Articles

Bird Photography

by, Lawrence Blau

Summer 2024

Twenty years ago, we purchased a summer home on the South Fork of Long Island. Up until the pandemic, I had never taken any pictures there and was content with taking my camera when I visited exotic locations. All this changed in the Spring of 2020. The pandemic had shut down my travels, but I knew that now, more than ever, I needed my camera and the comfort that photography gives me. One morning I decided to go to the beach and stare at the waves. While watching the ocean, I noticed some gulls foraging in the ocean and decided to study their behavior. It was at this moment that a new world opened. I became intrigued with their intelligence and wondered if there were any other birds that I could study and observe? 

The first step was to research all the local birds that made the South Fork their home, at this time of year. I started at the Westhampton Library and filled in any gaps via Google  and used my IPAD to write down names and identifying features. After spending time reading and researching, it was time to go into the field. I left my camera at home and brought my IPAD to take notes. Finding locations was easy, since I knew the area well. When I came to a location, I took out my folding chair and waited. Eventually Egrets, Gulls, Terns, Cormorants, Herons and other shore birds started to arrive. I observed their habits and wrote down characteristics of their behaviors. I remember that, at one of the locations, a person asked me what I was looking at? My response was, I was waiting for the action to start. He responded by asking me “What action?” After visiting a few locations and taking extensive notes, I did some more research and decided how I was going to approach these birds. 

It seemed to me that mornings would be the best time to start my journey. The light was at its best and the birds would be foraging. Before I brought my camera, I decided to study and observe and spent over a week studying and observing without my camera.  Photography has always given me the ability to slow my world down and open the creative part of my mind. The opportunity to take as much time as I wanted and raise my creativity to another level, excited me. I also noticed that when the tide was low, more birds tended to forage, and that gave me an opportunity to get closer.  A low tide exposes much more of the bottom of Shinnecock Bay and it is easier for the birds to forage in areas that would normally be underwater. I found a useful app named “Tide Times” and installed it on my cell phone. Now I felt I was ready to use my camera.

I explored various locations and at one location, noticed that gulls were picking up crabs and what appeared to me to be showing them off to each other. I wondered if I could get close enough to interact with them. The following morning I visited the same location. My idea was to blend into the scene and gradually move to a close but safe distance from the gulls. I started sitting down a good distance away and every five minutes, moved towards them. I was constantly monitoring their behavior to try and determine if any of them acted in a nervous way. It took me about thirty minutes to get closer and I decided to stop and wait. Eventually two gulls inched closer and I was able to capture them and their catch. There appeared to be an invisible line that if you crossed, the birds would ruin the scene and you don’t know where that line is. This became part of the challenge. It occurred to me how much more difficult it was to get a unique picture of a gull versus wildlife at an exotic location. At locations such as Africa, the Galapagos, Antarctica and Kamchatka, subjects literally fall in your lap. You just point and shoot. I needed to first find my subject and then create an image that was unique for a bird that most of us take for granted. 

Another bird that I have fallen in love with are Cormorants. I had previously photographed flightless Cormorants, in the Galapagos, and Cormorants that were used for fishing, in China, but I had not studied them. Now was the time. I first noticed how they would spread their wings and it seemed like they were drying them. By spreading their wings, I was able to notice the beauty of the texture of their feathers. My assumption was correct. Their feathers are not waterproof and they need to dry them after they dive. I never knew that Cormorants can dive up to 150 feet and their unique shape gives them the ability to dive deep and fast. I looked at them in a different way and picked up on their eyes. The color of their eyes can be described as blue-green, aquamarine or turquoise and the concentric circles around their eyes fascinated me. If you study cormorants long enough, they will show you a unique pose. I have since taken lots of pictures of Cormorants and their amazing dinosaur looking appearance.

