Hello to all, this is my first time posting in the Avian Forum! Let me start by saying that in general, I am not a professional, but over the past three years I have developed a real passion for photography and am trying to develop my skills, etc. Secondly, I am certainly not a bird photography expert in any way, shape or form!!!
So this brings me to a bit of a problem. I have difficulty w/ long hikes and such right now, so someone told me about the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, that is mostly doable by car. I was excited to get away, and went off with my little Sony H2 and a Nikon D-60, tripod, etc. Well when I got there, I was completely overwhelmed, by the MANY beautiful birds, and unfortunately in the marshes, the MANY forms of insects!!! Totally unprepared.
Anyway, I did manage to shoot much of the aviary life there, some outside the vehicle, some from inside (bad allergic reactions so I was cautious). Now I have a bunch of shore bird photos, some good, some not so good, and I have no idea what they are. I know some are egrets, osprey, etc. but which are which and specific names are unknown.
So to try and sum up, I was wondering what the best way would be to be able to ID my group of 20-30 photos so that I can (somewhat) intelligently post as time goes by, and learn the different species.
Any suggestions welcome--even, "stop shooting bird photography if you don't know what the he** you're doing"!!
Posted by Luke Ormand on July 12, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Buying/using a field guide is the best way to start out. There are a lot to choose from, but I'd start off with a Peterson's Field Guide for Birds, and something a little more specific to the region that you live in - A field Guide for the East Coast, or Northeast or something like that. That will provide most everything you'll need to identify the photos. You can also use Cornell's fabulous website http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ for helping ID birds. Good luck
Thank you Luke for the terrrific information. Of course, there is no EZ way out, like uploading a photo into some magic computer program which then spits out the genus, species, etc. etc. I will certainly start out w/ the online site, and get a guide next time I am at the store. Appreciate the help...
Bill...I recommend a field guide too....the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. I think it is the best of the 10 or 12 field guides that I own. It makes the ID of any birds you'll see at Forsythe easy...mny more too.
Better known in the Birding World as Brigantine; at least when I lived in NJ and visited Brig frequently. It is a great place to see birds, but a difficult place to get good photos as the birds are mostly too far away.
Some random thoughts and advice:
1. Brig is great for fall shorebird migration, which begins with southbound yellowlegs around the 4th of July. In late fall be sure to see the large numbers of Snow Geese, but don't wait too long as the freeze up in winter pushes them farther south.
2. Summer is the time of giant Green Flies, and as Rich Kane taught us on New Jersey Audubon field trips there many years ago "people are not so high on the food chain as they thought."
3. Visit in bad weather. Small birds are often pushed in closer to the road.
4. Join NJAS and visit one of the Centers (Cape May Bird Observatory, Sandy Hook Bird Observatory, Sherman-Hoffman Sanctuary) and ask the staff for help in picking out a good field guide for your novice needs. I agree with Joseph that the Nat Geo guide is very good, but it might not be the best guide to start with. Consider Kenn Kaufman's guide, or a basic Peterson's guide as a starting point.
5. Ask the NJAS staff for checklists to NJ, and see if you can still get Bill Boyle's book on bird finding in NJ. My copies are from the original publication in 1986. I've heard that Bill is working on a new project but don't know when that will reach the shelves.
I think I got a few very good images, and a handfull of decent ones--given the equipment I had. With a good zoom I think I would have come away with dozens of winners, but... I'll be posting some, I'll try to ID beforehand.
And the insects were, green flies or whatever they are, were just as amazing as the birds. I felt like I was attending one of those famous Atlantic City buffets, and I was the main course. Unfortunately I had to do most of my shooting from the car, which made it even more difficult. Now that I should have thought about ahead of time... live and learn.
Overall, very pleased with "the Brig" and will return... uhhhh, later in the fall!
Discussion
5 repliesSo this brings me to a bit of a problem. I have difficulty w/ long hikes and such right now, so someone told me about the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, that is mostly doable by car. I was excited to get away, and went off with my little Sony H2 and a Nikon D-60, tripod, etc. Well when I got there, I was completely overwhelmed, by the MANY beautiful birds, and unfortunately in the marshes, the MANY forms of insects!!! Totally unprepared.
Anyway, I did manage to shoot much of the aviary life there, some outside the vehicle, some from inside (bad allergic reactions so I was cautious). Now I have a bunch of shore bird photos, some good, some not so good, and I have no idea what they are. I know some are egrets, osprey, etc. but which are which and specific names are unknown.
So to try and sum up, I was wondering what the best way would be to be able to ID my group of 20-30 photos so that I can (somewhat) intelligently post as time goes by, and learn the different species.
Any suggestions welcome--even, "stop shooting bird photography if you don't know what the he** you're doing"!!
Some random thoughts and advice:
1. Brig is great for fall shorebird migration, which begins with southbound yellowlegs around the 4th of July. In late fall be sure to see the large numbers of Snow Geese, but don't wait too long as the freeze up in winter pushes them farther south.
2. Summer is the time of giant Green Flies, and as Rich Kane taught us on New Jersey Audubon field trips there many years ago "people are not so high on the food chain as they thought."
3. Visit in bad weather. Small birds are often pushed in closer to the road.
4. Join NJAS and visit one of the Centers (Cape May Bird Observatory, Sandy Hook Bird Observatory, Sherman-Hoffman Sanctuary) and ask the staff for help in picking out a good field guide for your novice needs. I agree with Joseph that the Nat Geo guide is very good, but it might not be the best guide to start with. Consider Kenn Kaufman's guide, or a basic Peterson's guide as a starting point.
5. Ask the NJAS staff for checklists to NJ, and see if you can still get Bill Boyle's book on bird finding in NJ. My copies are from the original publication in 1986. I've heard that Bill is working on a new project but don't know when that will reach the shelves.
I think I got a few very good images, and a handfull of decent ones--given the equipment I had. With a good zoom I think I would have come away with dozens of winners, but... I'll be posting some, I'll try to ID beforehand.
And the insects were, green flies or whatever they are, were just as amazing as the birds. I felt like I was attending one of those famous Atlantic City buffets, and I was the main course. Unfortunately I had to do most of my shooting from the car, which made it even more difficult. Now that I should have thought about ahead of time... live and learn.
Overall, very pleased with "the Brig" and will return... uhhhh, later in the fall!