One of the most popular areas of animal photography is bird photography. Taking perfect pictures of birds in the wild can be very challenging, but you can create many wonderful photo opportunities in your own backyard.

Setting up your Backyard Photo Shoots

The biggest challenge isn't actually attracting birds to your yard. Once your feeder is discovered, it won't take long for you to have a flock of birds crowding around it! The biggest challenge with bird photography is getting the birds to perch where you want them. So, consider the location carefully before setting up your feeding station or birdbath.

Choose locations that won't make the birds easy prey for cats and other predators, and at the same time that will provide you with the opportunity to photograph them with nice backgrounds and good angles.

Remember that if you set feeders out in the winter only give them quality seed so your feathery friends aren't filling up on food (like bread) that won't provide them the energy needed to keep warm at night.

Birdbaths also provide good photo ops, and birdhouses will help encourage birds to hang out in your yard.

If your goal is to attract certain species of birds, check with The Audubon Society to see what types of seeds or plants (in the case of birds that won't take their meals at feeders) are best. You can also find good tips at the National Wildlife Federation's "Gardening for Wildlife" pages.

Don't limit your photographs to the bird feeders and baths either. You can also take pictures of birds in your yard that perch on tree limbs and fences nearby so make sure to look for these areas too.

Camera Settings

Have you ever noticed that birds are in almost constant motion? They are always moving no matter if they're foraging on the ground or sitting on a tree branch. With so much movement you want a higher shutter speed for bird photos, so use the Sports mode or set your shutter speed to at least 1/250.

If you have an optical zoom on your compact digital or a telephoto lens on an SLR, this will make taking pictures a whole lot easier. An optical zoom of 6x, depending on the camera, can give you about the same magnification as a 200mm lens, meaning a photograph taken from about 10 feet away could look like a close up.

Some of the "bridge cameras" offer zooms from 10-20 feet but not all produce quality results so do a little investigating before purchasing. You may also need a tripod or other camera stabilizer when using the high range zooms, and as always, opt for optical.

Given a long enough lens, you can get some wonderful pictures of birds in flight or perched high up in trees too. Professional nature photographers often use a 600 lens to get photos with good detail.

Large telephoto lenses of this size are very expensive, but there is another way to take bird photos far away. It's called digiscoping. With this method, you combine the birder's spotting scope with a digital camera. Here is one of many good articles online introducing the digiscoping method to bird photographers: Birdwatchers Digest: Photography.

Blue skies are best for pictures of birds in flight. And the bluest sky of the day is often that hour after dawn. Also, look for times of the day when you have flocks of birds around your house or flying over. Or, if you want to photograph birds of prey, such as osprey, go to a lake or river early in the evening when they fish. This is also a good time for soft, even and warm lighting.

Hopefully by using these tips, you'll attract more birds to your yard and be able to capture some great bird photos that you'll be proud to display.