Backyard bird watching/photographing?

[dave lackey]

Forgive me if this does not belong in the General Photography forum. Birds and wildlife photography are not exactly part of my background although I have a high regard for those who do and I find the images quite amazing.

So why in the world am I posting?

Simply, I am trying to solve a problem.. that problem is bringing the joy of backyard bird watching closer to the viewer. As some know, my bride is confined indoors more than we like and the simple joy of things like walking, being aware of anything on the left side, using two arms and hands instead of one and many other normal things in life, is either somewhat or severely restricted. Her stroke has left her with restrictions but also other opportunities. One of those opportunities is an interest in birds, squirrels and other critters in the backyard.

It would be most appreciated if you can offer suggestions on bird watching so as to bring the viewing up very close and/or allow for taking some digital images using a tripod mounted setup.

Binoculars? Tele lens? iPad display on a tether? My state of mind is akin to being in the State of Confusion rather than Georgia!🙄

Thoughts anyone?

 

[LSiemens]

Dave,
We have possibly been in a similar situation to that you describe. Our solution was bird feeders and hummingbird stations at any good viewing window and patio door of the house (only in the southwest rather than the southeast). These were hung or mounted quite close to the windows (3 to 6 feet). We cleared away any obstructing draperies and screens. Possibly, because of the closeness to the house, it took about a full season for the really interesting visitors to start using it, but many became seasonal regulars thereafter.

Then I researched the super-zoom cameras, and settled on the Lumix FZ40 for this purpose. The photography was not the main intended end-result, as my wife simply enjoyed watching them, but we did garner some fun images. A tripod, I found, can actually be a hindrance, because often the best opportunities were those birds on a nearby branch or fence queuing up for their turn at the feeders. The FZ40 proved to be a good choice for the handheld captures, and it proved small enough to be handled one-handed, even with my arthritic fingers.

I'm on my tablet at the moment, but will try to add some example shots later.
Good luck,
Les

 

[nikonosguy]

http://www.birdphotobooth.com/

 

[Nokton48]

My wife is presently in a wheelchair and has had plenty of long term health problems. Yesterday we went to three local bird parks, and actually got some excellent closeups of a redtailed hawk (looking for a mate). The I took her to a local restauraunt. In Ohio after this winter we are suffering from cabin fever bigtime! She uses a Canon 50D with 75-300mm lens. I use Minolta SRT's with long lenses and XX film 😀


We have an elaborate feeder set up eight feet from our back window, with suet, thistle, and two large seed feeders. We get so much enjoyment watching this throughout the year.

 

[Noll]

Hi Dave - While I am not an expert birder, I can offer a few ideas - hopefully some of them will be of help to you. I don't know how progressive or well-funded Georgia's Dept of Natural Resources (or equivalent organization) are, but typically DNR's place a high priority on handicap accessible trails, piers, cabins, etc. A call to their customer service hotline might yield some ideas for places to go. Any accessible pier around marshy shallows would be a good bet to find interesting species!

If you start feeding, use a good quality bird food such as peanuts, black oil sunflower, or thistle. Cheap corn and millet feed tends to attract flocks of non-native and ecologically destructive English sparrows (aka flying rats).

Cant say much about gear - but binoculars don't have to be expensive to get a good view, and there is plenty out there on the used market. I also know there are adapters out there for attaching spotting scopes to digital cameras.

I find experiencing the diversity of wildlife to be one of life's most rewarding pursuits - all the best to you and your wife on finding it.

 

[dave lackey]

Ok, thanks, guys.. All good so far! This is going to take some thought for sure!

I seem to remember a tripod mount for an iPad and some sort of tele lens mount. Sort of like this:

http://p.lefux.com/61/20131112/A046...s-for-mini-ipad-p39750076-10219213-origin.jpg

But, I wonder if there is a better way to shoot with a memory card that transfers to the Ipad wirelessly.

I know little about the latest gadgets out there but it seems there has to be something that would work either for backyard use or in a wheelchair, possibly mounted to the arm.

 

[Dan Daniel]

You might look into setting up a nest cam. Your local Audubon Society has nests for nuthatches; adding a camera shouldn't be too hard.
http://www.atlantaaudubon.org/
http://www.atlantaaudubon.org/brown-headed-nuthatch

Search 'digiscoping.' This is mounting a digital camera to a spotting scope (small telescope used for birdwatching). Use a digital camera that has a live video feed. You could leave this watching an active feeder or bird bath.

http://www.optics4birding.com/digiscoping.aspx

If you add dripping water to any bird bath you'll get more activity.

 

[DNG]

Can't add much more as far placement of any bird feeders...

But, make sure you set them up a good height so when you stand (or sit) inside at the window or glass glad door to take a few photos, the window frames or the mutton's are not in way,
or at least a small shift can get them out of the frame..

Mine is at 5', hanging on a large branch, and about 10' away. I use a 55-135 zoom om my X-E2, but at times, I use a 85mm, a 135mm or a 200mm..
finches (our main bird) are quite small, and I don't like to crop bird photos too much.

 

[Lawrence Sheperd]

Boy, that BirdPhotoBooth (see NikonosGuy's post above) sure looks like a winner to me, especially if you have an older iPhone (the photos on the website were taken with the 4s - Verizon was giving this away lately with a 2 year contract) and an iPad. The iPhone transfers over bluetooth or wireless network to your iPad. You can get inexpensive apps for motion activation, time-lapse; all sorts of possibilities. Control it all from your iPad.

Even though it is basically just the housing and a bird food bowl it does have the capability to mount to a tripod and also has a built-in macro lens and polarizing filter.

