heron photography tips

[kenneth_logan]

In southwestern Michigan it appears that the winter exodus is over

for at least one heron (probably great blue heron) on a creek that

runs near our house. I want to photograph this magnificent bird but

am finding it very skittish and quick to flee. I am an intermediate

photographer, so I am not asking for very basic tips. But more-

advanced information would be greatly appreciated, such as answers

to the following questions:

 

What types of blinds are herons most likely to allow?

 

Is it necessary with herons to build a blind in multiple-day stages

so that the bird becomes accustomed gradually to its presence?

 

To what typical distance will a heron will allow a photog to

approach before it flees/flies?

 

What is the impact of early mating season or other seasonal

variations on the bird's acceptance of a photographer in the region?

 

Etc. etc.! I would appreciate very much having responses.

[mark_chappell]

I suspect that pretty much any hide that obliterates the human form will work. Probably it

would be fine to set it up a day or two before you intend to begin photograpy, so the bird

can get used to it. Might be a good idea to get into the hide without being seen, or to

have a 'walk-away' person with you -- both go to the hide, you get in, the other walks

away. Smart birds (crows) are supposed to be able to count up to 3 or so, but most

species aren't so bright.

 

As to your other questions about approach distances, etc., you will find that each

individual will be variable -- some are much more confiding than others. In general it's

best to let the bird approach you than to try to approach it. If you must approach, try to

do so at an oblique angle (don't walk directly at the subject).

[joey_tjosephy]

I tried stalking herons recently and found them to darn skidish. However like the prior post mentions it probably depends on the bird.

I was with 15 yards of the bird in this picture; I just bumped into it!

[mark_chappell]

Joey: one reason you might have had good luck with the bird in your picture: it's a

juvenile (buffy tips to wing feathers), and juvenile herons (and hawks) are often less wary

than adults.... young and stupid, as they say.

[rick_wong]

before I started photographing the great blues I couldn't get close enough before they took flight. I now have hundreds of shots of them from feeding to flight. The trick is to learn their habits and just study them.

 

I found that they have a fishing hole that they like to use, a special tree that they like to roost in and when they are spooked.

 

One trick I use is to slowly inch up to them in plan sight. I move my tripod and camera 1 step at a time. I also do not look at them. If they think you are watching something else they will stay put. If they raise their neck straight up just freeze until they relax. They will also take flight right after they take a dump�

 

As for blinds I do not use them because I want to be mobile. Just like fishing if the hole you are working has no fish you have to wait till they show up. I use my car as a rolling blind if they are near the road� my best luck is using my kayak and shoot them from the water�. For some reason they stay put longer when you are in the water.

 

When I use my kayak I just let it drift right up to them�. Last week I was able to get within 8 feet of one.. I let my boat drift into a downed tree that it was perched on and focused on photographing a pair of wood ducks swimming nearby. I was about 20 feet away and took a few shot and just sat there watching until it started to sleep. I then just eased my boat closer until I was 10 away with a big branch between me and the heron. When he acted like I was to close I back off and just sat there watching. When he settle down again I drifted to the other side of him I was able to get within 8 feet and was able to even get some frame filling shots with a sony 717 point and shoot camera.

 

find attached a photo from that day.<div></div>

[genec]

Fortunately, here in Florida the birds are quite used to people and it is quite common to be able to get up quite close to all sorts of birds. Here is one taken a couple of weeks ago at the Venice Rookery. http://www.photo.net/photo/2172400

[srspears]

Hi Kenneth,

 

I too have an entire portfolio of these GBH taken in both Florida and here in the DC area off the Potomac River. Individual birds have varying tolerances.. some with amazing poise. But the one thing I've found absolutely true of the local birds I know.. there are creatures of habit... liking the same perch, fishing areas etc. If you spend a couple of days, preferrable around the same time, you will be able to identify what time they head to their favorite site.. then if you want to work without a blind, head to that area an hour earlier, find a place, set up and get real quiet and immobile. They will come to you.

 

And since you will more than likely be working next to a water body, the light shine in their eye. the warm sun rays off the water lighting up the breast and wing shadows, you should have a nice shot!

 

good luck<div></div>

[jemini_joseph]

I agree with mark. Young are stupid. I watched a pair of blue herons for an year and had to take pictures at least 50 meters away. Then I started seeing these young ones they were very co-operative.

<br><br>

Parent taken with 1000mm lens (2X+500mm) <br>

<a href="http://www.color-pictures.com/display.asp?rollid=210&frameno=12" target="w-2">http://www.color-pictures.com/display.asp?rollid=210&frameno=12</a>

<br><br>

The young taken with 500mm lens alone <br>

<a href="http://www.color-pictures.com/display.asp?rollid=227&frameno=25" target="w-2">http://www.color-pictures.com/display.asp?rollid=227&frameno=25</a><br>

Good luck

<br><br><a href="http://www.color-pictures.com" target="w-2">Color-pictures.com</a>

[doug herr]

The type of blind doesn't matter as much as long as it doesn't flap in the wind and as long as you don't make any sudden noises - however I much prefer to photograph without a blind. The basic idea is to not act like a predator species. Predators stare, their attention is focussed on their intended meal, and they try to sneak up on their prey. I don't try to hide, I pay attention to all the little noises and other distractions in the environment just as a prey species will, I look at other things, point the camera at other things, and make a slow menadering approach, one step at a time. After a couple of hours I'm just another part of the background and the herons pretty much ignore me.

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<IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/gbhe0.jpg">

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[kenneth_logan]

Wow! What a helpful body of advice so far! ... and amazing photos! The creature-of-habit aspect seems to ring true with the one (ones?) I've been tracking a bit. The creek has a bend infested with a lot of perches/branches over and in the water. The heron was there as I approached. I didn't noticed the bird until I was about 120 feet away. It stuck its neck up, eyed me for about 15 seconds, then flew far down the creek.

