Bird Photography | Setting up a Feeding Station: Part 1

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Bird Photography | Setting up a Feeding Station. In Part 1 of this short series I'm finding the best location for a winter bird feeding station. I've been lucky enough to gain access to some private land with some wonderful spots and plenty of bird life. In this video I show how to select a location and how to set up the bird feeders. If you like the video please give it a share.. and a thumbs up. Thank you!
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Music: In the Garden by Silent Partner

[@pauljenkins2501]

Thanks Paul. I have been feeding the birds in my urban garden for about 6 months now. Although I know nothing about birds, it is a joy to watch them feeding and scrapping with each other, and making good use of the bird bath. I will try some pictures when my new camera arrives, in a week or so. I will follow this series with interest.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks Paul. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks very much for commenting.

[@BioBush]

Thanks for teaching people how to feed and photograph birds! You're providing food and treating the birds with respect. That's a great combination.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Many thanks, and thanks for commenting on the video!

[@chrissysimpson403]

Ive asked a farmer if I can photograph on his land and they have agreed as long as let them know when I'm going ...theres around 12 deer ...Hares .. A Owl that's in one of their barns...Herons...Buzzards...there is a hide already there too also they have 3 big fishing ponds..so now i'm set up for life its just the matter of getting a few good pictures now there's a challenge with being new to wildlife photography..thanks for your fab tutorials i'm learning lots..

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

That's such great news! Sounds like heaven to me. My advice is try be as clear as you can about what you want to do. Also, give they a print or two as a thankyou

[@stevemartin239]

This should be a great series. Thanks for sharing & all the very best!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Many thanks Steve!

[@acidsnow5915]

man this is super insightful. love learning from all kinds of photographers! thanks for sharing this great content with us! loved watching this!

[@klackon1]

Another informative video, I'm looking forward to part II. Good point about the position of the sun. I often find I am shooting with a background of trees or bushes, which influences the ISO and really pushes it up when using a high shutter speed. If, like me, you dislike having feeders in your shots, incorporate a wooden bird table and mask the edges with fresh moss/lichen. Alternatively, watch where the birds perch prior to visting the feeder; or catch them in mid air as they fly onto the feeder. Try and set up so you have some clear sky in the background in order to reduce your ISO.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Hi Pete. Thanks for commenting. Some good suggestions there. I'll be setting up some perches to try and get the birds on - this should be the next video.

[@timseward19]

Great idea, looking forward to this series

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Cheers Tim.

[@wanderingwolf2242]

Very nice to get private access....best of luck with your project. Am looking forward to seeing the results of your hard workATB :-)

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thank you. Just looking at images from this morning which will be in part 3. It's a lovely site for sure, if a little difficult with the light.

[@touchedbynature5445]

Great video. Enjoyed it very much. Many Thanks.

[@timscanlanphotography]

Hi Paul. Nice one !! Looks a great set up and easy enough to re-create by the look of it. I'm always amazed at the variety of species that will come to a feeder once their confidence is ok. Looking forward to seeing what turns up at yours. Thanks for sharing. P.S. Mightily impressed with your knowledge of plumbing kit and all things pipe related. LOL ;)

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Cheers Tim. It can be surprising what turns up.. you just never know. If I get a bullfinch I'll be very, very happy! I can create something practical in the field that works... but ask me what I|'m using and I probably won't know...

[@tonyturner7676]

Another great and informative video, Paul.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks very much Tony. Always appreciate your comments.

[@cillyede]

I love shooting birds. Good and helpful vid.

[@elduderino2385]

Hi Paul! Very ingenious - I wonder how long it took the birds to find the new source of food... Thanks for the great videos. Greetings from Poland!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Hi. It usually starts to work after about 2 weeks.

[@elduderino2385]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography Ok. Tkanks ...

[@andyackerman9636]

This is going to be interesting. Thanks!

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks Andy. I hope so!

[@trondwestby5264]

Great Paul! Cant wait to see what birds you get there. Maybe waxwing on the apple :) I have never seen a long tail tit on feedingstation here in my place. I wish though.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Cheers Trond. Well Waxwing would be a bonus. But I'm set up by a load of apples so I might have a good chance if we get them this winter. Long tailed tits are great - one of my favourite birds... just love em!

