Six Things You Can Do to Improve Your Rookery Photos
Photographing birds at a rookery is both exciting and challenging. When first approaching a rookery, the excitement of seeing so many birds concentrated in one location can be exhilarating. The challenge, however, becomes all too clear as soon as you search for your first composition. Cluttered backgrounds, intruding branches and leaves, shadows, and other birds in the background can make it very difficult to get portfolio worthy images. So can you get good photos at a rookery? Of course you can! But you’ll need to approach rookeries different than any other birding site.
First, let’s remind ourselves that nesting season is one of the most stressful times in a bird’s life. Please read this article from the National Audubon Society on the Do’s and Don’ts of Nest Photography.
Remember the core principles of good photography: Good use of light, correct composition, and a captivating moment. When approaching a rookery, it’s very easy to get super excited about seeing all the birds and imagining your memory cards filling up with portfolio quality images. While it’s very tempting to take the camera out and just start shooting, I recommend you slow down, observe, and take mental notes about the rookery. What is the direction of light that provides the fewest shadows on the birds? Where are the best perches with unobstructed backgrounds? Where are the birds with the best color and plumage? Which is the best nest for photographing eggs or chicks? Taking a few moments to find your compositions will help you create a mental list of the images possible that day, which helps focus your energy and observational skills.
Make great art, not snapshots. Don’t sweat if you’re struggling at a rookery. Although all these amazing birds are RIGHT THERE in front of you, the dense foliage makes getting great images extremely difficult. For example, I have a rookery about 3 miles from my house filled with Snowy’s, Great Egrets, and Wood Storks, yet there have been days where I did not press the shutter button. Despite having a high concentration of birds, conditions are not always right for making great bird photographs. Come back some other time.
Find clean backgrounds. The hardest part about shooting at a rookery is the short subject-to-background distance, the foliage, overall clutter, and white bird poop covering everything. Remember the importance of the background and actively search for opportunities to keep your photos simple and clean. As described in #1, scouting the area for the best perches with clean backgrounds should be a priority. When a bird lands on that perch, get your photo.
Roseate Spoonbill in a nest. Although this is a nice close-up of a nesting roseate spoonbill with a sharp eye and beautiful feathers, there are compositional and light issues that typify the challenges when photographing birds at a rookery. The foreground and background are made up of a cluttered mess of twigs, branches, and leaves (some covered in white bird poop), which cross the bird’s bill and its body. Some of this was caused by the angle of the shot. This photo was taken by pointing the camera up at the bird, so that the nesting material takes up more of the frame than the bird. The nest and foliage also creates deep pockets of shadows which are distracting. Nikon Z9 with monopod-mounted 200-500mm f/5.6E lens at 360mm, ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec.
Roseate Spoonbill portrait. Compare this photo with the one above. Sufficient subject-to-background distance allowed for a pleasing background, and there’s more bird and less detailed foliage.
Nikon Z6II with tripod-mounted Nikkor 600mm f/4G lens using FTZII adaptor at ISO 250, f/4, 1/1000 sec.
“Adoration.” In this photo, the captivating moment overcomes the somewhat cluttered background and the stick from the nest that cross the left chick’s body.
Nikon Z6II with tripod-mounted Nikkor 600mm f/4G lens using FTZII adaptor at ISO 2500, f/4, 1/3200 sec. Shot at a high speed because the little “teaspoons” were bobbing and weaving their heads super fast as they coaxed the parent for a meal.
Great Egret chicks with rim light. This nest was positioned on a branch which provided good subject-to-background distance. Shooting towards the direction of the sun, the feathers are highlighted by rim light. Nikon Z9 with monopod-mounted 200-500mm f/5.6E lens at 450mm, ISO 640, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec.
4. Don’t obsess over the chicks, and don’t ignore the adults. I have seen photographers go to rookeries and spend their entire time photographing a single nest trying to get the perfect picture of the chicks. Don’t do that. Get a few photos, then move on to other nests. Most importantly, take photos of the adults. Their breeding plumage and colors are spectacular during the nesting season. Additionally, the adults provide other photo opportunities when they demonstrate mating behaviors and explore the area for food, water, and nesting material.
5. Get in close! The best way to eliminate rookery distractions is to get in close and increase your bird-to-background ratio. Focus on the eye, feathers, or anything that you think makes for a compelling photo.
Great Egret. “Head and shoulders” portrait as this egret made repeated attempts to steal nesting material from a Snowy Egret nest. Nikon Z6II with tripod-mounted Nikkor 600mm f/4G lens using FTZII adaptor at ISO 200, f/4, 1/2000 sec.
Roseate Spoonbill. Getting in close can help reduce background distractions and shadows while showing interesting details. Nikon Z9 with monopod-mounted 200-500mm f/5.6E lens at 500mm, ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/1600 sec.
6. Take birds in flight photos. Rookeries are excellent places to take BIF photos as the birds are constantly coming and going to gather nesting material or to return with food. Pay attention to flight patterns, get in the best position you can, and increase your shutter speed.
Black-crowned Night Heron. Don’t forget to point your camera skywards and takes BIF photos. This Black-crowned Night Heron retrieved some nesting material from the bank of the lake then flew back to its nest. Nikon Z6II with handheld Nikkor 500mm f/5.6PF lens using FTZII adaptor at ISO 2000, f/5.6, 1/2500 sec.
While rookeries can be challenging places to photograph birds, the excitement and buzz in the air at these places is undeniable. Use the light to your advantage, find good compositions, eliminate background distractions, get in close, find a balance between chicks and adults, look for birds away from the nest, and take BIF photos.
If you would like to learn more about photographing birds at rookeries, consider joining me on one of my workshops in either Jacksonville or Saint Augustine. You’ll learn a ton and have lots of fun.