 

I returned about an hour and a half to two hours later, from the opposite direction, and got much closer to it before I knew it was there at the same bend. It probably heard me first rather than saw me, as it flew out of the same area. This time I was ready w/ camera and preset focus and exposure. I photographed it in flight at approx. 100mm focal length and focus set on approx. 50 feet, with a wide aperture dof approx. f/5.6 due to handheld status and light conditions (100-speed pro film, light about three stops lower than sunny f/16).

 

At any rate, the basic point is that, yes, that bird may have that particular bend in the creek as a habitual fishing area. I'll be returning there to learn more...and checking in for more advice here! This is very helpful...I appreciate having the benefit of the advice.

[hique]

Well, I think herons are very approachable. I could get myself about 2 or 2 and half meters from these birds. Actually, the Ardea Alba and the Egretta Thula are my most photographed birds (sometimes I even get sick of them) (just kidding, my fellow birdies...).

 

Since my longest lens is a 300mm zoom, I MUST get close to them. Sometimes I can get a head close-up

 

My suggestion would be to approach very slowy and close to the ground.

 

Cheers.<div></div>

[kenneth_logan]

Re: the latest post above, does not a crouching-position aproach communicate to a _perceptive_ bird the sort of approach of a predator? At any rate, two- to two-and-a-half meters away is amazingly close for you to get: seems that you may be in a tourist area or such where the birds are just very used to being around people.

[doug herr]

The idea behind crouching is to present a less threatening

profile. I'm 6'1" and someone that tall is very threateneing up

close. I can get a lot closer if I have a smaller profile *AND* don't

act in a threatening manner.

[hique]

Well, about the predatorian position I don't have the background to discuss, but it actually seems to work much better than just looking human and big (as the other user pointed).

 

The bird in this case was not exactly in a tourism area, it was around a fisher community and the birds are really unafraid there (much food available, I guess).

 

I believe this doesn't have to do with the urbanity level of the environment, but with the caracteristics of the species. The herons I usually see around my city are all very unafraid but the falcons, for instance, are impossible to approach.

 

Anyway, the post is to example that birds can be approachable with care, and that it's possible to make head shots of birds even with a 300mm lens.

[greg s]

A LOT is going to depend on how acclimated to human presence a heron is. If a photographer is in a heavily visited Florida park, then they have almost no limits on how close they can get. We just returned from our Florida trip and all the heron types are as complacent as could be. Change locales and the entire dynamics of the situation changes, and therefore the strategy on approach.

[srspears]

I agree with Greg about Florida.. amazing how close you can get to them.. and it makes sense.. predators usually come out of the water at them, not from the ground toward them.. (ie alligators). Here in the Mid Atlantic Region, a predator (fox) is more than likely to come at them from the ground. Maybe a learned behavior? Maybe Darwin at work? who knows what these kids are thinking? It's just great fun to see if you can work your way close enough to get them full frame! Good luck!

[hique]

"Maybe a learned behavior? Maybe Darwin at work?"

 

Isn't Darwin's theory opposed to that?

 

Anyway...about the relation to men. The birds in galapagos island are known for being very unafraid, and there isn't much people there. This happens probably due the fact that there aren't many natural predators. So what I say is that, the presence of men is not the major factor in this cases (at least it seems to me).

 

I recognize that it makes sense, but a heron in the suburbs won't behave so different than a heron in the wild.

 

But now, comparing falcons to herons and pinguins, we can see a big difference in the fear factor

 

Well, just some thoughts.

[greg s]

"a heron in the suburbs won't behave so different than a heron in the wild"

 

I would have to disagree with you on this one Marcio. While in Florida we visited the Corkscrew Swamp. If you haven't been there, imagine hundreds of people per day walking down a boardwalk past the herons, every day of the year.

 

In a bird book the American Bittern is described as "shy and retiring". At Corkscrew the same bird is succesfully hunting 2 feet away from the boardwalk and takes absolutely no notice of people as they assume every possible manner of position to take countless photos. It just doesn't care, as if it were a Galapagos inhabitant. Would I have the same easy ability to photograph an American Bittern if the bird were born and raised in a remote location devoid of boardwalks and a train of visitors? Not likely. Birds do become habituated to the presence of people... just like deers, racoons, you name it.

[kenneth_logan]

The heron(s) in question, along Lemon Creek in southwestern Michigan, has chosen a fairly-densely wooded area. Maybe there it senses that it has limited options for fleeing through the air. That may make it more wary.

 

Nature photographer John Shaw (or was this one Art Wolfe? or both?) wrote about, for photography, not approaching on an incline, from the upward side, an animal that prefers to flee upward: I suppose that the animal senses that its prefered route of escape is threatened, and is more likely to bolt sooner. So maybe my heron thinks it has to bolt sooner because its basic flight route is either upstream or downstream, with quite a few flight impediments in the way at either side of the creekbed.

 

At least I've learned that it does not limit itself to always fleeing in one direction. How a heron w/ maybe a five-foot wingspan manages to navigate a narrow creek channel w/out hitting branches amazes me anyway.

[hugo_barnes]

If you can, use a golf cart (it is similiar to using a car as a blin) I have hundreds of pictures of the great blue. Today, I pulled within 10 feet of a great blue, immature ibis, two snony egrets and a great white heron. All of these birds were within 5 feet from each other. It was truely a sight to see. I

[w_byrn]

I find it important to not infringe on their areas.If I come to a place regularly they seem to know me.During mating season birds can get oblivious to things around them.When they have eggs or young stay further back or you can throw the whole process off. Walt Byrnes