Want to make better bird images? Here are some tips!
1) Birds don’t allow you to sneak up on them. Even if you can move like Fred Astaire you are not nimble enough to get close without them knowing. So the first tip is to let the birds come to you. Find a spot that will afford good backgrounds and park your tush.
2) Don’t try to take any pictures for the first 10 minutes of your arrival at a spot, you will only prolong the amount of time it will take for the birds to acclimate to your presence. Just relax and observe your beautiful surroundings.
3) No straps! Whenever I photograph wildlife all the straps come off my cameras and binoculars. Swinging straps frighten wildlife and resemble talons of predators.
4) Wear dark colors and make sure none of your clothes have anything hanging (see item 3 above).
5) Don’t make sudden moves. Even if you keep your feet still, moving the camera on a tripod in sudden moves will spook your subjects. Birds are incredibly smart. They know you are tracking them with a lens. Don’t believe me? Go to the beach and track a gull with any lens you can hand hold. They will change directions in 90 degree turns to avoid you tracking them!
6) Put your cell phone on vibrate.

Now I know some of you are saying I used big, heavy, expensive glass to make these images and the answer would be you are correct. Both of the above images were made with birds only 12-18 feet away from me. If I didn’t adhere to the above principles, I would not have subjects as close as the ones I photographed. Neither of the above images are cropped!

I hope these tips help you make better images and get more out of the hobby of birding!

Images captured by D3X, 600 f/4 VRII w/TCe 1.4 II on Lexar UDMA digital film