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Still learning

Started Apr 2, 2022 | Photos thread
David Lal Forum Pro • Posts: 13,568
Re: Bluetit

arniebook wrote:

Incredibly fine feather detail here, and lovely colors. Wondering how you get that close.

Well, first of all, I've been looking after birds (and other animals) all my life and I am no longer young. So I (think I) understand their behaviour. I feed them all the year round: scrap (human) food goes out to the foxes and badgers. I made several wooden nest boxes for the garden and then I have bird feeders which I position close to windows in the house.

The bluetit feeder is less than 30cm from my study window. Initially I made a hide by blanking off most of the window with newspaper, just leaving holes for camera lens and flashguns.

Then I noticed that they always seemed to know I was there so I abandoned the stealth approach, took down the newspaper and instead rung a small brass bell whenever I filled the feeder. The birds (all kinds) responded in typical Pavlovian style and now tend to fly towards me if they see me by the window or in the garden.

This technique works with the foxes too:

D300; Nik 18-35mm; Vixen

I buy dog biscuits for the foxes and sometimes they come to less than a metre away.

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