Sun Drenched Photographer’s Heaven

Every day in San Diego was either sunny or mostly sunny. (Quite a welcomed change for this Michigan photographer!) I hoped to find and photograph lots of warblers, but saw only two. A female Orange Crowned Warbler, who visited this orange tube shaped honeysuckle blossom bush multiple times every day in search of insects, and a Yellow Rumped Warbler, ground feeding in the grass near an abandoned building.

Having a warbler who is perfectly will to pose regularly visit a lovely crop of bright flowers with soft green backgrounds was like heaven.  NOTE:  I also hoped that the more colorful male would make an appearance, but he did not.

I set up the tripod and 7D Mark II with 300mm lens and 1.4 telephoto extender on the condo balcony and hoped to get as many closeup photos as this bird would allow. The warbler was so active that I lost track of time and found myself photographing her between 11:00-3:00 pm. Predictably, the colors in these images were over saturated and highly contrasty; mostly unusable without a major renovation in post processing.

The Impact of Bright Flowers

The splashes of dramatic color, along with the graceful curves and intricate detail of the flowers, all add a lively, energetic and emotional dynamic to the image. The cooler green colors of the leaves create a perfect background.

In Lightroom you can adjust all image colors with one stroke or be more targeted by individually adjusting three properties (Hue, Saturation,Luminance) of 8 different colors (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Aqua, Blue, Purple and Magenta). It’s fun to experiment, but I generally find myself preferring the colors and intensities as the camera processed them.

Watching and Waiting for Warblers to Photograph

I am anxiously awaiting the Spring arrival of the warblers in Michigan.  So far, I have not seen any, not even the Yellow Rumped Warbler who often arrives in late March. Perhaps while I wait, we should plant more colorful (and deer proof) spring flowers.

Yellowthroat Warbler Encounter

Last summer, I finally had an opportunity to photograph the bright little warbler with a Zorro mask; the Common Yellowthroat Warbler. This species is common, but not commonly seen out in the open in the Allegan State Game Area. Like most other warblers, the Common Yellowthroat weaves in and out of thick, leafy branches hunting for insects. It rarely show itself fully, at least not when this photographer is around.

Enticing Birds with Song

I had already set up and positioned my tripod in an area with optimal morning light, a melt away green background, and a couple possible perches away from branch and leaf clutter. A bright, male Yellowthroat Warbler made an appearance almost immediately, but he stayed hidden in the foliage, seemingly intent on evading the camera.

I opened the I-Bird Midwest app on my phone, clicked on the audio link to the Yellowthroat Warbler song, and played it once. The Yellowthroat abandoned the safety of the bush, boldly flew close, landed on a perch near my setup, and looked around for the intruder in his territory. For 3 minutes or so he sang loudly to warn this “intruder” away.

Too Many Photos in Lightroom

I uploaded 50+ clear, nicely lit, well framed, mostly away from leafy clutter photos of this warbler to Lightroom for post processing. As usual, I was attentive to the descriptors and dates that help keep my photos organized. I highlighted with stars 3 or 4 photos that I thought were the best of the shoot.

I manage all of my photos in Lightroom, many more of each bird species than I will ever need or use. Lightroom is overloaded. When I go into the program in search of a particular photo, it takes time. Plus, I can not resist taking one more look at the hundreds of photos I did not star.  TIME WASTER!!

Why Bird Photographers Use Flickr

I’ve only recently posted my bird photos to Flickr. I wasn’t impressed the first couple times I visited flickr (years ago) because, well, I’m a photo snob and there were always way too many crappy photos posted.

But I’ve taken a step back and reconsidered.

It’s fun to explore Flickr. I can join birders groups, bird photography groups and quickly share my bird photos with other bird lovers. It is inspiring (and humbling) to check out the artistry and technical prowess of some of the more advanced bird photographers. If I choose, my photos can be placed into photo competitions. Some of the more elite bird photography groups allow photographers to make comments and suggestions pertaining to the quality and caliber of the work. I can make  judgements about how my photographs of a particular species of bird compares to the same species photographed by others.

