Woke up to a new dusting of snow on the ridge tops with the promise of more to come today. While we spend part of summer getting the home ready for winter, what about our feathered friends? Some of my favorite photography is wildlife in winter from the comfort of my home.
But to get birds here like this Hairy Woodpecker (from what seems just like a few months ago) means thinking about them now. This male was very busy at the suet feeder as it drilled a new cavity for nesting. See all the red stain on his breast, that’s from working in a Red Fir. Getting that biology meant having a feeder placed were it would not only attract the birds but also where I could shoot it by simply opening a window/door. Setting up the perch takes more then a stick and screw. There’s a ton of info on this in Captured but in a nutshell think background, background, background! When you’ve set it up correctly, you can get a shot like this, a Hairy Woodpecker with cavity drilling staining defending what he thinks is his feeder.
In these times when budgets are tight, buying suet might not be something you can do. What actually attracts more to our yard then anything else is free water, better known as a bird bath. Critters still have to drink but in the winter many of their water sources are frozen. A bird bath brings in the birds by the hundreds. While the water is free (basically), you will need to make the one time investment in a bird bath heater and the very, very minimal electrical bill. It’s a whole lot less then suet.
After that, keep in mind that the worst weather can often produce the best images. And one the snow is on the ground, remember it’s a great white card to bounce in light. At times, a flash angled just perfectly can really make a difference. Flash fill is being used in this shot, not much, just a little to open up the shadows a tad. Oh, and all of you who don’t have snow in your yard in the winter. Head north for the weekend and give it a try, the photography is marvelous!