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BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS OF PREY

Quick Guide
Written by Tobie Schalkwyk

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS OF PREY // © PHOTZY.COM 1

 INTRODUCTION

Birds of prey photography is the pinnacle of nature photography, ·· Harriers (hawk-like birds with long tails and thin legs)
in my book. As much as I love all forms of nature photography, ·· Vultures (carrion eaters, usually with heads and/or
nothing beats the self-satisfaction of looking back at a good shot sometimes necks void of feathers)
of a bird of prey and then thinking to yourself, ‘Yes, I love it!’ ·· Falcons (medium size with long, pointed wings)
·· Caracas (broad wings, naked faces)
Obviously, some images are a level ‘above’ others depending ·· Owls (night hunters)
on what the bird of prey was doing at that moment in time, but
even a good, clear image of a stationary raptor invokes pleasant You may be wondering, “Why mention all of these groups? I
emotions from any passionate bird photographer. know what a raptor is!” Well, the main traits of each individual
group are going to play an important role later on when we
Before we go any further, though, let’s define what we mean discuss where to find these birds and how to photograph them.
by ‘birds of prey’: birds that hunt and eat vertebrates. Some of
these vertebrates may be quite large in relation to the size of the
Key Lesson: The ‘bird of prey’ kingdom is vast, to put
bird, to an astonishing degree. Vultures may appear to be not
it mildly. It includes all live vertebrate hunters, thus
100% at home according to this definition, but in general they
implicitly locking out other meat eaters like crows. Each
are counted among them.
group of raptors has specific traits which determine how
Birds of prey (also known as raptors) are roughly grouped as and where they can be photographed. Consequently, it is
follows: to a raptor photographer’s advantage to know these traits.

·· Eagles (massive wings, large strong feet/talons used to kill Recommended Reading: Want a step-by-step guide on
prey) photography skills with your DSLR? Grab a copy of our
·· Ospreys (fish hunters) best-selling guide: the DSLR Crash Course.
·· Kites (long wings, relatively weak legs)
·· True hawks (woodland birds hunting from a perch)
·· Buzzards (medium to large raptors with strong bodies)

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 EQUIPMENT

I’m not going to spend much time on this

as most of it has already been covered
in previous guides in this series, but let’s
mention the most important detail for
completeness’ sake.

CAMERA

A camera with good high-ISO handling

will certainly be to your advantage as you
will regularly find yourself in unfavorable
lighting conditions; think early in the
mornings, late in the afternoons, cloudy
days, and, to make it worse – a bird
perched under thick leaf cover.

I am reluctant to even mention examples

as the technology in this area is improving
with leaps and bounds, but the Nikon
D500 and other recent body releases by
Nikon and Canon are solid proof that this
is the area that all reputable brand techies
are currently working on.
Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk

Yellow-billed Kite enjoying a meal | Nikon D7100 + Nikon 300mm f/4 (35mm
equivalent: 450mm) f/7.1 | 1/500s | 800 ISO | Beanbag in car window

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS OF PREY // © PHOTZY.COM 3

LENS

Needless to say, a lens with 400+mm reach is a must. To be

honest, the only reason why I mention 400mm is the amazing
quality of the name brand 400mm f/2.8 prime lenses, allowing
you to maintain quality even at heavy cropping in post-
processing. You can of course hook it up to a 1.4x teleconverter
(TC) in order to stretch the reach to 560mm.

The only lens that I’d recommend with a reach shorter than
300mm is the Nikon 300mm f/2.8. From the evidence I have
seen, it delivers excellent quality images even with the 2x Nikon
TC. Buy the latest release TC to get the best quality.

As for us budget buyers, there are the Tamron G2 and Sigma

Sport 150-600mm lenses. You may try the Sigma 150-600mm
Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk
Contemporary, but personally (for bird photography specifically)
Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2
I’d rather add a few bucks and buy the Tamron.

