Birth, it is a miracle, a magical moment, and for birds it is the hatching of an egg. Photographing that miracle is truly a memorable moment and one I shoot for every spring. Capturing nesting birds with our cameras is a fragile business, but it can be done safely. I mean for both the birds and the photographer. Of primary importance is the welfare of the subject, and learning about the birds is the best way to be prepared.

Primary importance is the welfare of the bird family and not being a disturbance becomes the first piece of the photographic experience. When I find a nest, I will monitor it from a distance with binoculars or my long lens to learn the habits of the nesters and to determine whether there are eggs or young, I need to determine the stage of nesting cycle. The most critical time is the period leading up to hatching and if possible it is often best to set your blind up after the eggs have hatched. Once the young have hatched and are being fed by the parents there is less risk of the parents abandoning the nest and their young. So I usually wait until this time before I do much shooting.

Using a blind is critical for lowering the disturbance to the nest, and I will often set it up at a distance and watch for the adults to accept it. Once it is accepted it can be moved closer to the nest over the course of the next few days until it is in prime shooting position. I will even set the blind up at night to lower the stress factor on the nesting family. Anything will work for a blind as long as it masks your movement and hides the human form. I have used cardboard refrigerator boxes that new refrigerators come in and will cut a hole for the lens and a door in the back. I have built elaborate wooden structures on stilts for high level work, I have rented scaffolding in foreign countries, but usually I can use my home made terrestrial and floating blinds. It is important to have the blind staked into position so it doesn't move either, you wouldn't want a gust of wind to knock it over and have it land on a nest!

The terrestrial blind is stolen from John Shaw's design which he explains in his first book, The Nature Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques. He uses a slide projection stand and puts a cover over it. I built a projection stand out of PVC pipe for the frame and then my wife sewed a custom fit cover out of camouflage material. It is wonderful, has lasted over 20 years and I have spent many hours, days and even nights in that blind. It is light weight, easy to carry and I can pack it into my large suitcase when I fly to a location. One of my inventions is the camera port design. It is a slit down the front of the blind with Velcro lined on each edge and the elephant nose that surrounds my 500mm lens can be put on at any level, from ground level to stand up height and then I just Velcro shut around the elephant nose. This gives versatility with the lens level which seems to be different with each shoot. Another option would be to have multiple ports but this design I really like and it is simple.

The floating blind is a design I learned from an article in WildBird magazine many years ago, it is a fisherman's float tube with a PVC pipe overhead frame and another of my wife's handy camouflage material covers. Of course, I included my trademark lens port system and then a custom bench to rest my camera and long lens while in the water! Just remember all a blind really does is hide the human form and mask your movements so the animals don't know/care you are there. I wear chest waders when in my floating blind and my lens is about a foot above the water line which gives an amazing angle to your water bird photos.

Ok, you have found the nest and built the blind, now it is time to move into position to shoot. When positioning the blind to the final position take into account the background, angle of light and window or view into the nest. I like to use a long lens so I can stay back far enough from the nest which lessons disturbance. Animals have a flight or fight distance and each species and every individual have their own distance they will allow you to get before taking flight. Some birds like hummingbirds are very tolerant and will let you get a lot closer than say a bald eagle would. This is where the learning process and knowledge of the bird's behavior will be so important. I've actually had hummingbirds land on my fingers and seen bald eagles attack people who were ¼ mile from their nest. They were treated with stitches to the head. So study, read, talk to experts and watch or observe (that's the most fun part for us). Learning through the lens is a great way to add to your bird behavior knowledge

There are two kinds of baby birds, altricial and precocial. The altricial chick is born naked and totally dependant on its parents for food, protection, warmth and all its needs. The precocial chicks are born with a good cover of down feathers and can often walk, eat and run within minutes of hatching. They are a lot less dependent on their parents who still brood and protect however. Knowing the biology of the bird is important you will know for example, that you have lots of time to shoot altrical chicks in the nest as the parents will feed them up to three weeks or longer. The Laysan albatross young will be in the nest for over 6 months! Whereas the shorebirds and other precocial chicks will be out of the nest in a few hours and never return to it.

Some of my favorite babies to photograph are the ones who are precocial and ride on their parents back. It is such a cute shot that I am often setting up my shooting schedule to capture that shot! Loons and grebes are two groups of water birds that I have watched for many hours from inside my floating blind and have offered me incredible shots. One western grebe nest I photographed from my floating blind became so use to me I could get within arms reach. Because I was in my blind next to the nest the blind became part of their habitat and they totally ignored it, with me inside.

I happened to find the above grebe nest as they were still building it and so knew exactly when the eggs were laid and therefore knew exactly when hatching day would be. Within minutes of hatching the young get on moms back and they leave the nest, the day I needed to be in position to get the baby on back shot. Telling/photographing the entire nesting cycle or life cycle of animals is what I like to do more than just getting one nice shot of a critter. I want an entire sequence showing many great images and bringing to the eyes of others some incredible moments in birds lives. Since I have literally spent days at a time in my blinds I have captured some unique and amazing images. Sharing them with others who would never get to see it is like living in a National Geographic Special.

The more you learn about your subjects, especially the life of baby birds the more your photos will improve and the less stress you will place on them. Having been trained as a wildlife biologist, I have handled baby birds and banded them and have learned a lot about their biology which has helped me immensely in my quest for great baby bird photos. People who find a baby bird should leave it alone, it has not been abandoned. The parents are just off catching food for it.

One bald eagle nest in Alaska I photographed for two straight days, never leaving my blind. Sleeping, eating, shooting and even going to the bathroom in the small confines of the "projection stand" blind. I do not think John Shaw had that in mind when he designed it. It is more comfortable when you spend a few hours at a time in the cramped quarters. But the rare photos I got of the bald eagles raising their young were worth every moment and I did not want to disturb the birds by getting in and out every few hours. I also did not want to become a victim of a bald eagle attack as they will viciously protect their young!

Editor's Comment: Let us know what you think! Please email the Editor to let us know your thoughts.