The second and third days of my birding tour were spent partly in the wild and partly at bird sanctuaries. I have discovered that my kind of birding is the latter where I can sit comfortably and wait for the birds to come to me. At least for part of the time…
Taking photos of birds at feeders feels a bit like cheating, and I find myself conflicted over the matter of feeders. On my Costa Rica photography tour, our naturalist was clear that bird feeders are generally not desirable as they lure birds away from their natural food sources. Yet my current tour guide and instructor, both passionate about birds, do not share that concern. One told me that science has shown that only 18% of a bird’s diet typically comes from feeders.
Whatever, says this non-birder but passionate photographer. I’m going to show you both wild and feeder photos, and it’s up to you to decide where you stand on the issue.
Land birds – to view a larger version or the entire photo, click on the photo
Water birds
I loved to watch the birds eat. Hummingbirds of course dip their beaks (so to speak) in the syrup of a feeder. Others peck a bit and fly off, or stay at the feeder munching away. Others have odd eating postures. I particularly liked watching the yellow-rumped warblers eat.
I was not able to shoot many birds because of the limitations of my equipment, but I thoroughly enjoyed catching glimpses of the 110 different species we saw today, 33 of which we did not see on day 1. Two more days to go – I’m looking forward to what is still to come.
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