. We certainly saw some spectacular bird species including the star of the show, the Jocotoco Antpitta, but the sub-optimal aspect from a 1000-in-a-year perspective is that the Tumbes dry forest ecosystem which is the big attraction of Southwest Ecuador would also feature largely in the Northern Peru trip (about which more later).

Travel was possible in March but it was still in the era of heavy Covid protocols, so I had to stay two extra days in Quito to ensure I had a negative PCR test. On the plus side this allowed me to book two day trips. At the Antisana volcano on the first day I managed to see the final one of my three essential South American birds: the iconic and incomparable Andean Condor. It’s just the largest bird of prey in the world, the largest flying bird in the world by combined measurement of weight (15kg) and wingspan (3.3metres), able to soar for hours without a single flap of its mighty wings (five hours and over 100 miles without a wing flap in one recent study), roosts and breed at elevations of 3,000 to 5,000 m, … I could go on, but you get the picture. One was pleased.

Andean Condor. Reserva Antisana, Ecuador, 12 March 22. - 1000 Birds — Andean Condor. Reserva Antisana, Ecuador, 12 March 22.

Reserva Antisana, with Gabriel Bucheli. Masks were still required on the public footpaths.

Back to Ontario

A week in Pelee in May helped to tick off most of the usual suspects for Ontario, and even added a couple of life birds (Worm-eating Warbler and White-faced Ibis). The fact that the week turned into a week and a half due to a painfully expensive car repair shall go unmentioned.

Acadian Flycatcher, Point Pelee National Park, 11 May 22.

White-faced Ibis, Erieau Ontario, 4 May 22.

The rest of May and most of June were devoted to working on the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas, so June added a whopping total of four birds to my year list.

Peru

And then it was July and Northern Peru. My plan had been to work my way down to Peru at some future date, but here again I needed to use up a deposit and by that time we knew enough about the Covid pest to guess that July and August were the months least likely to be feature an outbreak.

Peru was a bit of a slog. An extended trip coupled with the fact that it takes a long time to get there and back meant that I was away from 9 July to 2 August. And there was a lot of marching up and down the hill involved. But it was eminently worth the pain – epic birds in epic numbers in epic scenery. I will save the details for a future post.

Cinnamon Screech Owl, Abra Patricia, 17 July 22. - 1000 Birds — Cinnamon Screech Owl, Abra Patricia, 17 July 22.

Gilded Barbet, ACR Cordillera Escalera, San Martín Province, Peru, 25 Jul 22.

August was essentially a non-birding month as I tried to wade through 3000 images from Peru. The only additions to the list were a Loggerhead Shrike on the Napanee Alvar (on the fourth attempt!), plus Grasshopper Sparrow and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo with the North Leeds Birders on Amherst Island.

Moosonee

September brought along another trip cancelled and rescheduled multiple time: Moosonee and Moose Factory with the Ontario Field Ornithologists. This trip was more about riding the Polar Bear Express and seeing the far north of Ontario than it was about year listing, but to my surprise I did get some very nice additions including LeConte’s Sparrow and Red-necked Phalarope, nabbed a Canvasback to make up for the ones I missed in March by being out of the country, and had a close encounter with my nemesis bird, the Fox Sparrow.

Then list went quiet for October. The time at home with Lynn balance needed some reinvestment and I had committed to spending two weeks working for the man. I also needed time to plan for and obsess about the biggest trip of all: Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica.

The South Atlantic Odyssey

This scheme had been cooked up with old muckers Geoffrey McMullan and Andrew Harrison of the Army Ornithological Society. The extended timeline between booking a place and going on the trip neatly bookended the Covid interlude, and it came to pass that we went, we saw penguins, we returned. It was an amazing wildlife experience which I will eventually write up as a blog post, and it also effectively ended the year of the 1000 bird goal. The only addition before ENDEX was a Tundra Swan seen with Rick Lott and Grant Kaduck on the Kingston Christmas Bird Count.

Magellanic Woodpecker. Tierra del Fuego National Park, 21 Nov 22.

Magellanic Penguins on the march. Falkland Islands, 8 December 22. - 1000 Birds — Magellanic Penguins on the march. Falkland Islands, 8 December 22.

So, you might observe, Kaduck has been avoiding the elephant in the room. Did I actually get to 1000 bird species in 2022?

1000 birds? – the results please

Well yes. 1121 to be precise, and that’s on the restrictive ebird/Clements taxonomy. So yay for me. 😊

The circumstances of 2022 were unique, so the likelihood of hitting 1000 again seems small. But I’m chalking it up as once of those things, like running a marathon or jumping out of an airplane, that I have experienced and don’t need to aim for again. Granted, a major lottery win might change that perspective, but since I don’t buy lottery tickets the contingency, as Jeeves would say, is remote.

White-tailed Shrike Tyrant, 29 July 22. - 1000 Birds — Bird #1000 – White-tailed Shrike Tyrant, 29 July 22. There seems to be a rule that milestone birds don’t cooperate with the photographer.

