This is often the most overlooked facet of getting close to your birds.  When approaching wild birds, it is important to respect their space and not scare them. You should never chase after them, or even move directly towards them. If you want to get really close to a bird, you need to wait until it feels comfortable enough to approach you or allow you to approach it without fear.

Focus on the bird’s face and body language. Make sure that the bird looks relaxed and calm. With a little practice, you can start reading their cues.

Some species are very tolerant of humans, while others will scatter in a heartbeat.  Knowing which birds you can easily approach is helpful, although many times that is a matter of experience.  Here on Bonaire, American Flamingos can be very skittish.  If you are near to them along the road, consider using your vehicle as a blind and shooting from within.

Don’t wear white, or pink or red for that matter.

When we are in their environment, we want to try to blend in as much as possible.  Wearing white, or other bright colors, simply puts us more in the limelight.  The birds know the minute we arrive on the scene, but if we are not constantly reminding them of our presence by being a big white blob moving along, they tend to forget about us and continue their normal activities.  At the risk of looking like some mercenary, I personally prefer to wear camouflage when birding on the trail.

Don’t act like a predator–move slowly, quietly, and gently.

Predators make a beeline to their prey–they move in quickly and without fanfare.  If you do the same, your bird will be sure to think it is under attack and hightail it off to safer areas.  Maybe the best you’ll get is a butt shot of that rare bird.

So, how do you approach your subject without alarming it?

• Don’t change the speed of your walk.  Slowing down greatly or hurrying up simply telegraphs that something has changed–you’ve spotted a photography subject.  If you must change speed, simply gently slow down and do not make any sudden moves; even raise your camera slowly and deliberately.
•  Do not walk directly to your subject.  That looks just like a predator approaching!  Instead, walk slowly in a zig-zag pattern, or move further away and then return and approach on a slowly closing parallel line.
• Do look around you as you approach and use your peripheral vision to keep an eye on the subject.  Staring intently at your intended subject can be seen as a threat, in fact, that is true for many animals, including humans.  Just saunter along the way–your subject will be much more comfortable with your approach.  Read the signals they send!  If the bird is standing upright and watching you, it is already worried.  Stop your approach and wait until it is more comfortable and only continue again once the subject is no longer on alert.

Keep noises to a minimum.

Be sure your cell phone is on silent or you will be unhappy when it rings just as you get focused on that rare bird you’ve been stalking!

Another sound that alerts your subjects is from your camera.  If your camera allows, switch to a silent shutter, and turn off the focus beep, to keep from alarming the birds in your area.

These magical times truly will enhance your Bonaire bird photography, simply because the sun’s color temperature becomes warm, making your subjects “glow” in the light.  Colors such as red, orange, and yellow are enhanced, and the pink of our flamingos here on Bonaire will morph into a deep coral color.  Try golden hour photography for the first time, and I guarantee you’ll be hooked.  An added bonus is that during the morning and late afternoon golden hours, the birds are also the most active!

Always put the sun at your back.

Do your best to put the sun behind you.  With this simple method, the light will beautifully illuminate your subject.  Sometimes the birds you wish to photograph might not be positioned to do this.  If that is the case, at least try to get the sun at a 90-degree angle.

Get low and shoot up!

Don’t be afraid to get a bit dirty.  If you are able, get as low as you can and shoot upward.   This little rule of thumb will separate your subject from the busy background of the habitat and provide a more pleasing sky background.

Another advantage to getting low is that your avian subject will feel more comfortable.  Not only can you then connect at an eye-to-eye level, but the chance is much less that you will be identified as a potential threat or predator.  Your subject will most likely respond well to your getting low on the ground and quickly get back to its normal behaviors.

Blur your background.

If you cannot get low enough to shoot upward, then use your camera settings to your advantage to blur the background.  If your camera system allows, use Aperture Priority with a large aperture to reduce the depth of field.

Many people just place their subject in the center and shoot away.  Although this will give a good image of the subject, there are ways to improve the effectiveness of an image’s composition.

Use a tic-tac-toe grid.

This tool for effective composition is called “the rule of thirds.”  Essentially, in your mind’s eye, place a tic-tac-toe grid over the image you wish to photograph.  The four points where those lines intersect are the most powerful areas of your image.  Do your best to place the eye, or another important component of the subject matter, at one of these four intersecting points.

Shoot behaviors, if possible.

Although everyone loves a beautiful portrait of a colorful bird, trying to photograph the bird’s behavior will be much more captivating!  Behaviors tell a story, and an image will be stronger if it communicates or educates the viewer.

Remember that patience is a virtue when attempting Bonaire bird photography.  Watch the bird and see what it is doing.  Perhaps you can catch the Green Heron with a just-caught fish, or a Yellow Oriole weaving its nest.

If there are simply no action shots, instead look to tell a story about the bird’s environment.  For example, if you are photographing a Least Grebe, as in the image here, include some grasses; this communicates information about the bird’s habitat to the viewer.

Fill the frame, if possible.

If you are able, filling the frame with your subject bird is ideal.  Not only will it give an impactful image, but your camera’s exposure meter will not be fooled by an overly bright sky or dark water that makes up the majority of the image.  Filling the frame also means there is less busy background in your image and will help your viewers to focus on the bird.

Focus on the eye and ensure it is exposed properly.

If there is a #1 rule for bird photography, it is to get the eye sharp!  If the body is in focus, but the eye is not, the image will not be good.  When we communicate with each other, we look into others’ eyes, and this is also the case when we look at a photograph.  The bird must look back at us, or the viewer will not connect with your subject.

We discussed earlier that the sun should be behind us, if possible.  This simple action will also put that very effective “catchlight” in the eye of the bird, drawing the viewer’s attention to the eye.

Keep your lens cap off.

This might sound rather silly, but when photographing birds, you have to be ready for action in a split second!  You might find a rare bird, and taking the time to remove the lens cap might mean the difference between getting the shot, or saying, “Oh well, better luck next time.”  Be ready to shoot at all times!