Well, it’s been one heck of a Winter here in Oregon. I’m starting to notice that the Oso berry is flowering and the trilliums are starting to bloom, despite being battered by rain and snow. The maples are starting to bud. As a landscape photographer I’m used to seeing greener forests, more wildflowers and a little more warmth on my Spring forays into the Columbia River Gorge, especially in May. As I write this at the end of April there’s scant sign of flowers anywhere in The Gorge and we’re still getting occasional “snow showers”.
But that doesn’t mean that I’ve had nothing to keep me from getting my camera out. The birds are back. I’ve been enjoying taking photos of the various birds that visit my yard. The most common have been the dark eyed junco, chestnut-backed chickadee, varied thrush, red-breasted nuthatch, and of course our crows and stellar jays, but my favorites are probably the cute little downy woodpeckers.
Our forests here are a haven for woodpeckers. The illusive pileated woodpecker can be heard as it calls out in a series of piping tones that sound like a jungle bird in a movie, along with the familiar series of knocks on wood. Both sounds resonate through the forest. The only time that I’ve been able to coax them down from the tall tree tops and into my yard was by offering water in the bird bath during hot dry weather.
We also have flickers, which are also woodpeckers. You usually know when they’re around because they are prone to rattling the metal roof ridges or metal chimney pipes, usually about an hour before the alarm is set to ring.
The smaller downy woodpeckers are not shy. If you have a suet block up in a tree they will come to visit. They’re smaller than the big pileated woodpecker. The male has a distinct patch of red on top of its head while the female looks similar but without the red patch. They walk up and down and around the trees as they cautiously approach the suet. They make the cutest little squeaky noises. They’re cute and fun to watch.
I’m certainly no authority on birds, and wouldn’t even consider calling myself a birder, but I’ve decided that I enjoy sitting on my deck with my Tamron 150-600mm lens attached to my Nikon D850 taking pictures of our fine feathered friends. It’s relaxing and it clears my mind as I focus on getting a good, well composed and focused photo and not much else. I have learned a lot about the birds that visit my yard because if I get a good photo of a bird that I don’t recognize I immediately Google it to find out about it. My knowledge is growing.
My method for photographing the birds is to use a long zoom lens. I use a Tamron 150-600mm zoom lens, usually at 600mm. The birds are usually only about 10 meters away. That allows me to get the bird to fill more of the frame. In the past, before I started using the 150-600, I would use a 200mm and crop it in post, which is certainly an acceptable way to do it. Most people who own a DSLR camera should have a lens that will zoom to 200mm. I set my camera on Aperture Priority and allow the camera to set the shutter speed, taking care to allow a fast enough shutter speed for a clear photo by raising my ISO. I also activate Vibration Reduction on the lens. At that point I use a movable single point focus to try to get the eye of the bird sharp. As with any subject with eyes, a photo should have the eye in focus.
I explain the process of photographing the birds because I’m a photographer, but you don’t need to take photos of the birds to enjoy them and to learn about them. Birds are easy for us to ignore, but are so beautiful and fascinating when we take the time to pay attention to them. And up here on The Mountain our forests are home to many. Take some time to go out and just sit outside in your yard for a while with a cold beverage and wait for them to come by. I hope that you’ll find it as relaxing and as fascinating as I do.
