It’s the best time of year to be a bird photographer living in Wisconsin. In this video I take you behind the scenes of what I’ve been shooting lately.
Earlier this year I visited a new location that showed a ton of promise for birding activity with its ridiculous number of different edge habitats within walkable distance. Edge habitats, for example the edge of a forest next to a field, are where you’re likely to find the greatest concentration of birds since the specialists from each will overlap. However, spring came and the place was dead silent. I was very confused, but continued to visit the place a number of times over the next few weeks. On one of these trips, it was like a switch was flipped and now there were birds everywhere. It was exactly what I was hoping for. If you really believe a spot should be hoppin’, don’t give up.
Over the following week after I found the place awakened, I visited nearly every sunrise and sunset. My focus became the chestnut-sided warblers and golden-winged warblers that began nest building, but those are simply the birds that got me up from the alarm clock and out the door. On location, I saw and captured a good variety of other species as well and share them all in the video above.
Ryan,
Thanks so much for making this YouTube video and sharing it with us. Watching it was a wonderful way to spend 8m minutes. Heck, if it was two hours long I still would've watched every minute!
I left a comment with some questions for you on YouTube. But I thought I would copy and paste it here, because other Fstoppers may like to see what you have to say in response:
I absolutely love this video that you made, Ryan! That there looks to be an incredible location for songbird photography. It has a variety of songbirds birds that I have never before seen in any one place. How far is it from you? Do you plan on going back there again soon, before nesting season is over? If so, I would love to hear about what you see and how you do the 2nd time around.