Hey guys

I am not sure if I ever wrote about me and the birds (too many journals in my archive) but since I got so many questions on "How do you do it" I thought share a few things. Well I have no super lens like those awesome 600mm ones, I wished I had but I can't afford that. On the other side I might not really want one, since I love to watch birds up close and observe they behavior and this way they seem to get used to me. And of course that does not happen over night . I feed those birds all year long and that is tip #1 if you want to take bird pictures and can't afford a super lens. You will be surprised, but birds will get used to you by doing this, they are quiet smart and they "know" who feeds them. I had gold finches one summer they were so excited they landed on my head, I had red breasted grosbeaks eating out of my hand and I had chickadees hovering all over me. Some birds will get less afraid of you and some will never change, the cardinal for example never changed on me. I guess that is because he is one of the most vulnerable birds due to his bright red color and a falcon can spot him a mile away. So yes I feed them all year long but don't bother them with pictures most of the year, only in winter. Now why is that ? Its a personal liking I guess, I prefer snow as a background for my bird pictures. When winter comes I move a few feeders closer to my patio and my sun room. I have two set ups to take my pictures, one is outside behind a bird blind ( which is set up to blend in with the snow and makes me look like a snowman ) and the other one is through an open door in the sun room, which is a bit more wind and snow protective but requires a shit load of more patience since birds ain't dumb and they know that the door is open , even if I hide as good as I can. Both set ups allow me to get as close as 4-5 feet to the birds and that makes it possible to shoot with a 70-300mm lens, but a lot of patience no matter what. Its not like I sit down and get pictures within minutes, nope. Sometimes it takes a couple hours and a few frost bites to get a few good shots. And then there is the issue with the snow, when shooting during a snow storm, depending on the direction the wind blows my lens will get wet even if its protected. The 70-300 I have ain't an expensive lens and I only use it for my winter birds and if I kill it accidentally by getting it too wet then I won't cry over it. But so far I never managed that and believe me I had loads of snow on it. So yes this is the only secret behind my bird shots, feed them , let them get used to you ( takes a couple years ) and have a good load of patience ! And one day I will trick that cardinal out !


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