Driftwoods & Perches...

anyone have a good source of where one can find some interesting woods, driftwoods and whatnot to use for perches to get some backyard shots?

i have a lot of trees but they are far too boring and plain...

thanks in advance...

If you have any aquarium supply stores in your area try that. Only drawback is they are pricey.

I find all my driftwood and perches out in the field when taking pictures of birds. I was at Petco/Petsmart the other day and happened to see driftwood for sale but like Larry said they can be pricey.

The beach near my house, we just had a big storm and its hard to actually see the beach.

I just walk thru the woods and look for decaying wood on the forest floor. Driftwood itself would often be far too light in color, creating blown out highlights if you expose the bird properly.

Often, you will be able to find wood that is attractively covered with moss, which adds a nice touch of green to the composition. Or you could use twigs that are covered with lichen.

If you do use driftwood, consider staining it with wood stain to tone it down . . . or, if you are out of time and have no wood stain on hand, dumping the content's of one's coffee mug onto the wood will suffice in a pinch!

wow... just finished reading your reply about blinds... so double thanks Tom for your insight.

i'll take another look in the woods before spring and all the vegetation comes alive...

Several years ago I went to the local woods and found a dead tree branch-abt. 1 1/2" diameter at the butt and abt. 6 ft. long. Using tiewire, secured it horizontally to the trunk behind my feeders. It is well used. It helps that behind this are some white pines for BG. If you search my posts back last summer/fall, you'll see it frequently.

kinghong1970 wrote in post #15632547
anyone have a good source of where one can find some interesting woods, driftwoods and whatnot to use for perches to get some backyard shots?

A forest, a river, an ocean beach. I am amazed that this question gets asked so often. Seriously, it is a peice of wood. I don't know if people are looking for a store that sells bird perches or hoping someone ships them their perch?

Haven't found a branch you like in your woods? There are over a billion trees the U.S. Go look some more.

Thank you for the replies everyone...
though i have many trees around here... none of them are quite as nice as what i've seen in some of the pictures posted by fellow birders.

i guess i'll have to be a bit more patient and look around some more.

BirdBoy wrote in post #15642138
A forest, a river, an ocean beach. I am amazed that this question gets asked so often. Seriously, it is a peice of wood. I don't know if people are looking for a store that sells bird perches or hoping someone ships them their perch?

Haven't found a branch you like in your woods? There are over a billion trees the U.S. Go look some more.

firstly, you have some very nice pics in your flickr...
perhaps with much help from fellow birders in PoTN, i too can improve my birding skills...

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i'm sure this question, as well as many others, will be asked again and again and again...

on behalf of all the newbies, your patience and understanding is greatly appreciated.


oh, and another question... how do you guys get the birds to come to the perches while not having a pic with a bunch of bird seeds all around?
or do you just leave the perch and wait for bird to come?

kinghong1970 wrote in post #15642511
Thank you for the replies everyone...
though i have many trees around here... none of them are quite as nice as what i've seen in some of the pictures posted by fellow birders.

Perhaps you are making it more difficult than it needs to be? Nature is not perfect, so searching for the "perfect" perch may be putting unreasonable demands on yourself. Plus, if the perches are absolutely perfect-looking in the photos, then they might look somewhat fake, or staged.

It requires a special effort to take natural perches - flaws, blemishes, and all - and make them look as good as they can be in the photos. This will probably result in a more effective image than finding a perch that is perfect to begin with. At least the images will be more realistic.

Walk thru the woods or a swamp with a small, sharp saw. When you find a fallen tree or limb, look it over to see if any part of it is particularly interesting-looking. Then simply cut that part off with the saw and take it home to use as your next perch. Have at least a half dozen such perches, so that you can change them out throughout your shoot, so that your images don't all feature the same perch. Strive to create a good deal of variety and diversity in your imagery by using different perches.

kinghong1970 wrote in post #15642511
oh, and another question... how do you guys get the birds to come to the perches while not having a pic with a bunch of bird seeds all around?
or do you just leave the perch and wait for bird to come?

You put the seed on the ground, and put the perch a couple feet above it. Many times, instead of just flying right down to the seed and eating, the birds will land on the perch, take a moment to look at the seed, then hop down to the ground to feed. It is during the second or two that they alight on the perch that you have the opportunity to take a pleasing photo.

Of course, you want to make sure to take all of the factors into account when you place the perch.

You will probably want to set up a blind and shoot from within it, to keep from spooking some of the birds.

You will want to make sure that you are shooting towards the perch, from the blind, in such a way that the light will be coming from the right direction, and that it will fall evenly upon the bird.

You also want to make sure that there are no tree branches or foliage that cast shadows upon the perch area, as you don't want uneven shadows falling upon the bird.

The background is just as important as the perch, and even the bird itself. You will want to ensure that the background is free of distractions. The best way to ensure this is to have a background that is even in color and texture, throughout the entire frame.

You also want to make sure that whatever is in the background is quite a good distance behind the perch. For example, if you are set up so that the blind is 15 feet in front of the perch, then it is best if the background is at least 30 feet behind the perch. Of course, this is not always possible, but the more distance you can get between the bird and the background, the more pleasing the image will look.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #15642651
Perhaps you are making it more difficult than it needs to be? Nature is not perfect, so searching for the "perfect" perch may be putting unreasonable demands on yourself. Plus, if the perches are absolutely perfect-looking in the photos, then they might look somewhat fake, or staged. Nothing wrong with staging a songbird photo, just try to make sure it doesn't look staged. This is not as easy as it sounds!

It requires a special effort to take natural perches - flaws, blemishes, and all - and make them look as good as they can be in the photos. This will probably result in a more effective image than finding a perch that is perfect to begin with. At least the images will be more realistic.

