Wildlife Hides

[Chris Hammond]

I think I might need a wildlife hide. Virtually all of my wildlife photography is carried out on public footpaths and common land etc, so I don't use hides. I have to rely on camouflage clothing and scrim nets. I get the impression that to get anywhere close to the standard of the best togs on this site I would have to get much closer to my subjects, i.e use wildlife hides.

Do you use wildlife hides? If not what approaches do you use?

[pressld2]

My best and closest shots have all been taken either from public hides at nature reserves or from my car, notably on the long drive from the entrance to the car park at RSPB Elmley marshes.

Other than that I'm the same as you, Chris, I just wear brown/dark green clothes and use a scrim net.

I have bought a cheap camouflage pattern dome tent which I intended to use as a hide but I think you really need somewhere that you will be completely undisturbed for this to be worthwhile. Where I live, in the crowded south-east, there's pretty much nowhere that doesn't get a constant stream of kids, ramblers, dog-walkers etc. Even when I make the effort to be out before 6.00 am I'm never alone! Not that I'm complaining - kids, ramblers and dog-walkers have as much right to enjoy the great outdoors as photographers!

Dave P.

[paulthomas]

It depends on what I'm photographing. I find you don't generally need a hide for small birds but for waders and waterfowl I find them very effective. I use either a bag hide or a portable dome hide depending on the terrain, how light I want to travel and how long I'm likely to be there. Mammals are a different proposition: for small rodents you don't need one and many larger mammals will rumble the hide as being something new in their environment and will avoid them unless you can leave the hide set up for some days for the animals to get used to seeing it - obviously not advisable/possible where there's public access.

[Chris_Johnstone]

I have been experimenting with hides recently. I found that you need to be very patient - ie set up the hide quite far away from where you eventually want it to be and move it forward gradually. I am quite impatient as far as that's concerned and sometimes prefer just to sit in some bushes as camouflaged as possible. I find you get a much wider area to view and can get an idea when the subject is approaching. Obviously this doesn't offer you the concealment a hide does.

Really all depends on the subject and how long you have.

Chris

[Steve S]

Hides need to be used over a period of time to be most effective. However, I think that there are very few areas of the UK that one could be left unattended and be confident of returning to without it being trashed. For that reason the only hide I use out in the field is a bag hide.

Because of the nature of my local patch and the main type of subjects available I have found using a car as a hide to be very successful.

Steve.

[Chris Hammond]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback.

Regarding using a car as the basis for a hide, is there any kind of door clamp or similar available commercially to mount the camera on? I've used the car with the camera resting on a rolled up scrim net, bean-bag style on the rolled down window, but often find I need a more stable fixing in order to maintain any level of sharpness in my shots.

[Tormentil]

How about this Ergo Rest

Have n't got one myself, but it looks bdecent enough.

[pressld2]

I haven't used one either. They've always struck me as a bit expensive for what they are so I just use a bean bag.

On the other hand it would give a bit more height which would make it more comfortable to use and also avoid things like this...



The mist in the lower right of this picture is my door mirror!

Dave P.

[Steve S]

Chris,

I use a wooden mount in my car. The one I have is quite fancy and made by someone who modelled it on a commercially available mount. A friend of mine also made a much simpler one for his own use out of two pieces of wood and a hinge, that seems to work fine as well.

You can get some idea of what I'm talking about here. If you decide to have a go and make one I'd recommend that you avoid using lightweight wood, (you won't be carrying it any distance so it doesn't matter if it weighs a ton). And that you make the top platform wide and deep enough to allow you to swivel your bean bag without it falling over the edge.

Steve.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by pressld2

The mist in the lower right of this picture is my door mirror!

Dave P.

Dave,

The risk of "misty" shots when shooting from a car is always a risk.

When I bought my current car I first had a test drive, then I turned up with my camera bag, window mount and beanbag for the next test drive. I let the salesman know that if it didn't pass the "photo test" then I wouldn't be buying it. He must have thought, "I've got a right one here".

Steve.

[Chas]

Your original question was about the use of hides. I just wanted to say that I bought some cam clothing whilst in the US. Cheap and designed for hunters. I find that wearing it makes a dramatic difference to the confidence of my bird subjects. I have lots of anecdotes that would indicate it was well worth it. When I am out and about it amuses me as I sit quietly "camd out" to see people in the distance in bright blue or red jackets making the commotion that a lot of people seem to do. Then when they stumble on me I see that they have really expensive optics, they need them because it must be so hard to get near to anything. I don;t claim to be half as clever as lots of people on this sight but I am sure that my wildlife experience is enhanced by my camo clothing which I would swear by.

[Chris Hammond]

Thanks for the input folks.

I think I might try Steve's suggestion and make something up myself for the car window mount.

[rlchew]

I have never purchased a hide of any kind since I am not sure what added benefit I would get from the cash outlay.

Other than permanent hides at various nature reserves, I tend to use the "sit and wait" or "stalk quietly" techniques together with the use of my car (and beanbag as a window rest).

If I had a large garden or a quiet undisturbed local patch, I would perhaps consider a hide .... but as I don't, I won't!

Richard