To effectively photograph most birds, you must be fairly close to your subject. We discussed the use of blinds to get close in tips#3 and #8. Learning to effectively stalk a bird will get you pictures without the inconvenience of using a blind.

Imagine for a moment that you are going for a nice peaceful hike in the woods. Suddenly, a massive alien creature appears on the horizon. At first you go about your business, but you notice that the alien's beady eyes are fixed on you and it is moving rapidly towards you. The "thing" is knocking small trees over and crushing bushes in it's haste to get closer. It is very intent on you and stops briefly only to point a long cylinder at you. You notice that when the cylinder is aimed at you it appears to "wink" and makes a loud unnatural sound. Would your reaction be to just continue what you were doing, assuming the creature means no harm? Or would you assume that you're on the menu? The answer is obvious, we would run as fast as we could! While it is readily apparent the mistakes that the alien (the photographer) has made in approaching you (the bird), many times photographers unknowingly make the same errors in their excitement to get the photograph.

The first and foremost lesson to learn in stalking is to s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n. Moving slowly refers to both your approach speed and to any movements you make. While this may seem obvious, it can be very difficult to do in the heat of the moment. Most predators move very quickly, and if you are rapidly closing the gap, the bird will feel threatened. Additionally, getting down low will make you appear less threatening (and may improve the composition). This is particularly effective with ground feeding birds.

All wild animals have a "comfort zone". When violated, it initiates a fight or flight response. As you encroach upon this zone, the bird's behavior will alter and it will begin to act in a stressed manner. This may manifest itself by the bird ceasing feeding, preening, sounding alarm calls or in it's posture. The Stokes nature guides to bird behavior are helpful here. Generally, if it stops what it is doing, stands upright, hunkers down or suddenly freezes during your approach, you better stop immediately and wait until it resumes it's previous activity. Once it resumes it's previous behavior, wait a few minutes before attempting to approach further.

The comfort zone distance varies from bird to bird and from species to species. A fast approach will typically violate the comfort zone much earlier by not allowing the bird time to adjust to your presence. In fact, there are some birds which can not be approached and this should be respected.

Avoid direct eye to eye contact. In the wild, this usually signifies aggression and birds will assume you are a predator. Instead, only look at the bird intermittently to observe it's behavior. It is also helpful to approach your subject in a zigzag fashion. Instead of approaching the subject in a straight line, travel in diagonals and gradually close the distance. Whenever possible, use natural or unnatural cover to obscure your movements. For example, put trees and poles directly in line with the subject as you approach (other birders can be an effective screen as well). You can take advantage of this to close the distance a little faster than when in plain sight.

Try to anticipate the location or distance from the subject, where you must be for the best shot. To do this, you must pay careful attention to the background, as you don't want to do the world's greatest stalk only to have a bright stick coming out of the top of the bird's head! We don't believe camouflage clothing must be used, but it is important to stick with neutral colors that don't stand out too much from the surroundings. (I.e. browns or greens)

When approaching a bird, try to pretend that you could care less what it does. The more intent on the subject you appear, the more nervous it will become. The closer you get to a bird, the more easily it will be spooked. This means you must avoid unnecessary noise such as clanging tripod legs (and the resulting muttered expletives!) or dropped film canisters. It is a good idea to double check camera settings, (including the "on" button!) adjust exposure if necessary, and of course, make sure the lens cap is off! If you are almost done the roll, it would be a good idea to change it well before you get close (the sound of auto rewind will often spook a bird, see tips#2 on manual rewind). To get the bird used to the sound of the shutter, fire a couple of shots after each advance on the bird (these may be your only record of your first stalking attempts!). If you are using flash, carefully observe it's effect, as the flash will usually startle skittish subjects. It may be best to do without it when approaching nervous birds.

Avoid the "pincer" technique. A number of years ago at Point Pelee there was a tree full of birds that the famed photographer Arthur Morris was photographing. A couple of well meaning, handsome photographers in their haste to get there, accidentally took two different routes to the same tree. This created a "pincer" movement, which put the birds in the unenviable position of having "predators" approaching from three directions at once. Without an escape route, the birds became quite nervous and a few flew off. To Arthur Morris's credit, he didn't get angry, but just explained to the two eager photographers the error of our ways.

Local conditions will also dictate your ability to successfully stalk a bird. An unapproachable bird in one area may be ridiculously tame in another region. For example, consider the great egret that walked in between our pool chairs to pluck French fries off our table in Florida!

The temptation to simply stand up and leave after you have taken your photos is great. Please consider the welfare of your subject(s) and exit as gracefully as you approached. Your true skill at stalking is not measured solely by your images.

In summary, always try to remember that your subject spends the entire day trying to eat without being eaten. To a bird you are either neutral or a predator. The challenge of stalking is to act like a sheep in a wolf's clothing! Next month we will discuss the advantages of using a motor drive to capture "the" image.

Copyright Scott Fairbairn and John Reaume

Willet eating a crab - shot by Scott Fairbairn, Nikon 500mmf4, F5, film type Velvia

Copyright Scott Fairbairn and John Reaume

Wimbrel - shot by John Reaume, Nikon 500mmf4, F4s, film type Velvia

Copyright Scott Fairbairn and John Reaume