Free Cloud Photo Storage

Flickr offers a very generous 1 TB of free photo storage. I already have an immense amount of free storage space on Drop Box, Google Drive, Amazon and the company that hosts my website. Free cloud storage options are as numerous as free email resources. I would not use Flickr just for free storage.

My Running Photo List

Flickr is now my go-to place to document my wild bird photography journey and store the best photo I currently have of each species (male and/or female). It’s my birding “listing tool” and portfolio to keep track of all the different bird species I have photographed.

Best of all, I have a quick and simple way for others to share my journey without boring them to death with too much content.

To visit my Flickr Photo stream, press this link.

Photographing the American Redstart Warbler

I have to admit. I’ve come to love photographing warblers- especially warblers uncommon to our yard. The American Redstart Warblers are especially fun to discover because they are tiny, compact balls of energy. They are not particularly shy (as warblers go) and once in a while, their curiosity will get the better of them.

Attracting American Redstarts to Our Backyard

The migration map for the American Redstart Warblers shows that they nest in SW Michigan, but this is the first time we’ve seen this species around us. These are conspicuous warblers, but they do not frequent back yards. The female American Redstart does not have the dramatic black and orange halloween colors like the male, but she is still easy to identify when she flashes the orange and yellow patches on her shoulders, wings and spread tail feathers.

My warbler book states that these warblers respond well to PISHING. This practice may enticed them to visit back yards (assuming the habitat is inviting).

What is PISHING?

PISHING is a sound made by birders and researchers to entice a hidden bird to come out into the open.  It sounds like this.

My First Attempt at PISHING

I thought I’d try to entice the female American Redstart Warblers that I had seen in the dense brush to come out into the open by making the PISHING sound. I set up my camera on the porch near a red bud tree that had lost most of its fall leaves. I sat quietly on a stool behind  the camera and started my PISHING imitation, hoping for a close approach.

Birds did come to look me over, but only the ones that frequent our feeders. The female American Redstart Warbler was not interested enough to come out from behind the bushes. I photographed her in the brush where she seemed most comfortable.

I find it fascinating to speculate as to why PISHING works. The success rate surely has a lot to do the amount of other ambient noise, other birdsong, weather conditions, and predators.  To learn more about the art of PISHING and why it works, please visit this most entertaining web pdf called “Bringing In The Birds”.

To see all of the warblers and vireos photographed in our yard during the Fall of 2014, see this flickr Link.

Photographing Yellow Rumped Warblers

It’s early November, frosty and cold, and most of the warblers are long gone from our yard. The Yellow Rumped Wood Warblers linger, seemingly not in a hurry to get to their wintering grounds.

Best of all, they don’t seem to mind posing for the camera.

Posing for the Camera

I had no trouble finding and photographing Yellow Rumped Warblers this summer. These venturous birds seemed to be everywhere, boldly and conspicously going about their business and ignoring me. Clutches of them, all flashing their bright yellow tail feathers, could be found searching for insects and berries in the low lying dense foliage. It was a photographer’s dream.

Butter Butts

These perky little warblers nest mostly in northern climates, so they are used to the brisk, November weather. I’ve seen a half dozen or so of them in my yard, flitting about on the leafless branches in search of insects. Seeds and berries are plentiful when the insects are gone. Of all the warblers, Butter butts are hardy enough to survive the Michigan winter. Once in a while, I’ll spot one as the snow flies. I have never seen them take advantage of the free meal at our feeders.

This time of year, these warblers can look quite drab -pale shades of brown. They are easy to identify with that bit of a yellow patch on each side of its body (in front of the wings) and their most identifiable feature, a bright yellow rump.

