Songbirds - part 2
The second part of the songbirds/passerines series, showcasing a few more species. For many of these birds, they require a lot of stealthy fieldcraft not to disturb them while getting close enough and into the right spot.
With this first image, I was working with a group of Stonechats in some coastal heathland habitat until I spotted one that caught my eye as it perched up on the gorse, I had to plan ahead how I was going to approach it. Stonechats behavioural instincts are to keep a reasonable distance from people but aren’t as skittish as most songbirds and only fly on a couple meters to another perch rather than off and out of sight. With this male Stonechat I found a small crater like mound so used it as an easier way of approaching without it noticing me and then peeking over to grab a few shots. It’s one of my favourites as the colours are stunning and managed a nice smooth background and foreground.
During the summer I was able to photograph a couple families of Whinchats that were present only a short walk to a water meadow from where we were staying. The habitat is also known as a ‘cold valley’ and has many species nesting in them is especially good during migration. The Whinchats were busy feeding the juvenile birds, locating them wasn’t too difficult as they perched prominently and were often calling to each other, I approached low on the ground, using the long grass as cover. It takes a bit of time to finally get the shot but once they’re comfortable you can observe a lot of action.
It’s cool watching them interact with each other and it’s nice on warm summer afternoons when they’re out catching insects. I got to play around a bit with the backgrounds and settings. Their constant moving about from perch to perch was good as this helped with continually bringing new situations and different shots all the time.
Although I often opt for a smooth, clean background with a nice wash of colour and little distractions, I actually really liked getting these shots of them in the long grass with leaves and stems in the way. I think it created a more hidden feeling and it really brings out the bird in the overgrown summer meadows.
One thing I’ve noticed while being out looking for wildlife in damp conditions, especially after a heavy summer downpour, many birds seem to flock together in a feeding frenzy. Often species that usually don’t associate in groups and are very territorial. In this scenario I located a work up of twenty plus birds of many species, but among them was a few Spotted Flycatchers. During this time of year they like to stay up high but I think after the rain a lot of insects were rising from the ground and forest floor so they took to the lower branches. I found one flycatcher using a branch on the edge of the forest as a perch where it flew from into the air and back again. This was a perfect spot as the background was a nice valley and I moved around to get the greener grass further up so managed two slightly different backgrounds. I’m pleased that I was able to approach it and it stayed put.
Sometimes even the more fairly commoner species are fun to work with. This Song Thrush was resting on the ground and very chilled with me being there, they’re mostly very skittish or up in the trees but this one was in slightly different surroundings. I liked the greens and the leafy bush on the right also added a bit more to the image.
Since it has been quite stressful here in the UK and pretty much worldwide with the current situation, with schools and work closing and the possibility of being indoors for a long time I’m going to be trying to post blogposts daily up on my website, as there’s many of you that really appreciate reading them and especially enjoy my posts on Instagram (isaiah_photography_). I’m really grateful for your support, messages and comments! Hope everyone stays well…