If you’re looking for a budget (although not ‘cheap’) 500mm lens OTHER EQUIPMENT
and you carry Nikon equipment, have a look at Nikon’s 500mm
I always carry my tripod with me if on foot, but the choice is
PF lens.
obviously yours. In my own vehicle I use a bean bag in my car
window, and in open-roof safari vehicles I use my monopod or I
shoot hand-held.

Always have a bird guide with you, either on paper or electronic

(phone or tablet).

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 DEFAULT SETTINGS

Conditions can sometimes change very

quickly with bird photography, so I usually
keep my settings on f/6.3, 1/800s, 800
ISO and then adjust as needed, if I have
enough time. If you have a lens that can
open up wider, do so in exchange for
lower ISOs.

Always use spot metering, continuous

focus, and continuous shooting
mode. Back button focus is a strong
recommendation to make continuous
focusing easier as you pan a bird in flight.

Key Lesson: There’s a wide

variety of gear available for
photographing raptors. The most
important is a long-reach lens of
Photograph by Tobie reasonable quality. Do not go too
Schalkwyk
cheap, though, because then
Southern Pale Chanting
Goshawk juvenile you’re guaranteed to be
(bottom right) begging disappointed and frustrated. The
for food | Nikon D600 better the quality of your lens, the
+ Tamron 160-600
higher the quality of your images.
G2 @ 600mm f/8 |
1/800s | 400 ISO |
Beanbag in car window

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 PLANNING YOUR RAPTOR PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION

Unless you are photographing raptors on the go, HOW TO APPROACH THEM
it may be a good idea to sit down and plan your
photoshoot based on the traits of the bird you’re In general, I’ve found that the easiest way to
planning to photograph. If you are planning to photograph raptors is to move along slowly in a
photograph any bird of prey coincidentally coming vehicle – no unnecessary talk, windows wound down
your way, you have an interesting time ahead so that you can listen for raptor calls. Obviously,
because you will have to move very slowly and scan it would be to your advantage to know what the
everything from the ground right up to the skies. raptors’ calls in your area sound like.

Sometimes you’ll need to be stationary, though, such

as when sitting in a bird hide (not an ideal place to
find raptors other than ospreys and eagles known
to hunt for fish) or raptor feeding restaurants (not
uncommon in South Africa), or while waiting for a
raptor to return to its nest.

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 PHOTOGRAPHING RAPTORS

These birds offer a great variety of

positions.

PERCHED/ON THE GROUND

You will have the greatest success from

the inside of a vehicle as the bird will not
see you as a threat. If you see it ahead,
slow down and approach it slowly. If
you see it too late, do not hit the brakes
because then it will most likely fly away.
Instead, drive 100 yards on, turn around,
and come back slowly.

If you have a bean bag or another way

of supporting your camera, you can get
away with quite a low shutter speed.
Usually you will have enough time to do a
few adjustments, but do not bet on it.

Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk

Lesser Spotted Eagle ripping a dove apart | Nikon D600 + Tamron 160-600
G2 @ 600mm | f/6.3 | 1/1600s | 500 ISO | Beanbag in car window

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 IN FLIGHT

The most important skill/ability to have in

this case is the one for panning. It’s not too
difficult to master, but I have seen quite a
few photographers struggle with it. I guess
practice makes perfect (wink, wink)! This
ability will allow you to photograph gliding
birds at quite low shutter speeds due to
their limited wing movement.

Keep a fast shutter speed if you do not

want to have blurred wing tips as the
bird’s feathers ruffle in the wind. The
image on the cover of this guide was
done at 1/640s, but I have taken decent
images of gliding birds at about half
of that speed (as the image on the left
proves).

If you’re close to a nest with juveniles,

try and wait it out until the parents
return with food. It makes excellent and
interesting in-flight shots! Obviously, a
bonus would be to photograph them
during a feeding session, if possible at all.