First to Arrive and Last to Leave

One morning soon I will wake and the Yellow Rumped Warblers will be gone. One of my many goals in the Spring is to photograph a male, all decked out and flashing his bold and bright yellow, charcoal, and blue/black/white feather finery. The Butterbutts are one of the first species of warbler to come through Southwest Michigan in the Spring. If I’m watchful, I’ll probably get my chance in March.

To take a look at photos of the other warblers that have come through our yard during this Fall’s migration (some starting in July!), visit this link.

Yellow Warbler Identification

Yellow warblers are bright little birds that are not the easiest to ID or photograph. Often, I see a little yellow blur flying fast and furious, and when it lands in the dense foliage, it quickly weaves in and out of view. Unless I get a clear shot, (if I’m able to lock down focus at all), this warbler can easily be confused with other yellowish warblers.

The Warbler Guide

For my birthday, I received The Warbler Guide by Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle. It’s a wonderful, thick book with dozens of distinctive photos of all angles of male, female and juvenile warblers, in all seasonal plumages. Warblers are one the most challenging birds to ID. It’s important to be very precise when reviewing the color and shape of any discernable eye rings, the color and location of streaking on the breast, the length of tail feathers and edging on the wing feathers, the body shape, the bill length, eye color, feet color and on and on.   Oh My!

The Warbler Guide is a great book with which to sit down and relax, learn new things about warblers, and sort and compare my photos with the guide’s photos. After spending some time comparing back and forth, this with that, I may finally feel sort of comfortable that I have a good ID. However, if I get a feeling that my ID may not be quite right, I go ahead and upload my photo to Whatbird.com for the experts to give me final confirmation.

Facial Recognition of Birds

Wouldn’t it be cool to have sight and sound recognition DSLR cameras…. a digital camera with an artificial intelligence ID chip built into its computer that would be able to identify the bird on which the lens is focused?

This marvelous invention can not be that far into the future because scientists at Columbia School of Engineering have already developed an visual recognition bird ID app and are working on incorporating a bird recognition ID chip into binoculars.

Birdsnap- An Advanced Digital Field Guide

Currently, birders and photographers can download a free app call “Birdsnap”. Once installed on your smart phone, all you need do is upload a clear, full bodied photo of a bird into the app and follow the prompts to point out the locations of the tail and eye of the bird. Birdsnap will then scan your photo, compare it to its database of 500 bird photos and come up with possible matches.

A future enhancement for this app is under development that will incorporate voice recognition…the various bird songs, whistles and calls that match the bird photos. To ID a bird by song, (hypothetically) users will only need to engage the recording component of their smart phones while the unknown (and possibly unseen) bird is vocalizing, and then upload that file to the app.

Right now I have two GPS enabled apps on my smart phone that allow me to view multiple photos of a bird species, hear their vocalizations, and map their summer, winter and migratory range. But these apps require that I see the bird (or a photo of the bird) or hear the bird, then make a judgement as to whether or not the bird ID info I’m viewing in the app matches the bird I am seeing and/or hearing.

Birdsnap is programmed to do what computers do best: Sort through massive amounts of data, make computer based distinctions based on facial and birdsong recognition, and then select one or more matches. Human judgements will still be necessary to determine if the selections made by Birdsnap are correct.

Warbler ID Tools

I still love my Warbler Guide, It has fascinating information and endless details on the characteristics and lifestyles of 50+ warblers. The Birdsnap app is a good tool to turn to first for Warbler ID. That way, I have possible warbler names to take to the book index and start my search.

Some day, I will be quick and competent at bird ID, but that day is not today.

For more information on the Birdsnap app, click this link.

To read my post about auditory bird ID, click this link.

Wonder of Wonders

I am captivated by the bird migration phenomena. It’s still late summer and over the last couple weeks, a parade of migrating birds have stopped in our yard to rest and replenish. So many that I am getting fairly good at warbler ID.