2022 by the Numbers:

Year bird #1: American Goldfinch, Home, 1 January
Year Bird #1000: White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant, Cruz Conga, Cajamaraca Province, Peru, 29 July
Year bird #1121: Tundra Swan, Wolfe Island, 18 December

Numbers by country/region:

Ontario – 241. A surprisingly good number given that I spent about three months out of the country
Ecuador (Field Guides) – 411. Did I mention Andean Condor was one of them?
Peru (Birdquest) – 633. No, they did not exaggerate.
Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica (Birdquest and Oceanwide Expeditions):
Argentina – 77 . Including Tierra del Fuego (Birdquest) and the hotel grounds in Buenos Aires
Falkland Islands – 60.
South Georgia – 32. Including my new favourite bird – King Penguin
High Seas – 10
Antarctica – 0. It’s a long and sad story for another time.

The more mathematically inclined among you will have sussed out that those numbers add up to 1464, not 1121. That’s the impact of overlap between different locations. FYI the longest overlap was White-rumped Sandpiper – Snake Island, Frontenac County and Gypsy Cove, Falkland Islands.

King Penguin rookery, Salisbury Plain, South Georgia, 28 November 22. - 1000 Birds — King Penguin rookery, Salisbury Plain, South Georgia, 28 November 22.

Credit where credit is due

I didn’t do this all on my own. Much credit goes to my main birding accomplices, particularly Richard Lott, Geoffrey McMullan, Andrew Harrison, John Licharson, Janis Grant, Barb O’Neill, Erwin Batalla, Christine Hough, James Thompson, Peter Blancher, and other members of the Kingston Field Naturalists and the North Leeds Birders.

OFO Trip Leaders also get a shout out: David Milsom (Peterborough) , and Martin Parker (Moosonee)

I relied heavily on the eyes, ears and outstanding local knowledge of some great guides and bird gurus, including Willy Perez and Gabriel Bucheli (Ecuador), Leo Garrigues and Carlos Altamarino (Peru), and Pete Morris (Argentina and the South Atlantic).

And finally, thanks to the birds. Just for being there and doing what they do.

[i] The current record holder is Arjan Dwarshuis at 6833. If you google this the first half a dozen results will be for Noah Stryker, who ended up at 6042. This either means that Google prioritizes US results, or it favours results closer to your IP address’s location. The next time I am in the Netherlands I will test this.

Birds, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography

Ecuador – Tumbes Endemics and other Southwest Specialties

September 6, 2022 Anthony 1 Comment

I’m way behind on posting reports from my birding trips, and with more trips to come I’m going to have to take a more compressed approach. So instead of long and detailed stories, these will be mostly pictures with a little bit of context. Let’s start with Southwest Ecuador in March 2022.

Ecuador - Tumbes endemics — Scarlet-backed Woodpecker

Ecuador is one of the bird-rich countries – number five in total species, behind only Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Indonesia. But a quick glance at a map will tell you that the countries ahead of it are much larger, meaning the density of birds is high. So Ecuador is a must-visit destination on the world bird circuit.

Broadly speaking Ecuador has three main birding regions: the Northwest, running from Quito up to the Colombian border, the eastern slope of the Andes leading down to the Amazon basin, and the southwest corner bordering Peru. The latter option was the one I visited in March, though I did do a few days of bonus birding in the Quito area at the end of the trip.

Continue reading →

Birds, Photography, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography

Camera Settings for Birds – Photography Tips #11

June 22, 2022 Anthony Leave a comment

Health warning

This article contains a lot of technical information about camera settings that will only be of interest to people with relatively modern DSLR and mirrorless cameras. It contains a few amendments from the version published in Volume 69 No. 1 of The Blue Bill, the quarterly journal of the Kingston Field Naturalists.

One of the challenges of working with current DSLR and mirrorless camera bodies is the bewildering variety of options they present. What should one do when faced with the myriad of possibilities embedded in the basic camera controls for ISO, metering, shutter speed, aperture, and autofocus modes, much less the arcane stuff buried in the custom menus (53 options in my particular camera of choice)? Isn’t there a one-size-fits-all choice of settings that will let us get on with the business of photographing birds?

Well, yes and no. Readers of this series will know that I advocate learning how to control the basic functions of the camera, and particularly the big three of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. In the most recent article I also explored the importance of understanding and applying autofocus modes. These are functions that you may need to adjust multiple times over the course of a day out, and in my experience an ability to understand these and balance between them is one of the keys of creating good images.

So there is no single answer that works in all situations. However a quick scan through the internet will turn up a number of articles proposing the “right” settings for bird photography, by which they mean the recommended baseline settings to use most of the time. This is a good approach, and (needless to say!) I have my own recommendations. This article provides a set of good choices for standard settings, and capsule explanations for why these are recommended.

In order to confirm whether they were good ones I decided to test them during two recent birding trips by sticking as closely as possible to my recommended settings throughout the trip. The captions to the images accompanying this article will note the settings used, including any deviations from the recommended ones. A Nikon D850 camera body and a NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens were used throughout.