[@markharris5771]

Very interesting. For some reason mixed seed has never been successful on our hanging feeder, but it’s really popular in the ground tray and on the table. Pears and sultana are very popular with anything turdus, along with the sheps, but they eat anything especially when the Continental birds arrive which they have done this week. We have both sunflower hearts in a feeder for the goldfinches and greenfinches, but also sunflower seeds for the coal tits and blue tits. We also have fat balls both on and hanging from the table along with our homemade coconuts with lard and peanut butter (unsalted of course as per RSPB) mealworms (dried unfortunately) and all sorts of seeds. We can go through two a day. Then we make a muesli out of natural oats, fruit and seeds and warm milk in winter. Of course we have the obligatory niger seed which has an almost continuous goldfinch soap opera around it. Over the last four or five years we’ve built up quite a flock and that’s one reason we try to get the sheps to go to the table. Even though numbers have declined massively and we do want to feed them, they are outrageous bullies. We also always have fresh nuts out for the blue tits, great tits and occasional nuthatch. I didn’t realise we put so much effort into our feeders until it’s written down. I’ve made it sound like we have acres of land, it’s a communal garden shared between 3 flats of about 4 metres x 12 metres. Ours is the only ground floor flats and the two upstairs flats are owned by young lads, and they have no interest in it. Great video Paul, and anything that encourages others to feed birds is a good thing. The BTO and RSPB both advocate feeding all year round now as they suspect one of the many complex reasons for the declining numbers in our indigenous species is food sources disappearing. This has a greater impact during spring and summer when the birds are breeding. I really like the pipe Idea and the apples will attract some birds, I know corvids like them as we get jackdaws in spring. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this pans out over the coming months. A great idea for a series.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

It sounds like a banquet for your birds - such a variety of food! That's the best way of course, if you can do it. I'll also be making some fat-ball mixture and maybe some occasional mealworms too. It's interesting which birds feed where. It can vary by region, although almost everything seems to love sunflower hearts! Had my first bird on the other day (blue tit) then yesterday blue tits, coal tits and dunnock. Two jays came bombing in as I filled up the feeders but then saw me, but they looked like they had been before; I think I will get them onto perches. Redwings are around feeding on holly. Lighting is actually a bit tricky but it's all about adapting to the location.

[@yujinlandscapephotography.7787]

Hi! Paul, Good and great video. 👍👏

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Many thanks.

[@yujinlandscapephotography.7787]

Thank!

[@andrewwilson3145]

looking at doing this myself cracking video look forward to the next video

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks Andrew. It's great fun, you should try.

[@andrewwilson3145]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography dont be long with next video lol

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Don't know when it will be done now... after seriously spraining my ankle.!

[@andrewwilson3145]

@@PaulMiguelPhotography wishing you a speedy recovery

[@tarjei99]

You can try to keep the squirrels away by using long green garden wires to hang the birdfeeders from. If all wires are long, the squirrels will have problems getting to the feeders. The feeders need to be so far away from branches that the squirrels can't jump to the feeders.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks for the suggestions. I would put feeders away from branches but I want to use the trees for the birds .

[@Philip251000]

Great Paul - from whom did you get the idea about the big feeders? I couldn’t catch his name.

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Cheers Philip. It's Mike Lane. He makes some great videos. He's a true wildlife photographer, been around a long time and does things in a very natural way.

[@Philip251000]

Paul Miguel Photography thanks

[@stephenbarlow2493]

I've found that for photographing Fieldfares a low tunnel shaped hide where you lie down is far more effective than an upright hide. Firstly, it's a much better perspective, but most importantly you can get them to come very close. They always seem to be suspicious of upright hides. flic.kr/p/QNLXaB

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Great stuff Stephen - my kind of hide! I have another possible option nearby for low down images, so I might set something up, we'll see. For sure, it's definitely better to go low profile if you can

[@richard.featherstone]

90 degree elbow joints

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Thanks Richard!

[@Dan.gibson.photographer]

Do you have instagram ?

[@PaulMiguelPhotography]

Hi Dan. No I don't. Maybe I should.. but I'd rather reduce my social media time than increase it!