I tried! How do you do it?

I have been looking at this forum and admiring all the great bird shots. I have a Rebel XT with a 90-300 zoom lens from my old 35mm. I thought, I will try that. I did get this robin on the front lawn. I even went to a nearby park where I could hear lots of birds singing but they were all up in the trees. I got this one little guy who tried to hide on me.
I am posting just two of my efforts. How do you do it?

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Great start, birds are tough. They move fast, they never take cues and their people are so demanding. Personally, birding is a great way to make a leisurely walk out among nature a fun and rewarding adventure. I look and listen to everything around me and see what happens. How do I do "it"? I just keep at it and have fun doing it.

I take as many shots as I can before they quickly disappear and pick out the best one, but a good start.

Birds are hard work and big challenge. It involves lot of waiting, hiding from the bird or looking for birds that are used to humans. Sometimes you can travel to places searching for birds that are more used to humans than the place where you live in! Bird photography usually takes time to learn and living up with lot of frustration. Keep working on it, all the best

PS: Equipment definitely helps here. Longer the lens the better!

You are off to a good start, you got nice and low on the Robin and his head is nicely turned toward you. I try to avoid rear end shots, 3/4 front is my favorite. It looks like a cloudy day, so no shadows and nicely exposed. I try to shoot as wide open as possible to throw the background out of focus. On the sparrow, although he appears to be singing (good), his eye is obscured by branches and he has lots of shadows (not so good). When shooting against the sky you need to exposure compensate by 1/3 or 2/3. I am with you about birds way up in trees. My favorite spot has NO TALL TREES! Here are a few properties near Buffalo that might work for you:
....Buffalo Audubon Society Nature Preserves
The South Shore Audubon Society Preserves.
....Tifft Nature Preserve -
Less than three miles from downtown Buffalo,
Tifft Nature Preserve is a 264-acre refuge dedicated to environmental education and conservation. Its 75-acre cattail marsh abounds with wildlife. Migrating birds use the marsh and adjoining woods as a rest site. Animals like beaver and fox make their homes in its fields, thickets, streams and ponds.
Good luck and keep trying.

Ah..! I know tall trees are such a bother when photographing birds. Unforunately, where I live(India), all the exotic birds hide high up in those skycrapers in the forest..

nice start .i will spend hours in a day trying to get the shot i want often its a waiting game for the right look,branch to be out the way etc etc,THEN if i have not got the shot try the next day .
Rob.

I think you did pretty good CarolP. Just need to be persistent and patient. Check out your local parks and preserves. Some has more birds than the other. Some has the most birds in certain season but dead silence for the remaining of the year. I find it helpful after joining the local birders and audubon society.

Those are very good pictures for a starter. When I was starting out, mine weren't even close to looking anything like yours.

Thanks for all the advice and nice comments! I will keep on trying and and will take a ride soon to some of the Audubon and Nature Preserves in the area. Wish me luck!