| February 2010 This newsletter contains information regarding feeding birds in the tropics and setting up feeders in countries such as Ecuador and Thailand to aid in bird photography there. |
Bird feeding and taking photos of birds at feeders is quite common and popular in North America. What many people
don't realize is that it's also possible to setup feeders to attract and photograph birds in the tropics. In the tropics
many bird species feed on fruit, with bananas being perhaps the most widespread food. It's often possible to get
some good photos by setting up a feeding station just as you would with seed for birds in North America. In Ecuador
many species will feed on bananas including tanagers, thrushes, euphonias, barbets, sparrows, doves and even
woodpeckers.
don't realize is that it's also possible to setup feeders to attract and photograph birds in the tropics. In the tropics
many bird species feed on fruit, with bananas being perhaps the most widespread food. It's often possible to get
some good photos by setting up a feeding station just as you would with seed for birds in North America. In Ecuador
many species will feed on bananas including tanagers, thrushes, euphonias, barbets, sparrows, doves and even
woodpeckers.
GOLDEN-OLIVE WOODPECKER, Male, photographed December 2009 at Rancho Suamox, Ecuador. Canon
1dMarkIII 500mm lens, 1.4X teleconverter at 1/100 F7.1 iso 1000, evaluative metering at 0, taken handheld bracing
lens on patio wall. I photographed this gorgeous male Golden-Olive Woodpecker at Rancho Suamox my first day
there. They have banana feeders which are attached to this tree and sometimes the birds would land on the tree
before going down to the feeders. I was drinking my morning coffee when this fellow showed up, I would have
rather had the camera on the tripod and shot it at a little lower iso but I don't like to leave my camera on the tripod
when I'm not attending it, I'm always worried somebody will trip over it and knock over my expensive equipment so
l almost always remove it when I'm having a meal. However, I do keep the camera close by in case there is a photo
opportunity.
After getting some nice images of several species, I discovered that some species were landing directly on the
feeder rather than first on the branches of the feeders. The beautiful Red-headed Barbet being one of those
species. This is a fairly common problem when shooting at the lodges in Western Ecuador. There are plenty of
birds coming in to the feeders but they often land directly on the feeder, which to compound problems is often in a
dark area. The result is unattractive photos. The remedy for this is to move the bananas or other fruit (papaya is a
good choice as well) off the feeders and put them close by where the birds will find them quickly but they will
probably land on a nice perch on the way to the feeders.
1dMarkIII 500mm lens, 1.4X teleconverter at 1/100 F7.1 iso 1000, evaluative metering at 0, taken handheld bracing
lens on patio wall. I photographed this gorgeous male Golden-Olive Woodpecker at Rancho Suamox my first day
there. They have banana feeders which are attached to this tree and sometimes the birds would land on the tree
before going down to the feeders. I was drinking my morning coffee when this fellow showed up, I would have
rather had the camera on the tripod and shot it at a little lower iso but I don't like to leave my camera on the tripod
when I'm not attending it, I'm always worried somebody will trip over it and knock over my expensive equipment so
l almost always remove it when I'm having a meal. However, I do keep the camera close by in case there is a photo
opportunity.
After getting some nice images of several species, I discovered that some species were landing directly on the
feeder rather than first on the branches of the feeders. The beautiful Red-headed Barbet being one of those
species. This is a fairly common problem when shooting at the lodges in Western Ecuador. There are plenty of
birds coming in to the feeders but they often land directly on the feeder, which to compound problems is often in a
dark area. The result is unattractive photos. The remedy for this is to move the bananas or other fruit (papaya is a
good choice as well) off the feeders and put them close by where the birds will find them quickly but they will
probably land on a nice perch on the way to the feeders.
ORANGE-BILLED SPARROW photographed December 2009 at Rancho Suamox, Ecuador. Canon 1dMarkIII 500F4
lens, 1.4X teleconverter at 1/200 F8 iso 640, evaluative metering -0.3, Gitzo tripod. This was one of several species
that had eluded me previously by landing directly on the feeders. At this point I had moved the bananas to a
strategic location near the feeders where I thought the birds would land on a nice branch on the way to them. The
bananas are located in a feeding cup just to the left of this image under the branch.
I always bring some flexible tubing which has clamps attached at each end when I travel. If there is an attractive
perch in the area I fasten the clamp at one end to part of the tree. The clamp at the other end holds a feeding cup,
this end I place in a strategic location where I want the bird to land. Bill Forbes makes a complete set of tubing with
clamps on each end and a feeding cup and sells them for $55-65. You can contact him through his website at
www.phototrap.com. One of his clamps with a feeding cup attached is pictured below, the other end of the flexible
tubing is attached to a branch of the tree below.
lens, 1.4X teleconverter at 1/200 F8 iso 640, evaluative metering -0.3, Gitzo tripod. This was one of several species
that had eluded me previously by landing directly on the feeders. At this point I had moved the bananas to a
strategic location near the feeders where I thought the birds would land on a nice branch on the way to them. The
bananas are located in a feeding cup just to the left of this image under the branch.