Very impressive and now I want one!

AND, here's the inspiration!

 

[Nokton48]

Here's Our Backyard Feeder.

Here's Our Backyard Feeder.

A mix of black sunflower and safflower seeds go in the top feeder.

The box feeder in the bottom left holds black sunflower and peanuts.

We have four wire baskets in the left back that hold various types of suet.

On the bottom right is a "cylinder feeder" that holds pressed cylinders of seed and fruit available only from the local bird store. All of the rest of our seed we but in large bags at Menards, especially when on sale.

On the bottom right is a thistle feeder.

The "black tube" on the pole keeps racoons and squirrels out of all the feeders. No way they can get up the pole! As you can see, we have a woods behind us, so we get every imaginable type of critter. Hundreds of deer, they often lay down in groups on the grass straight out from the feeder.

This area used to be a giant apple orchard, and in our back yard, we have one of the original apple trees.

This was expensive to configure but it was paid for years ago, and we have the rest of our lives to enjoy it. I've purchased cheap feeders and they have not held up well over time.

 

[dave lackey]

Ok, we are getting somewhere now.

The danger is now rearranging the yard, and even a room in the house that may require a re-do of landscaping and/or furniture... LOL!

Seriously, though, I am already into this mentally when I thought before it might not be so much fun. Thanks, guys!!!

 

[rpsawin]

Ok, we are getting somewhere now. The danger is now rearranging the yard, and even a room in the house that may require a re-do of landscaping and/or furniture... LOL! Seriously, though, I am already into this mentally when I thought before it might not be so much fun. Thanks, guys!!!

Reliable sources of food, water and shelter will almost assure lots of birds in your space. Depending on your location you might vary the food types to attract different species. Look on line for landscape material designed to attract birds. Last year I planted a bush that attracts hummingbirds in each corner of our vegetable garden. I could almost set my watch by those guys. Around five pm each plant would have a few hummingbirds working them. Good luck and God bless.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Reliable sources of food, water and shelter will almost assure lots of birds in your space. Depending on your location you might vary the food types to attract different species. Look on line for landscape material designed to attract birds. Last year I planted a bush that attracts hummingbirds in each corner of our vegetable garden. I could almost set my watch by those guys. Around five pm each plant would have a few hummingbirds working them.

Good luck and God bless.

Best regards,

Bob

This is where the local Audubon Society will be a great help. Contact them, and they will either have information or put you in touch with people who can make your backyard a real bird heaven. They will also have various bird walks which are the best way to get clued in to IDing and general bird info; I'm sure some walks can accomodate any sort of mobility issues.

 

[Nokton48]

Reliable sources of food, water and shelter will almost assure lots of birds in your space. Depending on your location you might vary the food types to attract different species. Look on line for landscape material designed to attract birds. Last year I planted a bush that attracts hummingbirds in each corner of our vegetable garden. I could almost set my watch by those guys. Around five pm each plant would have a few hummingbirds working them. Good luck and God bless.

We get Hummers too, we place a red metal hooked pole with sugar water in the front, and back yards, well away from the big feeder. We always get Hummingbird activity. Interesting to hear them squeak!

 

[Steven Dooley]

I set up my GoPro on a tripod very close to a hummingbird feeder and control the device remotely from my tablet.

 

[Dwig]

My wife is presently in a wheelchair ...

Instead of a tripod, you might consider using a Manfroto Variable Friction Magic Arm attached to the wheelchair's frame with a Super Clamp and topped with a small ball head.

 

[tstermitz]

For bird identification: Sibley and iBird Pro. The latter can do bird calls; maybe get a small speaker to project better.

For photography, maybe an M4/3 or Small Nikon, as you can get easier telephoto shots.

Naturalistic props, like branches with artistically applied moss would make for better backdrops than the feeder.

 

[dave lackey]

Wow, great ideas!

Looks like rain setting in for a week but we are in for a break from the daily grind of rehab and 130 mile commutes. Time for me to pick up some more feeders and set up a sitting area in the breakfast nook.

Oh yes, hummers! What bushes do they like?

 

[Dan Daniel]

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/learn/hummingbirds/gardening.php

One thing to watch with hummingbirds is to find where their rest spots are located. They will fly around collecting nectar and bugs for a few minutes, then return to one of a few favorite spots to sit and digest. If you locate one of these spots, usually an open branch or such, you can get a camera set up on the spot and expect to photograph the bird as it returns again and again.

Best wishes to your wife, and to you, with the rehab work.

 

[dave lackey]

Wow! It is true that one can learn something new everyday. Never been into birds much and am just slowly trying to figure those critters out so I am a lot more observant.

A few moments ago, I was looking out our breakfast nook window with coffee cup in hand pondering many things as usual during my morning quiet time and I was stunned. This past year I read and witnessed the pairing of male and female cardinals. Cool! Never occurred to me. My wife loves the colors and daily visits of these red birds so I filled our feeder with bird song food.

While watching the male in bright red splendor feeding at the birdhouse-looking feeder hanging on the fence, the female flew up on the fence and perched on top about twenty feet from the male. Ok. I have seen that before... But the male flew over to the female with a large seed in his beak and landed next to the female and gave the seed to the female! What? Really, did I just see that?😱

The male went back to the feeder and came back and did it again!

Like me, a caregiver! LOL... nature is amazing if one only observes it and takes it all in... This was the first time I really did so. I find this interesting and inspiring.

Here is a link confirming my own observation:

https://naturescrusaders.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/the-romantic-cardinal-beak-to-beak/