Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Bird Feeders: Keeping it Natural

A gust of wind ruffles the feathers of a Mourning Dove

As those of you who visit Country Captures regularly know, I always strive to capture wildlife images in natural settings.  Photos of birds sitting on feeders, roof tops, and powerlines are not as aesthetically appealing to me as birds on a natural perch.  It really doesn't take much to set up a feeding location with lots of natural props as long as your local ordinances allow a brush pile on your property.


This photo shows the setup where many of my bird shots are taken.  The pop-up blind gives the birds a sense of security although they know full well that I am inside.  While the brush pile provides perches galore, the upright hollow logs hold the bird seed that brings then flocking in.  Scattering some feed in the brush attracts ground feeding birds such as the mourning dove pictured above.

Spending time in the blind is a great way to pass a few hours on a chilly winter day.  Reviewing, deleting, and processing the keeper images will make the long winter evening hours fly by quickly as well.

5 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

nice set-up! might have to try that here sometime! not sure about the sitting in the blind on freezing days, however! :)

Ruth Hiebert said...

That looks like a perfect set-up. I don't think my town would like that in my back yard.:(

Dawn Fine said...

Nice set up~Great photo of the dove!

Montanagirl said...

That is a nice set-up you have there. Merry Christmas! And see my answer to your question about the lens back on my post where you asked about it.

Passinthru Outdoors said...

The first time I used my deer blind in the yard to take photos of the birds using my feeders this past spring, my wife almost called the doctor on me. Works like charm.

Thanks for sharing.