Birds on the wing

Birds on the Wing


In this post, I will share some of my attempts at capturing birds in flight. If capturing a stationary bird from a distance is a challenge, then shooting them in flight is even more difficult. Each reasonably good shot is a result after scores that dont make the cut. The biggest challenge is the very short reaction time that you get to frame and shoot. Obviously the camera plays a big role in the quality of the image, but aiming and framing in a second or two makes the difference between capturing the bird or an empty sky.

The following are some samples of my attempts over the past few years.

This is a flock of cattle egrets which took off from my farm inn Medchal (outskirts of Hyderabad). The blue background of the sky was just great for the translucent look of the wings.

This is a Grey Heron which took off when I came closer. Fortunately it was flying low and the water proved to be a good background. Also, since it was not flying too fast, the default shutter speed was good enough.

This is a Barn Swallow which flies is quick bursts. Usually, shooting birds need a long zoom, but for birds which move too fast, it is very difficult to get them in the frame. So the usual way out is to shoot them in lower zoom levels and then crop. But as you can see, it reduces the resolution.

The Sunbird is sometimes confused with a humming bird and one of the reasons is the similar way they hover over a flower to get at the nectar by furiously flapping their wings. These birds never stay at a place for more than a few seconds and the above shot gave me no time to adjust the shutter speed. But on the flip side,it also created an interesting effect of the blurring of the wings.

This is a Black Kite which is quite common around the cities gracefully circling around high in the sky looking for prey. Fortunately, they glide slowly and lazily while hunting and if you have the patience to wait for the right moment, you can get a decent shot. Obviously, most of the photographs would be the bottom view, unless you are on a building roof and then you can get a slightly different angle as below.

This is probably a common site - a flock of pigeons suddenly taking from a roof of a city building. These birds are very useful to practice bird photography as you can find them all over the place. See below for a few other examples of the beautiful symmetric patterns made by their wings when they are taking off or landing.

These are a pair of cattle egrets against the green background of a paddy field. Though they appear to be ungainly when taking off, they can be quite graceful when in full flight as below.

This is a Purple Heron in a grand wide sweep of it's wings which are perfectly symmetrical. Capturing these kinds of moments helps us appreciate the beauty of these creatures. It is images like these that make this hobby so satisfying.

For the rest of my bird photographs, please visit Birds Around Hyderabad.


As always, I would love to hear your comments or suggestions.