Garden Hide

[Oscar2006]

I have been struggling to get close enough to the birds in my garden to take photographs of them. I have been thinking about creating a hide for some time now and have now had the opportunity to put some bits of "rubbish" together.
I have used some pieces of a broken gazebo for the frame, and an old groundsheet has been tied over and around the framework.
A small slit has been made for the camera lens to poke through, and a chair installed.
I just need a bit of sunshine now and I can get a few pictures.
I'll upload some when I get them.

OK it is not the best looking hide on show, but it cost nothing and the birds have accepted it.
I'll move it in towards the feeders next weekend.






Just hope the footballers avoid it for a while!

[Seajay]

Originally Posted by Oscar2006

I have been struggling to get close enough to the birds in my garden to take photographs of them. I have been thinking about creating a hide for some time now and have now had the opportunity to put some bits of "rubbish" together.
I have used some pieces of a broken gazebo for the frame, and an old groundsheet has been tied over and around the framework.
A small slit has been made for the camera lens to poke through, and a chair installed.
I just need a bit of sunshine now and I can get a few pictures.
I'll upload some when I get them.

OK it is not the best looking hide on show, but it cost nothing and the birds have accepted it.
I'll move it in towards the feeders next weekend.






Just hope the footballers avoid it for a while!

Nice one! You'll find it'll make a great difference! Could I suggest throwing a good deal of camouflage netting over it so that when the warmer weather arrives you can perhaps roll up the groundsheet to allow air to pass through? If you put the netting on now the birds will not notice any difference when you make alterations for ventilation at a later date.

[goosey]

Thats great Oscar 2006, a clever idea and no financial out lay - even better I would love something like that but just don't have the room. It looks as if you get a good selection of birds visiting with all the trees in the vacinity to photograph. Hope it proves as beneficial as it looks.

[Monkster]

Not a Dr Who fan by any chance are you??

[Oscar2006]

Originally Posted by Monkster

Not a Dr Who fan by any chance are you??

ROFLMAO

[pressld2]

Looks great Oscar, have you got any good photos from it yet?

Sadly, if I built something like that on our lawn my wife would beat me to death with a tyre iron (she keeps one handy just in case). I might get away with a temporary hide that could be put up for a few hours and taken down after use and I've been thinking about buying one of these or attempting to make one. My concern is that the wildlife won't have a chance to get used to the hide if it isn't there for a reasonable period of time.

Has anyone had any success using a temporary hide?

[JeffH]

Nice one Oscar - I'm sure your hide will do the trick and look forward to seeing some of your results.

I did something similar in our garden during January/February using some old bits of garden trellis with a camo net covering and I found that the birds took no notice of it what so ever. In fact I was able to get shots of Blue & Great Tits, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Robin, Blackbird and a Great Spotted Woodpecker from a distance of only 8 to 10 feet away.

Just one point, you might consider gathering up and pegging down any loose covering material as I found that if any bits flapped around in the wind this disturbed the birds.

Finally and in answer to pressld2's question -

Originally Posted by pressld2

I might get away with a temporary hide that could be put up for a few hours and taken down after use and I've been thinking about buying one of these or attempting to make one. My concern is that the wildlife won't have a chance to get used to the hide if it isn't there for a reasonable period of time. Has anyone had any success using a temporary hide?

Yes, I've been using a temporary dome hide to photograph Kingfishers at very close range for the last couple of weeks. I got mine from Kevin Keatley - Wildlife Watching Supplies - Wildlife photography, Nature photography, Photo blinds - and it's been absolutely fantastic. I find I can erect it and have it in position within about 12 feet of their nest site ( I do hold the necessary Licence from Natural England) in about 3 or 4 minutes and although I erect and remove it each time I visit the site, the birds seem to accept its presence instantly on each occasion.
It is, of course, necessary to walk it in ( and out) each time and I'll be saying more about this technique in my next update to the 'Kingfisher Diary with photos' thread I started a few weeks ago.

Jeff

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Looks great Oscar, have you got any good photos from it yet?

Sadly, if I built something like that on our lawn my wife would beat me to death with a tyre iron (she keeps one handy just in case). I might get away with a temporary hide that could be put up for a few hours and taken down after use and I've been thinking about buying one of these or attempting to make one. My concern is that the wildlife won't have a chance to get used to the hide if it isn't there for a reasonable period of time.

Has anyone had any success using a temporary hide?

Yes, Me!
I purchased a changing tent from Argos. Cost £19.99. It's easily put up in few minutes. At first I made a whole in the front for my camera, but now I don't even bother to do that. I can sit in it, with the front rolled up, and the birds still come. Here's a link to it:
Shop for Changing Tent. at Argos.co.uk

Here's a few shot's I've taken from it, both whilst the front was wide open, with me clearly in sight of the birds:

Click on the image for a larger version:







I can recommend it.

[Tormentil]

We have a small town garden, but I was thinking of just pegging something round the rotary clothes dryer as the birds don't sem to mind when the washings out.

[eeyore]

my permanent hide costs about £250,000 and is made principally from bricks and mortar, while my temporary or transportable hide cost arround £7000 and was made by the ford motor company

joking aside we shouldnt neglect the potential of using the car as a hide andy rouse used his jeep to get his wel known blackbird pics on his front lawn , and i used mine to get this - tho admittedly not in the garden