I have purchased a Nikon P1000 which I love because it is a point-and-shoot with amazing zoom capabilities.  I have used it in the field to “see” birds that I cannot see with my binoculars.

I would have to say that my goal is simply documentation.  I use photographs to ID birds that I am unable to ID in the field.  It also turns out that my friends really enjoy the pictures that I share with them.

I have taken the screens out of several windows to make myself an indoor “blind”.  This seems to work well.  I have also found that whether I am on the back patio or in the field, simply sitting still works very well.

Sitting still (with a book to help pass the time) I was treated to wonderful observations of these Kildeer.

Desde niño escuché el llamado de las aves cuando visitaba los bosques de Totonicapán, Guatemala, pero es hasta ahora que mi relación con el bosque se ha hecho más estrecha, y dentro de los elementos del bosque encontré que las aves me llamaban poderosamente la atención, traté de buscar estudios o bibliografía sobre aves en Totonicapán, pero fue muy poco lo que encontré, así que decidí a hacer mis propios reportes, al hacerlo entendí que si no tenía elementos de prueba, por ejemplo, reporté un nido de halcones peregrinos, algo que no es muy común en mis latitudes, por lo que e-bird me pedía alguna foto, eso me motivo a conseguir una cámara para documentar de mejor manera mis observaciones, actualmente tengo una Nikon D-2500, y utilizo un lente 75-300 mm.  Y para mi es motivo de mucha alegría compartir en este curso, en el que estoy aprendiendo muchísimo.

Something I have found regarding blinds (or hides) is that I am able to get closer to shore birds if I am in kayak rather than on land. I would never have been able to get anywhere near to this Variable Oyster Catcher and chick if I approached on the beach. Yet in my yellow kayak, bright orange lifejacket, I could get within about 10 metres with it seemingly oblivious to me. I think it helps if I am moving I think if only slowly drifting. I'm using a Lumix FZ1000 bridge camera. My aim is to document what's there and use the photos as visual reference.

I've been taking photographs of birds for many years.  I'm a backyard birder and have a home on a lake, so I get lots of waterfowl, songbirds and birds of prey.  I also live near the ocean, but haven't yet ventured into that kind of photography - hoping to learn some tips, and already have!  I have yet to use any blind tools as most of my photos are taken from inside my house through a window.  I realize this is a drawback, but I am pleased with my photos.  At the lake, I do believe a blind would be helpful, particularly with all the migrating ducks, which are plentiful.  My gear consists on my "go-to" Canon Powershot XS-70 and my Canon EOS Rebel T8i.  I only have the 75-250mm lens for my T8i at this point, which limits my ability to get close up shots - but it often produces better quality.  I look forward to the rest of this course as I struggle with the auto focus at times, which causes me to lose a shot because by the time it finally focuses, the bird is gone.  I like the Powershot as the zoom is 21-1395mm, which allows me to not disturb birds if I'm on my dock out on the water.  In researching the photos on Macaulay, I found that many of the photos I chose to click on were taken with a bridge camera, so I think I'm in good shape.  Blinds and perhaps the device that extends the zoom (forgetting the name as I write) are tools I will purchase.

I have had a lifelong interest in birds but have only started photgraphing them about 18 months ago and haven't really taken the time to think about my goals before now. I often spend my down time just looking through photos on ebird to see what's been seen lately in my local region, state and in other parts of the country. I've mainly done this just for enjoyment of looking at the birds and learning but haven't really thought about what type of photos I enjoy the most or therefore what my specific goals are. Now that I've had some time to think about this my favourite photos are habitat related; for me I particularly enjoy photos of birds in the Australian bush, in a wetland environment or along the shoreline. My goal is a) to take decent photos of birds in these environments, and b) to also capture any unusual or less common birds that i see incidentally- for me usually this will be when out hiking or just on my daily walk. At this point in time I post every decent shot I take on ebird but only use facebook occasionally and I don't have instagram. I do follow some of the bird groups on Facebook but prefer to post to ebird as it enables me to just look and learn about birds without having to use social media. For goal a I have my big camera (Canon EOS 1100D with Tamron 150-600mm lens) for birding focused outings where I'm not going to be walking too far, for goal b I carry my small camera (Canon Powershot SX 720HS) in my pocket just in case I see something out of the ordinary. Here is a favourite shot of mine I took at Christmas time 2022, it was just near home on my regular walk and on this particular morning I was glad I was carrying my small camera. For my smaller camera I sacrifice image sharpness but at least I still capture those special sightings that pop up from time to time when I'm not carrying my big camera, this one is a Yellow Tailed Black cockatoo that was part of a small group feeding in eucalyptus trees at my local lake about 5 mins walk from home. These birds fly overhead my local area at certain times of the year but this is the first time I've been able to photograph them almost at eye level.