An eagle’s nest-building phase also

guarantees quite interesting shots as the
Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk eagles gather nest-building material.
White-backed vulture | Nikon D600 + Tamron 160-
600 G2 @ 420mm | f/7.1 | 1/320s | 250 ISO | HH

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 You’ll be amazed at how large some of
the branches are that are being carried to
the nesting sites!

If you are close to a mountain (such as

with eagles and vultures nesting on cliffs),
study them to determine what their most
common flying patterns are, especially in
the mornings when they regularly test the
thermal winds before they finally take off
for the day.

Once you know a bit about their flying

habits, try to get a bit of height in, or try
to get close to their flying path. It may
give you a viewpoint which makes it look
as if you snapped the bird from the top,
such as in the main image of this guide.
Sometimes they might come really close
to you, giving you the opportunity to
produce high-quality shots.

Recommended Reading: Want a

step-by-step guide on photography
skills with your DSLR? Grab a copy of
our best-selling guide: the DSLR
Crash Course.

Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk

Verreax’s Eagle arriving with a stick for nest-building purposes | Nikon

D600 + Tamron 160-600 G2 @ 600mm | f/8 | 1/800s | 1000 ISO | HH

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS OF PREY // © PHOTZY.COM 9

 KITES

Kites can usually be found hovering

above grasslands or other open areas
(even roads, as they wait for small prey
scattering away from your approaching
vehicle – or even killed by it!). You will
probably have most luck from the inside
of a vehicle as they will then not see you
as a threat. Watch them as they try to
keep their heads as still as possible in
order to pick up movement below. If you
want to eliminate blur caused by their
quick wing movements, use a shutter
speed of 1200/s or faster.

If you’re lucky enough to see them dive,

wait it out – they may devour their meal in
mid-air, almost from the same (hovering)
spot as before the dive. Otherwise, they
may look for a perch close by.

Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk If you see two or more of them in the air,
Black-Shouldered / Black-Winged Kite in hovering mode | Nikon D600 just be patient and be ready for taking
+ Tamron 160-600 G2 @ 600mm | f/6.3 | 1/800s | 250 ISO | HH mid-air battle images as they compete for
hunting space.

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 HAWKS

Prepare for action as you see this skilled

hunter in alert mode, perched on a
branch, especially if there are other birds’
nests close by. They love to raid these in
search of a morsel!

Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk

African Harrier Hawk/Gymnogene raiding a weaver’s nest in early-morning light | Nikon D7100 +
Nikkor | 300mm f/4 + Nikon TC 4 E II (35mm equivalent: 630mm) | f/7.1 | 1/800s | 1000 ISO | HH

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 OWLS

One could say that everything for other

raptors is also true for owls. The big
difference, of course, is that they can be
seen mostly at night when our equipment
is useless.

Having said that, I always carry my 70-

200mm f/2.8 lens in my bag and mount it
when my other safari compadres have put
away their equipment. Obviously, if you’re
one of the fortunate ones with a 300mm
f/2.8 or 400mm f/2.8 (oh, how I hate you!
Wink, wink!), then you’re in the pound
seats!

These lenses are quite capable of

taking a shot in lighting offered by a
flash/spotlight, such as those used by
safari guides, or perhaps when one of
our ground owl species refuses to be
spooked by a car’s head lights. Obviously,
you will not have daylight-quality images,
but they will be fine enough to add to
your collection.

Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk

Spotted Eagle Owl in the safari vehicle’s hand-held spotlight | Nikon D600 +
Nikkor 70-200mm VR1 @ 170mm | f/5.6 | 1/60s | 6400 ISO | HH

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 Do not misjudge some of our owls’
determination to find a last meal in
early-morning light, though. I have
photographed a marsh owl as late as 9:00
a.m. as it swept the grasslands in search
of anything moving below.

Owls are birds of habit and tend to

occupy the same tree from day to day,
even in the absence of a nest. Ask the
local inhabitants of an area known to
have owls, as they will most likely be
able to direct you in the right direction.
And don’t forget barn owls, of course –
some of which occupy the same barn for
generations!

