[JeffH]

UPDATE – 14th April (Part 1 – the technical stuff)

If I may I’ll write this update in two parts and begin by responding to Nightshade’s request of 9th April for more “technical details, tips, etc” –

Originally Posted by nightshade

Hi JeffH, lovely photos beautiful birds,any technical details or tips to pass on ? Camera,lenses type of hide etc. I can see you love your subject, keep up the good work

For those not interested in the technical stuff, may I suggest you skip this part and go straight to Part 2 (a separate post) which contains news on the birds themselves.

As far as technical details are concerned - the camera I use is a Canon EOS30D fitted with a Canon BG-E2 battery grip. For all the photos linked to this thread I’m using a Canon EF
100 – 400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens, mainly with a Canon EF 1.4xII extender/teleconverter (except for my most recent shots, taken from a hide less than 12 feet from the birds – more on that later).

For anyone interested I also use a Manfrotto 190 ProB tripod with a Manfrotto 804RC2 pan and tilt head and Canon RS-80N3 remote switch. I also have a Manfrotto 322RC2 horizontal grip action ball head but prefer the pan and tilt head for hide work. All of this and the rest of my camera gear ( + folding camping stool for use in the hides) is carried around in a LowePro Vertex 100 AW backpack – the most compact and comfortable backpack-style bag I could find to hold all my gear, with the camera + battery grip + lens all ready assembled.

Whilst I’m perfectly happy with all my camera gear, let me emphasise that I’m not claiming it to be the ideal choice for anyone else – in my view, the choice of equipment is a very personal matter and what’s right for one may not suit another. Having said that, many of my choices have been based on the very valuable advice I’ve received from other WAB members and from reading various threads and reviews, etc on this site.

As for technical tips on photography, frankly I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to offer any of these at this stage and being still quite near the bottom of a very steep learning curve in terms of my own digital SLR experience. There are many other WAB members far better qualified and experienced to advise on such matters. Having said that, there are 3 fundamental bits of advice I’ve been given, have acted upon and would willingly pass on to anyone else – buy the best quality lens(es) you can afford; use a tripod and cable release whenever possible and get to know the workings of your equipment really well so that adjustments to camera/lens settings ‘in the field’ become almost second nature and you’re not left fiddling around with your settings long after the bird, insect or whatever has flown.

Turning now to hides, initially all my observations at the nest site were from a semi-permanent hide I’ve built on site. This comprises a 4 foot cube made from 4 fence stakes with some horizontal hazel sticks nailed around the tops (for added stability) and around the sides of which I’ve wrapped/stapled some garden wind-break material. I’ve then covered the top with some waterproof sheeting re-cycled from a garden waste bag. The top and three sides have been covered with some army surplus camo netting into which I’ve stuffed bits of brushwood, dead weeds, ivy, etc to help blend the whole thing in with its surroundings and with a couple of lengths of garden string around to help prevent it all being blown away. A very cheap and cheerful construction – see photo below - which has so far withstood the elements, has not been vandalised and, most importantly, has been accepted by the birds.



You’ll see from the photo that the hide sits on top of a mound of earth and it is situated some 50 feet from the actual nest hole in such a position as to give me a good panoramic view of the whole of the nest site area and so that I can observe the birds fly-paths into and out of the site as well as some of their favoured perching/fishing positions within the immediate area. Being on the mound also enables me to access and exit the hide from the rear and out of sight of the birds.

More recently I have also invested in two of Kevin Keatley’s (of Wildlife Watching Supplies – Wildlife Watching Supplies - Wildlife photography, Nature photography, Photo blinds ) excellent temporary/portable hides – a bag hide and a dome hide, plus one of his neoprene camo lens cover sleeves. The bag hide is, as the name implies, simply a large but specially shaped bag made from camo material and which you simply throw over yourself and your tripod/camera. It has holes for your camera lens and for you to look through. For those with a certain sense of fashion you can also wear it in a sort of poncho style but, when in position and having no supporting frame, it moves if you move. As most of my observation sessions with the Kingfishers last 2 – 3 hours I have found it difficult to maintain a sufficiently still position for that length of time and therefore decided to get a dome hide as well. Having said that, the bag hide is an ideal piece of kit to have with you if you’re just out for a day’s birding or nature watching and in case you stumble across something of interest such as a nest site, watering hole, fox’s den, etc, enabling you to quickly and easily conceal yourself and snap away.

As for the dome hide, this is a really excellent bit of kit – see photos and details + wildlife photography tips on Kevin’s website. I know there are cheaper types of hides around (and any number of home-made designs) but this one really is the bee’s knees, being very well made and having been designed to Kevin’s own specification and based on his experience as a wildlife photographer. I simply can’t fault it and it has enabled me to get within 12 feet of the birds and with them being completely oblivious to it, even though I remove it from the site after each visit. The technique I’ve adopted is to arrive at the site before dawn and to erect the hide behind the mound of earth mentioned earlier and out of sight of the birds. The hide can be erected in 3 – 4 minutes (even in the half light of just before dawn) and, making sure that neither bird is perched near the nest hole, I then walk the hide slowly into position carrying it from within (no doubt an intriguing sight for any casual observer that might be around and further enhancing my reputation as the local nutter ), carrying all my camera gear in my backpack, and simply drop it down into position and then peg it down from within and set up my gear. One or other of the birds usually arrives on scene within about 10 or 15 minutes of my arrival but, so far, they have shown a complete disregard of the hide. In fact, one of their fly-paths to the nest hole brings them within about 3 feet of it. On leaving the site I simply pack up my camera gear within the hide, pull out the pegs and again waiting until neither bird is in the immediate area, then walk the whole thing slowly back behind the mound where I dismantle it.

Finally, the only other ‘tip’ I feel confident in offering is this – for anyone intending to conduct a long-term observation/study of any particular bird or creature or even if you’re just going out for a few hours to try to find and photograph a particular species, learn as much as possible about your target species beforehand and, in the case of birds, particularly their song/calls. It is a condition of obtaining a Schedule 1 Licence that applicants “…should be able to demonstrate an awareness of the breeding ecology of their target species…” and in order to meet this criteria (and using the wonder of the internet) I have managed to locate and to purchase copies of each of the only 4 books on Kingfishers published in the UK during the last 50+ years and all of which are now long out of print. Reading these books has given me an invaluable insight into every aspect of the Kingfisher’s breeding behaviour and knowing something of what the birds are doing and why has increased the pleasure of my observations enormously.

Jeff