Bird Blinds and Bird Photography

Used in conjunction with some basic bird psychology, bird blinds help all photographers.

For photography purposes, birds divide into the relatively more skittish and relatively less skittish varieties. The degree of skittishness usually translates into the distance you can get to a bird prior to its flying off.

Any natural object that helps obscure a bird's view of the photographer will help improve the chances of capturing a winning image.

Different species of birds tend to hang out or feed in different landscapes at different times of the day. Knowing a bird's living and eating habits helps the photographer get situated in a bird's blind spots during optimal lighting conditions.

Natural blinds come in as many shapes and forms as there are natural objects in a typical backyard. Any tree, bush or stump that effectively hides a photographer from the bird's eye view will do.

The number of artificial blinds available to the average household is equally long, ranging in price from relatively inexpensive do-it-yourself projects to more expensive commercial products.

Creativity is the key to devising a low cost artificial blind.

Cardboard boxes, blankets hung over a clothes line or tents, with openings cut out to make room for the camera lens, are common types of mobile blinds amenable to any backyard photography session. Set up one of them in your favorite bird spotting places and make yourself comfortable waiting for your visitors to drop by.

Don't discount a good indoor setting. Open windows, carefully covered with drapes or blinds, and situated near prime bird perches, are often very good picture taking positions.

Commercial blinds are manufactured along the same lines as their homemade cousins. The portable types are variations of a tent, easy to set up with built in viewing portals. Normally they are covered by camouflage materials. Most commercial bird blinds are dual designed for either bird hunters or bird watchers and can be purchased at outdoor or specialty stores.

Regardless of bird blind choice, the photographer also needs to keep any self-movements to a minimum. After all, there's no sense trying to hide from birds, if photographer fidgeting scares them off.

Many back yard birds, the seed and insect eaters such as sparrows and woodpeckers fall on the less skittish end of photography spectrum. A calm demeanor usually is sufficient for approaching these species at close range.

Many bird photographers equally enjoy photographing birds without the use of blinds.

© 2002-2011. Patricia A. Michaels. All rights reserved.