When an owl is perching, you can really

go low on shutter speed, if needed
(compensating for bad light), because
one of these birds’ stealth tactics is its
ability not to flinch for long periods. I
have taken very decent images of owls at
as low as 1/20s.

Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk

Verreaux’s/Giant Eagle Owl at rest at dusk. The wings are open to combat extreme heat. | Nikon D600 +
Tamron 150-600 G2 @ 600mm | f/7.1 | 1/400s | 10159 ISO (yes, that’s correct!) | Beanbag in car window

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 Caution: If owls are discovered by other
birds, they become hassled until they
leave. This is not an ideal position for a
nocturnal bird to be in at daytime! This
is something to keep in mind as you
approach them. Do not get so close
that they are forced to give away their
resting/hiding spot.

Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk

Verreaux’s/Black Eagle | Nikon D600 + Tamron 160-600 G2 @ 600mm | f/6.3 | 1/640s | 400 ISO | HH

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 OSPREYS, FISH EAGLES,
AND OTHER FISH HUNTERS

Do not be deceived by NatGeo’s

perception that it’s easy to photograph
these birds as they pluck a fish out of the
water! I have heard that most of these
shots are staged by letting a fish carcass
float on top of the water, and I must say I
do not need much convincing!

Obviously, a fast-focusing lens is a big

asset in this case, as well as a lot of
patience! If you see one of these birds
perched at the water’s edge, wait it out.
Something is guaranteed to happen – it’s
only a matter of time! When it does, keep
on refocusing as you follow it. When it’s
getting ready to grab its prey, start with
continuous shooting. Give it a second or
two and then resume shooting as it leaves
with its prey.

Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk

Fish Eagle overlooking a dam | Nikon D7100 + Nikkor 300mm f/4 + Nikon TC 4 E II
(35mm equivalent: 630mm) | f/7.1 | 1/500s | 400 ISO | Beanbag in car window

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 Key Lesson: Raptor
photographers are spoiled for
choice as far as opportunities are
concerned. Day, night, flying,
perched, hunting, observing, and
so many other situations! These
opportunities are a function of how
much time we spend looking for
birds, and our patience and
knowledge of them. Common
sense is also a virtue from time to
time!

Recommended Reading: Want a

step-by-step guide on photography
skills with your DSLR? Grab a copy of
our best-selling guide: the DSLR
Crash Course.
Photograph by Tobie Schalkwyk Happy shooting!
White-Backed Vultures at dusk | Nikon D600 + Tamron 24-70mm @ 70mm | f/5.6 | 1/500s | 400 ISO | HH

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS OF PREY // © PHOTZY.COM 16

 Self-Check Quiz:

1) Birds of prey are known as ____________.

2) Why is it important to learn the different traits of raptors?

3) Can you use a zoom lens for photographing birds of prey?

4) Which metering mode should you use when shooting birds of prey?

5) Is the use of a vehicle recommended for raptor photography?

6) What is the most important photography skill for capturing a raptor in flight?

7) Where can you typically find a kite hovering?

8) What type of raptor will typically raid another bird’s nest?

9) Owls are birds of ___________.

10) What is the number one rule when photographing owls during the day?

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Congratulations! You’ve completed
this Photzy guide!

If you liked this photography tutorial, check

out our step-by-step guide on discovering
photography skills using your DSLR and start
creating amazing images: DSLR Crash Course.

Tobie Schalkwyk is a retired Web Developer and Digital

Marketer with a love for photography – but rather a passion
and preference for bird photography. IF YOU’D LIKE TO CONTINUE
LEARNING AND IMPROVING
Web sites related to photography:
ctsphotography.co.za/nature YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY PLEASE
Marketing web sites: VISIT PHOTZY.COM
https://leadsfount.co.za
https://sprout.digital

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