The South Fork is the home to lots of Egrets and Herons most of the year. I noticed some white ones with smaller yellow feet and found out they are “Snowy Egrets”.  Snowys have become one of my favorite subjects. I fell in love with how their feathers on their head tend to stand up and the poses they create with their long yellow feet. Another bird that fascinates me is the “Black Crowned Night Heron”. I would mostly come upon one alone and they look so stoic and expressionless. They don’t even look like Egrets with their hunched and neck less appearance. I have never seen one interacting with other Egrets and once saw one watching a group of Egrets foraging in a saltwater marsh. Such a strange bird. “Great White Egrets” are so majestic and I am constantly amazed how they forage. They will stand perfectly still and when the opportunity presents itself, will violently strike their beaks in the water for their prey. Reminded me of the bears I had seen in Kamchatka foraging for salmon. “Great Blue Herons” are normally found alone on the South Fork. Their wingspans are huge and I love their colors. 

In the spring of 2020, I first noticed “American Oystercatchers” and asked myself “What are these amazing looking birds doing here?” I would expect such a striking bird to be found in Africa. They are currently on the concerned list of birds and their numbers are decreasing every year. It is estimated that there are about 1500 pairs left and I have seen and taken pictures of some pairs while foraging. 

Springtime brings Terns to the South Fork and in the late Spring, I was able to observe and capture one of their mating rituals. I noticed a Tern with a fish in its mouth and then another one landed next to it. The Tern gave the fish to the other Tern and I wondered why a bird would give up its catch to another bird so readily. After some reading, I found out this was part of their mating ritual. It so happened that the Tern receiving the fish flew away with its prize. I guess it doesn’t always work. 

Every year I look forward to documenting the parenting of “Ospreys”. They have become one of my favorites and I admire them for their parenting skills. Males arrive in early April and try to find the nest they had previously used. Females follow about two weeks later. The catch is that Ospreys are monogamous and will form bonds that will only be broken by the death of one. Both will rebuild the nest and the female starts to lay the eggs. By the middle of June, the eggs have hatched and you start to see the chicks poking their heads out of the nest. Mom will remain with the chicks and Dad is the provider of food. The chicks grow fast and Dad will have to bring up to ten fish a day for Mom to feed them. By the end of August, Mom had lost about 60% of her weight taking care of and feeding the chicks. She will leave for her sole migration south, but Dad will hang around with the almost full grown chicks. It is now time for Dad to teach the chicks to hunt and take care of themselves. He will hang around for about another month and when he is satisfied that the chicks can take care of themselves, will leave for his sole migration. The chicks are the last to leave and this happens by the end of October. We could learn so much from this type of devotion and responsibility. 

During the fall of 2020, I started to notice some new birds arriving. Ruddy Turnstones and Plovers had arrived. It was time to hit the books and find out why. These birds were using Shinnecock as a stopover to fatten up, rest and enjoy Shinnecock. Ruddy Turnstones migrate to the Arctic Tundra to breed and then start their long migration south by the end of August. Plovers follow a similar route. How could such small birds migrate so far? They stay about three weeks and then one day, are gone until next Spring. 

The South Fork is also a temporary and permanent home to many other birds. I have seen and observed Yellowlegs, Tree Swallows, Warblers, Songbirds, Catbirds, Cowbirds, Sparrows, Bald Eagles, BlueJays, Crows, Wood Ducks, Goldfinches, Canadian Geese, Kildeer, Mockingbirds, Robins, Sanderlings, Sandpipers, Starlings, Brown Thrashers, Cedar Waxwings, Eastern Towlees  and Carolina Wrens. It seems that every year I expand my list.  

The winter of 2020 brought another surprise. I had heard and read about “Snowy Owls”, but had never seen one. That was about to change. One morning I noticed a white figure high up on the dunes and decided to investigate. I pulled over, raised my telephoto lens and was face to face with a Snowy Owl. I started to snap away and took about 2000 pictures of this majestic creature from various angles. 

If you look hard enough, you can find silver linings in almost any situation. The pandemic expanded my creativity and photography skills. It also gave me the opportunity to enter a new world. I will never consider myself a true birder, but a person who loves birds and sees the beauty that they give us.