First, I’d like to say that you could write books on what I don’t know about photography. But, if you’re trying to get decent frame filling pictures of birds and don’t have the budget for (or strength to carry) one of those great big honking lenses that look like they’re made for astronomy, you could consider a blind.
A blind can be made of almost anything, it’s a good idea to make it at least big enough to sit up on a small camp stool and have various openings for camera lenses and viewing. It can be portable or fixed, blinds made for hunting can be bought rather inexpensively but you do get what you pay for. Ice fishing tents are favored by some professional photographers because they have a little more room and are usually better built. You’d be surprised how warm and comfortable a fridge box is and you can easily cut flaps for your camera. You want to leave the floor in place so your weight will keep it from blowing away, but if you cut leg holes and make two handles, you can poke your legs out pick up the box and move to a better location without getting out of the “blind”. If you neighbours ask what to heck that was all about, blame it on the kids, after all one man’s fort is another man’s blind.
My all time favorite blind is called the Forester, it’s very portable, comfortably seats 4 birders, with individual roll down camera hatches and has room for all their gear. It can be made bug proof with some duct tape (you can even get camo now) and mosquito netting. Depending on the age and model it may have working heaters and air conditioner.
You can pick one up at the local Subaru dealer, classified adds or junk yard, depending on your budget.
Seriously though, what could be better than your vehicle? Did you ever pull up to a marsh and see a Great Blue Heron a few yards away? They tend to stay put, that is until you open up the trunk to get your portable blind out. I like the Forester for the all-wheel-drive feature, if your going to be driving around your yard from feeder to feeder you don’t want to get stuck, that makes a mess...you’ll have to get towed out, if you’re married you’ll have to fill in the ruts and match up sod before 5 o’clock. If your single, you might just make the switch from a portable to a stationary blind, the conversion kit’s cheap enough, 4 to 8 cement blocks.
If your lens is too powerful to hand hold or you just want to leave it trained on a feeder until something happens, you can pick up a car window mount for a tripod head, these are also used for spotting scopes. You just roll the window down part way and a special C-type clamp screws securely to the glass. There are cheap ones, but if you already have a tripod that you like, I suggest buying just the clamp and using the head from your tripod, it’s likely to be better than the head that’s attached to the low end car window mount. Down the road, the best set up would be a tripod with a quick release plates that attach to your scope and/or camera and a head on the car window mount that accepts the same quick release plate. This way you can go from one to the other with a flick of a switch.
My goal is a stationary blind/gazebo, I even started on quite a while ago and one of these days I’ll get it finished. The key for you married folks is to not mention the blind aspect of the structure, just say you’re building a little getaway to have a cup of coffee or glass of wine, out of the sun and mosquitoes, I even plan on putting in one of those chess board tables. Mine’s small for a gazebo but luxurious for a blind, I have a solid wall facing north, I tell my wife that’s to break the coldest wind, but I’ll cut camera hatches in it so I won’t be shooting into the sun. The south side will be open and screened in, the east and west walls will have camera hatches, just in case.
Then I’ll set up a few feeders within good shooting range, place some interesting perching sites out of gnarly old wood and drill some holes in the side of dead trees for suet to draw birds in close and still have a natural looking setting.
Where I keep slipping up is when I say I want to plant a shrub here or put up a trellis there for the “approach”, if I see a good bird at the feeder, I want to be able to get in the blind without scaring it away. She keeps wondering why I want to sneak up on our little romantic getaway.
Please remember to always put the bird ahead of the picture, if you’re shooting at a feeder, it’s no big deal if the birds get a little shy for a while. If you want to get pictures of nestlings, it’s crucial that the birds aren’t disturbed. If the parents are away from the nestlings for even a short time could mean the difference between success and failure of the nest. Also, be considerate of birds during other periods of high stress, for example during extreme cold weather in winter, owls may be out hunting in daylight. It’s very tempting to try to get a picture of these magnificent birds, but if you’re chasing the bird around to get a picture, he is unable to hunt, a few unsuccessful attempts at prey could make the difference between getting through the winter or not.
Just exercise a little common sense, if the birds are being unduly disturbed, back off, and if you get some good shots, send them along and share them on our on-line photo album.
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