A gallery of wild birds

Shutter speed first

Small songbirds rarely hold still. Start around 1/1250s and go faster if the bird is active. A sharp, slightly noisy frame beats a clean blurred one every time.

Don’t be afraid of ISO

Most of these photographs sit somewhere between ISO 800 and 6400. Cameras handle high ISO far better than they handle a slow shutter, so raise it without thinking twice and keep the shutter where it needs to be.

Work the first two hours

Low side light is warm and directional, and birds feed hardest right after sunrise. Put the sun behind your shoulder and let it light the eye.

Watch the trees, not the viewfinder

Keep the camera down and scan the branches with your own eyes. A 600mm view is a narrow window, and you will spot movement much sooner without it. Once you know where the bird is, raise the lens and zero in.

Learn the sounds

You’ll hear ten birds for every one you see. Merlin’s Sound ID is a fast way to start putting names to songs and chip notes you already half-know.

Bird the edges

Where woods meet a field, a river meets a gravel bar, or a marsh meets a treeline, edges concentrate food, cover and activity far more than the middle of either habitat.

Follow the weather in migration

In fall, the morning after a cold front with north winds can drop warblers into every hedgerow. In spring, look for south winds overnight ahead of a good May morning.

Stand still longer than feels natural

Pick a spot with activity and stay ten minutes. Birds settle back into their routine once you stop being the thing that moved, and they come to you.