A Little on Photography

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.

Quiz Answers

Thanks to all who sent in their answers, it was fun for me too. I’ll tally up scores, draw winners in each of the three categories and announce winners in the next column.

Here are the answers to the quiz.

True or False:

1. If you want to attract small birds you should feed small seed.

FALSE, chickadees eat peanuts, pigeons eat millet.

2. It takes 36 hours in your birdbath for mosquito eggs can hatch into adults.

FALSE, it takes around 10 days to go from egg to larvae to pupae to adult. A well maintained bird bath would not be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

3. Great-crested Flycatchers, Blue Jays, and Hairy Woodpeckers all use the same size bird house.

FALSE, Blue Jays don’t use bird houses. I didn’t think this was that tricky of a question, but only about ⅔ got it right.

4. 7x50 binoculars are 15 times more powerful than 7x35.

FALSE, they are exactly the same power but the 7x50 have objective lenses 15 millimeters larger than the 7x35. They will let in more light but objects will appear 7 times closer in each pair.

5. Chickadee, nuthatch, jays, woodpeckers and blackbirds are attracted to peanuts. TRUE, both of our chickadees, both of our nuthatch, both of our jays and most if not all of our blackbirds would list peanuts in their top 3 favourite foods.

6. A Bald Eagle is bigger than a Golden Eagle.

TRUE, if you saw a brown eagle that was larger than the nearby Bald Eagles, it is almost certainly an immature Bald Eagle because Golden Eagles are actually smaller. Some hard core birders pointed out that the Golden, although smaller is heavier, but since most of us aren’t ever going to be weighing eagles, the judges ruled the answer is “TRUE”.

7. It’s impossible to keep squirrels off your feeders.

FALSE, and it’s easy, tall pole at least 10 feet away from any launching pad with a baffle part way up the pole.

8. A nesting colony of Chimney Swifts may have 20 nests or more per chimney.

FALSE, this is one that I haven’t written about, I was searching for ideas when I read on Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s web site that only one swift will nest per chimney, they will allow other swifts to roost. This confuses people watching from the ground. I thought, “I did not know that.” So I put it in the quiz.

If you knew this without enlisting the help of Professor Google, reach around and give yourself a pat on the back, not many got it right.

9. To save money, mix white millet in with the nyjer seed, finch love it and it won’t attract pigeons.

FALSE, even though it’s a part of most of the finch mixes you buy, finch don’t eat millet, it’s a cheap filler that ends up on the ground where pigeons are waiting with open beaks.

10. Hummingbird nectar has to be dyed red.

FALSE, I think everyone got this right.

11. When it’s time for hummingbirds to migrate south, they pick a day when conditions are right and fly nonstop to South America.

FALSE, hummingbirds take there time migrating, feeding as they go. People in the southern states only put feeders out in spring and fall. Plus, almost all of our hummingbirds overwinter in Mexico or Central America.

12. Plastic owls will scare pigeons away from feeders but the more desirable birds are unaffected.

FALSE, fake owls might work for about 5 minutes, then the pigeons are right back at the feeders. What I could never figure out is why people think they would scare pigeons away but not the all the other birds.

13. Mesh feeders work well for black oil sunflower and peanuts but aren’t a great choice for nyjer.

I had to let either answer go on this one, it is just my opinion, I wasn’t thinking of the half of one percent of people who like mesh nyjer feeders. The other 99.5% of you returned them for a better model. I would have answered TRUE, having seen all the seed that spoils in the nyjer mesh feeders.

14. New Brunswick eagles migrate south before our rivers freeze over.

FALSE, we have eagles year round, they frequent such fine dining locations as the Westmoreland Albert Solid Waste Commission, Cardwell Compost facility, as well as roadsides and farms serving up the best in carrion.

15. Pigeons aren’t able to eat nyjer from the proper feeder if you don’t use a tray. (so at least you can feed finch)

TRUE, it has to be the proper feeder though, some people are still feeding nyjer from feeders meant for sunflower. The openings should be just slightly larger than the fat end of a toothpick.

Multiple Choice:

1. Woodpeckers drum on your stove pipe at dawn because

a. they want you to fill the suet feeder.

b. they think you should be awake too.

c. they’re trying to attract a girlfriend.

“C” is the best answer, although some mornings I can’t help thinking it’s a little “ALL THE ABOVE”.