As a beginning/novice birder, my goals right now are to recognize birds by sound and sight and to create lists to familiarize myself with as many species as possible. But, I am also a nature photographer (not just birds) by nature. Thus far, I've only been using my camera phone with a magnifier for binoculars, but I want to start upgrading (on a budget). As such, I think I will begin with a camera with a focal length between 500mm-600mm and a f/stop of f/5.6 or higher. I'm leaning towards a fixed lens to begin and maybe a teleconverter, rather than lugging around a huge lens. I mostly walk and hike when I'm birding (I don't own a car!), so portability is a key consideration.

Hello, I consider myself a slight beginner/amateur wildlife photographer, and I love this Course, I've actually never really thought about the teleconverters, I currently own a Canon 7D Mark II, with a Tamron  f/3.5-6.3, 18-400 mm lens, and some of my photos I would like them to have been closer, so I think I am going to check into purchasing a teleconverter, I actually had thought about going bigger on my lens, but I think a teleconverter might be what I am looking for.

My goals as a young beginners photographer are to explore more areas where I live and to start getting more clear photos. I have a Canon 2000d with a 75-300mm lens. As I get more advanced I hope to purchase a more expensive brand so I can get closer to wildlife. As of right now, I am purchasing cheaper camera products.

I am easing into retirement and took up birding in 2021. My goal is to learn as much as possible about the birds I am photographing and to take pictures that I can print at 8x10 to 11x14 with high resolution.  I purchased an Olympus OM-1 rig with a 300mm prime, and a 100-400mm zoom, which I use most often, and both the 12.4x and 2x teleconverters. I made the choice to go 4:3 because we plan to travel and I wanted something very light weight. This combo fits that perfectly. I also bought the Spyder belt/holster, which takes all of the weight off my neck and shoulders.

I have gotten some great pointers from the first session of this course and am looking forward to learning more and improving my skills.

One gear option worth mentioning is to combine different types of equipment in a hybrid technology. My preferred system when I'm in the field, out in the open (not in a hide) and know I may have to wait some time for a shot is to combine a tripod with a bean bag. I assemble the tripod with a pan/tilt head and place a bean bag over the head. I prefer to shoot hand-held using a BlackRapid harness to hold my Canon R5 with a RF 100-500mm lens. While waiting for birds, I hold the camera in both hands and rest them on the bean bag in front of me at the level of my chin. This takes the weight off the harness round my shoulder while allowing me the fastest possible response to shooting a bird coming at any speed, at any height, in any direction and on any flight path.

While it is true that a tripod/gimbal head combo provides the most stable and agile mechanical technology for shooting birds, it has two drawbacks compared to the tripod/bean bag hybrid for capturing birds in flight:

i. A tripod/gimbal head is very heavy to carry, particularly in combination with a prime supertelephoto lens (500-600mm). If you have to walk any distance,particularly uphill over rough terrain in windy conditions, it can be a major challenge.

ii. Although a tripod/gimbal head allows a more rapid and nimble response than using a pan/tilt or ball head, it is slower and clumsier than using the same lens hand-held. When I see a bird approaching while using my hybrid system, I simply lift the camera to my eye for hand-held shooting and I'm up and running. If necessary, I'll take a step to the left or right, or step back to give myself unimpeded swing room.

I purchased my photography equipment about 15 years ago and at the time was too busy with work and unable to spend much time using it. I have a Canon EOS 20D and a Canon 100-400 zoom lens. I am taking time to practice with this camera equipment in various settings before deciding which camera is the best as an upgrade. I will stay with Canon since I have several Canon lenses already. I recently was able to spend a day near Galveston TX photographing shorebirds along the gulf coast.  Has anyone tried the mirrorless cameras? I was wondering how they compare to the DSLR's.

My hope is to take clearer photos of birds closer up. I currently have a zoom lens that only goes up to 250mm so I am planning on getting one that gets much higher. From what I found, a lot of the photos that I liked used zoom lens. Two that I saw a couple times were 200-500mm and 150-600mm so I will look at those and see what I like. I have an older camera model - canon eos rebel t2i so I might also look into get a slight upgrade in camera. I am having a hard time choosing between dslr or mirrorless. Any thoughts?

I wanted to take some clear, big bird shots, I was using a Nikon D50 a few years ago and this year I use  Nikon D750 with an 80-400mm lens. I found that the birds did get bigger with the faster focus speed, but they were still not very sharp. Recently I tried the Nikon P100, and although it has a large focal length, it sometimes slows down to focus.

I want to make sharp images of birds from a distance. I have a budget. I have a couple of good Canon lenses so I want to stick with Canon. I’m thinking that a used Canon 7d Mii and a Sigma 100 - 600 would “get my foot in the door” for birding and wildlife photography in a way that I want at a relatively reasonable price. I could learn with these and take pretty sharp pictures? Or should I invest in a camera with more pixels? How much do pixels really matter when you get over 20 megapixels? Should I try to get a 30 megapixel camera? It would be a pretty big jump in price.

