Bird of prey beginner

kaiser · #1 (**permalink**) 24-03-2011, 03:52 PM

HI, just looking for some advise as to the best time of day to observe and hopefully photograph different birds of prey (mostly common buzzard to begin with) im new to the hobby,

im prepared to be extremely patient and know of a good spot where ive seen a number of birds hunting and occaisonally perching, any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

many thanks

p.s i hope to get some of my very first wildlife pics up on here soon taken with my new (to me) canon eos 20d with 75-300mm lens, im in awe of some of the pics on here and would love advice from some of the experienced photographers.

nikolai_avenger · #2 (**permalink**) 24-03-2011, 05:07 PM

Hello, Kaiser.

This is a great time of year for buzzards; there are a couple of recent threads in the bird forum on buzzards.

In a nutshell; I find the best conditions are sunny with a bit of cloud cover. As buzzards use thermals to soar on, I find mid-morning onwards when it has warmed up a bit is a good time to see these birds.

Good luck, they are great birds, and hopefully you will get some decent pictures. Don't forget to post them on Wild About Britain!

Cheers. Nik.

FUDGEY · #3 (**permalink**) 29-03-2011, 09:20 AM

If you are prepared to wait then my method will probably offer you the quickest and best shots. I collect road kill and freeze it and then put it out for Birds of Prey. Buzzards are the easiest and to make it easier it is better to put several out over a few weeks at first. The Buzzards soon learn that its a good area for food and after two or three free meals it will come several times a day to your spot to check. On the day you go try get there early and set up a hide. It is imperative they dont know you are there. Another tip is not to put a new bait out the day after you last fed it as it probably wont be that hungry. Wait three days or so and you will probably get it down quite quickly. Heres one I took with a road kill Pheasant.