2. The best thing you can do to attract waxwings is

a. feed nyjer seed.

b. feed sunflower seed.

c. feed suet.

d. plant native fruit trees.

“D”, you could also feed fruit, but they don’t eat seed or suet.

3. Platform feeders attract

a. doves and jays.

b. goldfinch and chickadees.

c. cardinals and grosbeaks.

d. all the above.

“D”, all birds love a platform feeder, if it wasn’t for pigeons, rain and snow they would be the only feeder you’d need.

4. In New Brunswick, American Goldfinch

a. hibernate.

b. migrate.

c. stay all winter in a duller winter plumage.

d. both b and c.

“D”, some migrate, some stay, numbers vary from winter to winter but we usually have some Goldfinch in winter.

5. All the experts say hummingbird nectar should be

a. 1 part sugar: 2 parts water.

b. 1 part sugar: 1 part water.

c. 1 part sugar: 4 parts water.

“C” is the best answer, never stronger than 1:3 and with that only the first of the season.

6. Tree Swallows require houses

a. with at least 4 compartments.

b. placed 2 per pole.

c. placed about 100 feet apart.

“C”, Tree Swallows have a 100 foot territory, other nest boxes placed within the circle could be used by chickadee or bluebirds though.

7. A good way to attract more birds to your yard is to

a. use mixed seed.

b. use a variety of feeders with the proper seed in each feeder.

c. add a feature with moving water, like a fountain or dripper.

d. both b and c.

“D”, spreading out the feeders will allow more birds to eat in peace, Blue Jays want the peanuts so give them a feeder away from the small bird’s feeder. And, almost nothing with feathers can resist moving water.

8. A Blue Jays all time favourite food is

a. sunflower seeds. (they’ll do anything to get them)

b. millet. (they’ll do anything to get it)

c. corn. (they’ll do anything to get it)

d. peanuts in the shell. (they’ll do anything to get them)

“D”, if you answered “a” you haven’t tried peanuts in the shell yet. It’s the only feed they will actually come indoors for. Try a small bag, you don’t need anything special to feed them, just place them around where you can observe. You will want a feeder eventually to slow them down, peanuts are expensive and jays will work non-stop until they are all hidden away.

9. In the spring, birds repeatedly fly against your windows because

a. they want in your house.

b. they see their reflection and think it’s a competing bird.

c. Oprah’s on.

“B”, I think everyone got this right, it would be “c” if they were already in your house.

10. Suet can be fed year round if

a. the temperature stays below 10 degrees Celsius.

b. you don’t have any starlings at your feeders.

c. it’s double rendered.

d. both a and c.

“D”, would be the best answer but, where in the world does the temperature not get higher than 10 degrees? Are there birds there (besides penguins)? So “c” is a good answer too. I can’t really let “a” slide and definitely not “b”.

11. Suet could attract

a. woodpeckers

b. chickadee and jays.

c. warblers and orioles.

d. a and b.

e. all the above.

“E”, warblers and orioles have been known to partake, especially on cold spring mornings.

12. Unless you are going to feed continuously throughout the winter you should

a. take your feeders in so the birds will migrate.

b. hire a service to come by daily to fill your feeders.

c. feed when you can, in nature, when a source (i.e. flower or weed seeds) runs out, birds move around and find another.

“C”, is correct, “b” would be OK too but not necessary. Removing your feeders won’t force any bird to migrate, unless you consider jumping the fence to your neighbours yard migrating.

13. If you want to get started birding you should have

a. expensive binoculars, a spotting scope with tripod, digital camera, several field guides and bird songs recordings.

b. a reasonable pair of binoculars and a good field guide.

c. a spouse who is into birding or doesn’t care if you’re never home.

d. both b and c.

“D” is the best answer but so many of you single (and oblivious married) people answered “b”, I’ll let either go.

14. A good field guide should

a. fit in your pocket.

b. list similar species together.

c. have arrows to quickly point out the differences between species.

d. all the above.

“D” everyone got this right. I guess it was too easy.

15. To attract more hummingbirds you should

a. place several feeders that are not in sight of each other.

b. buy really big feeders with enough ports so everyone can feed together.

c. choose a variety of plants so you will have blooms throughout the season.

d. both a and c.

e. both b and c.

“D”, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds fight non stop, it doesn’t matter if there are enough feeder ports to go around, one guy will want them all for himself. It’s best to have several feeders spread around and you can never go wrong with flowers.