A day in a photography hide

Saturday 10 April 2021, 14:07 by Erik Nevels | 6,199 views | 6 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Today my mate is treating me to a day in a photography hide. It is a new experience for me. What can I expect? Which animals, and especially birds, will show themselves? Will it remain enjoyable all day? This blog is a report of a day spent watching and clicking in a heated photography hide.

The weather

As the photography hide was booked several months ago, we will have to make do with today's weather. Light rain and hardly any sunshine are forecast.

In the middle of the forest, that means little light. The rain will not bother us. We are sitting comfortably dry, and with the heating on my fingers certainly will not get cold.

The hide

When we approach the photography hide at 8 o'clock, I cannot see a hide. No, it is more like a partly underground room that provides space for three photographers. With two of us, there is plenty of room in the luxuriously finished and furnished room / hide.

We set the swivel chairs to their maximum height and remove the camouflage net from the observation window. We switch on the electric heater and set up our cameras with telephoto lenses on our tripods. Meanwhile, the first tits are already appearing.

The setting

In front of us, slightly below eye level, we can see a pond surrounded by woodland, mainly pine trees. Feeders have been placed in the ground around the pond. Here and there, pieces of tree trunk lie around and branches stick out of the ground. All in all, it is a fairly natural-looking setting.

The food

The feeders are already filled with seeds when we arrive. There is more food in the hide, which we use to refill them during the day. We have also been provided with a handful of walnuts and hazelnuts.

Light

It is still early and overcast. I look for the right balance in the exposure triangle. The limited light forces me to use high ISO values of 1250 and above. With the aperture fully open, I choose a shutter speed of 1/250 second or faster.

During the day, the light increases a little and the balance shifts towards a slightly lower ISO and faster shutter speed.

The birds

I am not bored for a moment. There are birds by the pond almost constantly. Great tit, blue tit, greenfinch, blackbird, great spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, treecreeper, willow tit, and then suddenly a pair of hawfinches appears.

I have never had them in front of my camera before. What beautiful birds. Despite their size, they are not put off by the smaller tits. They crack the seeds with their strong bills and swallow them.

Sony A7 mark III, 600mm, f/6.3, shutter speed varies from 1/250 to 1/400s, ISO 1250 to 2000

Enough record shots

At first I happily keep clicking away, but after a while I become more critical. After just two hours, I actually have more than enough record shots. Besides, I would rather not have a bird in the photo with seed still in or around its bill.

I decide to look out for less obvious situations, such as birds drinking or bathing. For nice reflections in the water, and the bird does not have to be fully in the frame either.

Sony A7 mark III, 600mm, f/6.3, shutter speed varies from 1/250 to 1/400s, ISO 1250 to 2000

Squirrels

It soon becomes clear that birds are not the only animals being spoiled with food. Three squirrels regularly appear by the pond. They clearly know where the feeders are and visit them one by one.

It is even more fun when I hide the walnuts and hazelnuts around the pond. They find them in no time and look for a quiet place to gnaw them open.

My camera swings from left to right and back again as I try to capture the animals in action. By around midday, I am already on my second battery.

The afternoon is well under way when a mouse makes its presumably daily walk to one of the feeders. All right, that one goes in the photo too. Good for identification. It turns out to be a bank vole, duly noted.

Sony A7 mark III, 400 to 600mm, f/6.3, shutter speed varies from 1/250 to 1/400s, ISO 1250 to 2000

4 o'clock

At around four o'clock, we call it a day. We do not expect any new birds or animals, and it is also getting too dark. Nevertheless, we are pleased with today. A busy day that flew by, with several successful photos.

Another visit?

Perhaps once a year. A photography hide gives you the chance to photograph animals undisturbed and up close. That produces pictures you would not normally be able to take easily.

Even so, walking around in nature is much more my thing. I am happy to put up with cold fingers in winter.

You might also like

• 

  Photographing birds? Practise first.

  by Nando Harmsen

• 

  A day photographing from a photography hide

  by Nando Harmsen

• 

  Bird photography often requires a lot of patience

  by Erik Nevels

• 

  Photographing birds at the Brouwersdam in Zeeland with the Sony 200-600

  by Erik Nevels

• 

  A telephoto lens isn't just for birds

  by Erik Nevels

• 

  Are you a bird photographer? Take a look at Birds, Poetry in the Sky.

  by Nando Harmsen

6 comments

Have your say

Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.
Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.