The trees are still in full summer foliage. The Vireos and Warblers weave in and out of sight between the branches and leaves, flittering every which way in search of insects and grubs. Because they move so fast, it is difficult to track their movements with my lens. I have to keep both of my eyes on the area of the last sighting and then watch for the slightest movement in the leaves and branches. When a new bird comes into view (even a partial view) I quickly point the 300 mm lens with 1.4 extender, focus and hold down the shutter. The advantages of  shooting from the library windows are that I am fairly close to the bushes and trees in which the birds forage and the library window is higher than ground level, allowing me to shoot at eye level.

The Great Lakes Migration Corridor

We live near the shores of Lake Michigan. Each spring and fall the shoreline becomes a nocturnal migration corridor for millions of birds on the move. There have been so many visitors in our yard this year that I have temporarily put on hold my usual routine of photographing birds in the Allegan State Game Area. Instead I watch and photograph warblers and vireos through my library window. This strategy is particularly productive during or after a storm and when the winds blow strong. Although exposure is always a challenge on low light, windy days, it’s worth the focusing hassle and less than tack sharp  images to see these unfamiliar and beautiful travelers through my lens.

Birdcast

Birders and photographers can find resources that help predict when migrating birds will be passing through their regions. The Birdcast weekly forecast is a project funded by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Weather radar, satellite imagery, e-bird data, acoustical monitoring devices, and sophisticated computer models are combined to determine, by region, what species of migrating birds (out of 400+ species) will likely be passing through during a particular week. The goals of this project are to get a better understanding of the migration phenomenon (when, where and how far birds go) and to determine the impact of environmental change on bird behavior.

Birdcast Predictions for August 29-Sept 4

Here is a sample of the kind of information BirdCast provided for the my area during the week of Aug 29 through Sept 4.

“Upper Midwest and Northeast

Scattered light to moderate movements were in evidence for the weekend, as small scale disturbances moved across the region in several areas. By Monday night, however, changes were evident, as northerly flow and cooler air brought heavy movements to the western Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi River valley. As the frontal boundary responsible for these changes moved east, so did the moderate to locally heavy movements it facilitated. By Wednesday night these movements were apparent in coastal areas, and also as widely scattered movements farther inland. Species on the move this week included Swainson’s Thrush, Magnolia Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Hudsonian Godwit, Tennessee Warbler, American Golden-Plover, Warbling Vireo, Wilson’s Warbler, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black Tern, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, American Redstart, and White-eyed Vireo.”

From this predictive list, for the week of Aug 29-Sept 4, I was able to photograph in my yard the Magnolia Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Warbling Vireo, Wilson’s Warbler, Black Throated Green Warbler, and American Redstart. 

A Scientific Approach to Finding Migrating Birds

If you are interested in learning more about scientifically based predictions that gauge which migrating species will pass through your geographical area,visit this link.

If you are interested in seeing the other migratory birds that have visited our yard so far during this migration (2014), please visit my flickr album .

Palm Warblers Passing Through Michigan

Just when I thought that most birds were done traveling through Michigan to their northern or western nesting grounds, I found and photographed another spring traveler. Western palm warblers migrate from their wintering grounds in the Caribbean and Southern United States to their breeding grounds in Canada.

Photographing Birds Without Clutter

I came across these rusty capped, tail wagging song birds at a local park. They seemed unconcerned with the human activity around them as they bobbed their tail feathers (to show off their yellow feathers under tail) and foraged for food in a wide open, grassy picnic area. I was photographing the palm warblers from above, with the lens resting on the car door. The lens had no problem locking down focus as they hopped and ran in the grass. No branch clutter and hidden hidey-holes were around to spoil my fun. The sight line was free and clear in case the birds decided to fly off.