I just bought a bridge camera last Spring, a Nikon P950.  I am  a moderately good birder, but just for my area.  I got the camera to help with  bird identifying, and to use the photos as reference for my painting and sculpture.  For now, this is more than enough, and very satisfying so far.  I don't know that I want to expand beyond this, as I already have too many media in my toolbox.  What it has done for me more than anything, is to heighten my appreciation and respect for serious photographers.  This is wonderful when it works, but it is not easy.

My goals for taking this course are to become better acclimated to my camera's features and expand my very basic photography knowledge. So far I find myself taking photos in order to share birds with friends/family (whether they are interested or not), keep track of birds seen, dabble in creating photo cards and to sharpen my identification skills. I'm interested in using my photos to design my own greeting cards for personal use and possibly charitable purposes in the future, depending on how I progress. I may need to upgrade from my bridge camera to get the quality of card photos I'd like but don't feel as though I have maximized its potential output yet. I enjoy capturing unusual bird action and expressions of emotions. 

I've learned that I like photos taken with cameras like the canon EOS R7 or R3. I also like high focus and high detail photos. I like photos when the bird takes up most of the image but you can still see the background. My main goal with photograph is to take highly detailed photos of birds to be able to better identify and understand them. I also want to take photos that are as good as if a professional had taken them.

My main goal is to document, or add photos to my checklists.  But mostly to expand my birding experience with a new skill.  I'm also interested in documenting my backyard birds through the seasons.  I've recently upgraded a bridge camera and phone camera to a mirrorless setup, Fujifilm X-T30 with the 55-200mm and 100-400mm lens.  They say it's light weight, but i have nothing to compare that too.  I wanted equipment that is easy to access and easy to manage when out in the woods or down by the river.  And I think I have that. The 55-200mm lens seems to work perfect for my backyard bird watching.  

My two main goals are photography for identification (mostly when I'm visiting a new area) and photography of natural and unique behaviors. Many of my photos feel "lucky", and while I feel luck has its place in photography, it would be helpful to build the skill behind a photo as well.

I learned of the importance of tripods and blinds, thanks to this lesson. The tripod I have been using was one used for a scope, and while it is decent, it does not necessarily hold the weight of my camera/lens. I thought I could get by for a while, but now I understand the value in a good tripod! It is likely to be my next investment, photography-wise. As for blinds, I've been wearing dark clothing in the field, and it has worked pretty well. However, if I were to photograph more in the forest, I see the value in camouflage clothing or a blind and in preparing a blind before taking photographs.

My husband and I enjoy walking and bird watching. We have both a DSLR with a 70-300mm lens and a Sony RX10 bridge camera which we purchased recently. We are very much enjoying the new camera as we are much more likely to grab it and take it with us on a walk than the DSLR which is a much heavier camera. We simply want to get some good shots to enjoy and share with other birders.

With each step I take in the course I see that bird photography is a great compendium of details. I will certainly strive to acquire better equipment and accessories for photographing birds. For the moment I will use my dark clothes and my Nikon Coolplix P900 camera

I am very much a beginner in bird photography. Before I invest a lot of money, I want to improve my technique when it comes to timing, lighting, and so forth. Then I will upgrade my lens from my current 50-200 mm, buy a teleconverter, tripod, and gimbal. I enjoy photographing shorebirds and forest birds just so that I can examine them more closely without disturbing them.

I am working on the equipment I want, and feel I am getting close, with a Nikon D500, 200-500mm zoom, 1.4x teleconverter, and a solid tripod with gimbal.  I really want to work on composition, field technique, and being more thoughtful with my settings.

I do a lot of hiking, and am keen to get better pictures of the birds I see in the backcountry. Often but not always these are small birds that are constantly moving; and on top of that they're usually in low light conditions too! I'd like to learn to take pictures of birds in flight as well.
For hiking I generally use a 24-240mm lens, which is very versatile (landscapes to people shots to birds), but sometimes I'd like to be able to have greater reach. I also own a 200-600mm telephoto, but this is far too heavy to take hiking - it works best on a tripod with a gimbal head. So I've recently invested in a 100-400mm telephoto, which while not exactly light, is still light enough to handhold and take on easy hiking trips. I also got a LowePro toploader case to use with it, so I can walk with my hands free but still have the camera easily accessible.
Here are some pictures taken using the new lens to work towards the above goals. Blue ducks are torrent ducks found only in fast flowing mountain streams. Here are a couple vocalising:



Fantails are fast moving insectivores that are always in constant motion. Here's one photographed while hiking, although I get them in my garden too:



A white-fronted tern in flight:

This was a very helpful exercise.  Good use of the Macauley library photos.  Definitely helped me realize i want some more zoom capability in my next camera (current one only goes up 152 mm).  I want to be able to take good, clear photo's of birds at my feeder, and at my local parks, and when I go on birding outings, such as to Cape May, NJ.  Not trying to win awards, but just be out in nature and capture it and share it with friends and family.