Walk thru the woods or a swamp with a small, sharp saw. When you find a fallen tree or limb, look it over to see if any part of it is particularly interesting-looking. Then simply cut that part off with the saw and take it home to use as your next perch. Have at least a half dozen such perches, so that you can change them out throughout your shoot, so that your images don't all feature the same perch. Strive to create a good deal of variety and diversity in your imagery by using different perches.

You put the seed on the ground, and put the perch a couple feet above it. Many times, instead of just flying right down to the seed and eating, the birds will land on the perch, take a moment to look at the seed, then hop down to the ground to feed. It is during the second or two that they alight on the perch that you have the opportunity to take a pleasing photo.

Of course, you want to make sure to take all of the factors into account when you place the perch.

You will probably want to set up a blind and shoot from within it, to keep from spooking some of the birds.

You will want to make sure that you are shooting towards the perch, from the blind, in such a way that the light will be coming from the right direction, and that it will fall evenly upon the bird.

You also want to make sure that there are no tree branches or foliage that cast shadows upon the perch area, as you don't want uneven shadows falling upon the bird.

The background is just as important as the perch, and even the bird itself. You will want to ensure that the background is free of distractions. The best way to ensure this is to have a background that is even in color and texture, throughout the entire frame.

You also want to make sure that whatever is in the background is quite a good distance behind the perch. For example, if you are set up so that the blind is 15 feet in front of the perch, then it is best if the background is at least 30 feet behind the perch. Of course, this is not always possible, but the more distance you can get between the bird and the background, the more pleasing the image will look.

Double post tom haha

That impressed me Albert, the way you handled that. I would have been offended and left an equally backhanded reply. I'm not proud of being that way but it's my nature, wish I could be a bit more like you.

You ask some questions that might be obvious to anyone that has been in and around nature most of their lives, but so many have not had an opportunity to have experience like that.

That's part of what good bird photography is: knowing your camera, understanding the light, intimacy with nature, creative problem solving, and artistic vision aided by a strong imagination.

Knowing your bird is necessary, but knowing some botany (plants & trees) is important too.

Perches are where you find them, sometimes it takes awhile to come across one - I will sometimes start a set-up well before first light so that I can have a perch and set it in place before the light finally comes. I usually have some selected sticks with me in case I don't find what I'm looking for. Often, sticks and branches with lichens or moss are very popular because they are interesting and colorful - too popular in fact as they tend to be overused, who can say no to a gorgeous, mossy perch? The way you find sticks with moss and lichens is to look around water - especially perennial standing water. Trees that grow near such places are often covered in lichens as the atmosphere has the necessary moisture to support this life form.

Dead branches are easy, live ones not so much. If you want to have a perch with leaves or flowers you will have to take steps to prolong the life after the cut. If you find your perch on location you simply slip the cut end into a florist vial and re-water as necessary. If you want to keep them longer things get more complicated. I use a 5 gallon bucket with water for preserving live sticks for a few days - the lid has a 4 inch hole cut out of it, access for the perches but just enough lid to contain sloshing. On my mind is a long ice chest conversion. Keeping the sticks in water in a cool place like a basement or garage can then help them stay fresh for more than a few days.

Where to get live perches? You could plant some trees and shrubs (if you have a yard) to use just for this application. If not, make friends with a landscaping company or someone who owns one - a great source for freshly pruned sticks. Often in spring, there are wind and ice storms that break trees and branches - get some of your sticks from downed limbs or uprooted trees on the morning after.

A bird will only come sit on a perch if there is a reason to do so. Place a feeder underneath it, smear some peanut butter on it, place an insect on it, place it over a water attraction, place a speaker for callback (in the proper season in a respectful manner) nearby. At times you may be able to identify a favorite hunting area and place a perch that will be accepted or use some psychology in a grassland where your perch will be the most attractive for territorial song because it is higher than other natural perches in the area. There must always be a reason though - setting up a blind and hoping for the bird to come in to the stick for no reason will not allow opportunities for making photographs.

BirdBoy wrote in post #15642138
A forest, a river, an ocean beach. I am amazed that this question gets asked so often. Seriously, it is a peice of wood. I don't know if people are looking for a store that sells bird perches or hoping someone ships them their perch?

Haven't found a branch you like in your woods? There are over a billion trees the U.S. Go look some more.

You know birds pretty well, that I have seen, but you really need to read between the lines what was just said about your presentation...
This guy may not have a clue how to go about looking for a limb, but the need for the is definitely not needed.
What you said is absolutely true though, it just lacks in the communication of it.

If you don't come off like a nice guy, not all of the knowledge in the world will make us listen to what you do say, even if it's right.

Randy

kinghong, I take it you don't live near any forested land or river beds? Sometimes you can find opportunities in a botanical garden--not for gathering branches, but for getting shots. The great variety of plants will attract insects, and the insects attract birds that eat them. So birds will be posing naturally on trees and shrubs where they're hunting bugs.

@ Tom,

thanks again for those insight...
yes i do recall birds actually coming over and checking the area out before going for the feeder... at times, i thought it was because i had too many sparrows around taking up all the spots...

i think i've been looking at the wrong area...

i also noticed on my hummingbird feeder, i've been able to get better "attempts" at them when they land near the feeder and not at the feeder.

@ Kevin,

thank you sir, for your comment and your input.
i've learned, in my 42 so years of life that this world is filled with too much BS and i care not to contribute to it in places where i come to relax, learn and enjoy one of my favorite hobbies... i guess i try to take in the message, if any, rather than take in how the message was delivered...

i will take note and try again...

oh and OhLook, i do live near trees... matter of fact, 2 acres of em...
but i guess i've been too busy looking over the fence at what others have rather than the resources i have.

took another walk around the house and i have to admit, with a different eye... and i do think there are some opportunities that i've missed...

thanks all.

Al