I always bring some flexible tubing which has clamps attached at each end when I travel. If there is an attractive
perch in the area I fasten the clamp at one end to part of the tree. The clamp at the other end holds a feeding cup,
this end I place in a strategic location where I want the bird to land. Bill Forbes makes a complete set of tubing with
clamps on each end and a feeding cup and sells them for $55-65. You can contact him through his website at
www.phototrap.com. One of his clamps with a feeding cup attached is pictured below, the other end of the flexible
tubing is attached to a branch of the tree below.
RED-HEADED BARBET photographed December 2009 at Rancho Suamox, Ecuador. Canon 1dMarkIII 500F4 lens, 1.4X
teleconverter at 1/320 F7.1, iso 500, evaluative metering -0.7, Gitzo tripod. This barbet found the bananas very quickly
after I had moved them and I was thrilled to get some nice shots of this species. Other species took several hours and
some species never really got used to the new position of the bananas during my 3 days of shooting there. This goes
to show that if you are going to do this type of photography and move the birds food sources you have to have some
time for the birds to find the new location of their food.
teleconverter at 1/320 F7.1, iso 500, evaluative metering -0.7, Gitzo tripod. This barbet found the bananas very quickly
after I had moved them and I was thrilled to get some nice shots of this species. Other species took several hours and
some species never really got used to the new position of the bananas during my 3 days of shooting there. This goes
to show that if you are going to do this type of photography and move the birds food sources you have to have some
time for the birds to find the new location of their food.
BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER photographed December 2009 at Rancho Suamox. Canon MkIII 500F4 lens, 1.4x
teleconverter, at 1/125 F8, iso 500, evaluative metering -0.7, 580ex fill flash at -2.0, Gitzo tripod. Black and white birds
cause special exposure problems. In this instance I lowered the ambient (in camera) exposure to -0.7 to try and keep
from blowing the whites and added a little fill flash to light up the blacks. The blacks turned out really nice and most of
the whites are good as well, but a few of the white spots on the back are blown out. This doesn't really matter to me as I
really like the rest of the exposure.
One other option is to bring s flash stand and a clamp which attaches to the stand. This way you can create a free
standing perch and select your own perch from among dead branches which are lying around. In the tropics these are
often laden with moss and make for great setups. Attach the clamp to the top of the flash stand and use it to hold your
free standing perch. You can then just place the food directly on your perch. Place the food at one or both ends of the
perch. With luck the bird will land in the middle and you will get some photos of him without the food in the image, or you
may have to crop the food out in post processing. A compact Bogen flash stand and Bogen mini clip clamp can be
purchased for about $80 combined from B&H Photo. www.bhphotovideo.com
teleconverter, at 1/125 F8, iso 500, evaluative metering -0.7, 580ex fill flash at -2.0, Gitzo tripod. Black and white birds
cause special exposure problems. In this instance I lowered the ambient (in camera) exposure to -0.7 to try and keep
from blowing the whites and added a little fill flash to light up the blacks. The blacks turned out really nice and most of
the whites are good as well, but a few of the white spots on the back are blown out. This doesn't really matter to me as I
really like the rest of the exposure.
One other option is to bring s flash stand and a clamp which attaches to the stand. This way you can create a free
standing perch and select your own perch from among dead branches which are lying around. In the tropics these are
often laden with moss and make for great setups. Attach the clamp to the top of the flash stand and use it to hold your
free standing perch. You can then just place the food directly on your perch. Place the food at one or both ends of the
perch. With luck the bird will land in the middle and you will get some photos of him without the food in the image, or you
may have to crop the food out in post processing. A compact Bogen flash stand and Bogen mini clip clamp can be
purchased for about $80 combined from B&H Photo. www.bhphotovideo.com
DUSKY-FACED TANAGER photographed December 2009 at Tinalandia Lodge, Ecuador. Canon 1dMarkIII 500F4
lens, 1.4x teleconverter at 1/80 F7.1, iso 500, evaluative metering +0.3. I used a Bogen compact flash stand and mini
clip clamp to hold my setup perch. At Tinalandia the feeders are in a very dark area, to get some good images you
have to move the papaya, which is the fruit they feed the birds with at that lodge, to an area with a lighter
background. First I tried to the right of the feeders but wasn't having any luck. Then I moved the setup to the left of
the feeders and was rewarded with my first good images of this species.
lens, 1.4x teleconverter at 1/80 F7.1, iso 500, evaluative metering +0.3. I used a Bogen compact flash stand and mini
clip clamp to hold my setup perch. At Tinalandia the feeders are in a very dark area, to get some good images you
have to move the papaya, which is the fruit they feed the birds with at that lodge, to an area with a lighter
background. First I tried to the right of the feeders but wasn't having any luck. Then I moved the setup to the left of
the feeders and was rewarded with my first good images of this species.
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We will be visiting Rancho Suamox and doing a lot of setup photography of both hummingbirds and tanagers
during our next tour to Ecuador from May 28-June 7, 2010
during our next tour to Ecuador from May 28-June 7, 2010