Garden warbler

The Garden warbler is one of our more difficult birds to photograph. Like Nightingales they can be done singing by simply standing around in a territory with a large lens. They will sing very close to you, but so hidden away in the leaves that they are invisible. Nightingales are much easier, as they do show themselves from time to time, but Garden warblers like the thickest cover. I have succeeded in the past, but not often.

While putting the time into trying I have come across a nest more than once and did so this year in a large isolated Bramble bush. They are not much easier by the nest either. They come in low and slip though the Bramble unobserved from the back. The only possibility was to sit on a stool in the open and hope that one would hop up on a branch in curiosity to see what I was doing. If I had sat in a hide they would never show. I had to get their interest and whenever they approached would move a little or start talking to them.

From time to time they would show briefly, but it was best to do short sessions. They were more inclined to show when I first arrived and lost interest in me after while.

Garden warbler, Sylvia borin, Single bird on perch, Warwickshire, May 2015. Canon 7D mk2. 800 f5.6 lens. 1/800th at F8. 400 iso

Garden warbler, Sylvia borin, Single bird on perch, Warwickshire, May 2015. Canon 7d Mk2. 800 f5.6 lens. 1/800th at f8. 400 iso

Cyprus warbler

I spent a week on Cyprus in April. I have been there before only in the winter and had high hopes April would be fantastic with birds on every bush and rock. It was not as good as I expected with birds in short supply at times, but I enjoyed it and did a lot more in one week than I might do in a year in the U.K.

One of my favourite images is of a Cyprus warbler, which was taken using a bag hide. I saw the bird land on the branch three times and set up to wait. The advantage of a bag hide is it is very light in your suitcase at 600 grams. The disadvantage is you have to sit very still inside it so it is less comfy than a stand alone hide.

On the first session I used the Canon 1DX, but the bird did not like the sound of the shutter so I used the Canon 7d Mk2 after that, which is so much quieter.

Cyprus warbler, Sylvia melanothorax, single male on perch, Cyprus, April 2015. Canon 7d MK2. 800mm lens. 400 iso. 1/640th at F11

Warblers

I always say April is the best month for photographing warblers. When they first arrive on territory they show themselves more and there are less leaves on the trees to hide behind. This year the trees are very slow to green over, especially the oaks.

The easy two are Chiffchaff and Willow warbler, except the Willow warbler is getting harder to find as they become less common.

Blackcap and Garden warbler are more difficult as they do like the shade and dense vegetation and again the Garden warbler is getting scarce.

Wood warbler are on about the same level of difficulty as Chiffchaff, except there are only a few places you can go to find them. I did better with Wood warbler last year at the same place.

Here are this years April efforts.

Blackcap

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

Wood warbler