Two Subspecies of Palm Warblers

Bird ID becomes even more complicated when you come across a bird you thought you could identify, but appears somehow different. Last September, 2013, I photographed the eastern yellow subspecies palm warbler in the Allegan State Game Area. (See above photo.) According to experts at WhatBird, this subspecies is not commonly found in SW Michigan. Both the eastern and the western subspecies sport (and pump) their bright yellow under tail feathers. The main difference between the two subspecies is that the breast plumage of the eastern yellow subspecies is more distinctly yellow. The western palm warbler is browner and has more pronounced streaking on the breast. (See photo below.)

Subspecies Abound

A species of bird, like the palm warbler, can be divided into one or more subspecies if a group is distinct enough (to formally give them a name), but not so different as to be categorized as a different species of bird. Migration habits and geographic location are factors that impact the creation of subspecies. Size and coloration are the major characteristics that set subspecies apart. Over time, a subspecies may evolve enough to be classified as a new, distinct and genetically recognizable species of bird.

If you want to understand more about how subspecies develop, see this link.

E-Bird has tracked the fall and spring migration habits of both subspecies of the Palm Warbler, showing distinct timing and geographic movement patterns of the western palm warblers and the eastern yellow palm warblers. See this link to learn more.

Manual Mode

Lots of photographers never venture outside the automatic modes provided by their cameras. There’s comfort in using them. Whether using full auto, program mode, auto ISO, aperture or shutter preferred, some photographers like the convenience of letting the camera do the thinking.

Setting the camera to manual mode means that the photographer must set more than one exposure setting. Manual mode is generally listed with the “creative” settings. In manual mode, the photographer decides what aperture and shutter (and sometimes ISO) to set.

The Creative Settings on a DSLR

Shutter preferred and aperture preferred settings on a DSLR make life easier because they allow the photographer to pick just one setting that is most important for the scene, and let the camera automatically set the rest of the exposure settings. Less stressful, right?

But there’s a price to be paid for the convenience of letting your camera’s computer make those exposure choices. The sharpness of your image may disappoint – either because the camera’s choice of aperture set the DOF too shallow or the camera’s choice of shutter speed did not freeze the action quite enough.

Two or More Exposure Choices

I can’t set my camera to my preferred aperture AND preferred shutter settings unless I set the camera to (M) manual mode. NOTE:  The camera is still somewhat creatively automated because the ISO is set to  “Auto”. I have an internal camera setting for auto ISO that will restrict the ISO from rising above 1000.

Photographing Beautiful Warblers

I shot both the Nashville Warbler (above) and the Palm Warbler (below) using the M-manual setting. This choice allowed me to set both the shutter and the aperture separately. The camera was set to auto ISO. In order to get tack sharp images and avoid noise, I kept a close watch on the ISO setting, making sure it did not go above 500.

Both images were shot with a relatively fast shutter – fast, that is, for a perching bird. I’ve noticed that when I set the camera to shutter preferred mode, the camera rarely sets the aperture smaller than f/6.3. However, I like the f/7.1 aperture setting better for these bird shots because it gives my subject a wider DOF. A wider depth of field helps make sure the whole bird – head to tail feathers – is in-focus. In these shots, f/7.1 still maintained a pleasing blurred background and low ISO.

The Advantages of Manual Mode When Photographing Birds

Experimenting with the M mode will help you better understand aperture, shutter and ISO, the basics of managing exposure. It will also help you better understand the “logic” the camera uses when making decisions in the shutter preferred and aperture preferred modes.

You may be surprised at how much versatility you have when you set your DSLR to manual mode.

Automation vs More Control

There’s nothing wrong with bird photographers using automated controls on their cameras. Those settings come in handy when the action is moving fast. Modern cameras have sophisticated algorithms that do a great job of automating exposure for quick and easy shooting. And the photos look great!

But the more you photograph birds, the more discriminating you will become, and the more control you will crave. You’ll learn more about the juggling act that is correct exposure. You’ll use M mode more because manual exposure balancing won’t be so threatening.

So, once in a while, get out of the comfort zone of the more restrictive creative modes. Carve yourself a new comfort zone in the world of manual mode.