In the global pandemic, a lot of people became bird photographers. Tons of folks took to the countryside, but a lot of us also stayed in big cities. Believe it or not, big cities are great places to photograph birds. In fact, we reviewed a ton of lenses doing just that. So we’re giving readers some tips on how to photograph birds in cities based on our actual experiences.
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Table of Contents
Set Up a Local Birdbath or Bird Feeder
Start Early in the Day
Walk Around and Notice Their Habits
Tips for Better Bird Photos
Recommended Lenses and Cameras to Photograph Birds in Cities
Set Up a Local Birdbath or Bird Feeder
It might seem like common sense, right? Instead of going out and hunting for the birds, bring them to you! We’ve seen a few different things that people do to get birds to come to their windows or close by. Some folks leave bird seed on their windowsill. We’ve seen other folks leave nuts and fruit on their windows or fire escapes. I personally set up a birdbath on my balcony that I sometimes fill up.
If you don’t have any sort of space to do this, look for local parks, lakes, community gardens, etc. One cool idea is to hang a bird feeder from a line of some sort. If your home has an old-school clothes line, try hanging a feeder from there.
The reason to do these things is to find a way to get the birds to come around at different times of the day. Birds are almost always looking for food. So if you can get birds to come to your home or space and pick up some food, then you’ve got an opportunity to photograph them. Ideally, you want the birds higher up from ground level. We’ve seen folks throw rice away near trees to let sparrows eat the rice. This isn’t always safe, and can’t lead to attractive photos. The backgrounds will be way too busy. Putting berries out on plate on a fire escape or out a window sill is a much better idea.
Start Early in the Day
The first thing you should always know about how to photograph birds in cities is that they’re out and about early in the day. Sometimes you’ll see and hear them around at sunrise. At other times, you’ll see them congregating in certain trees around 9am or 10am. You’ll typically get the best light earlier in the day when people are commuting and going to work.
If you’re in a city, there are lots of different places you can look. Most wildlife and birding photography is talked about in the outdoors and countryside. But the truth is that big cities are where tons of birds go because of the free food sources available. Here in NYC, lots of folks flock (pun intended) to Central Park to photograph birds. But my personal favorite place is Forest Park in Queens, NY.
Look around for fruit and berry trees. Lots of birds like going to these trees and bushes for a snack. In parks, people might sometimes throw a bagel on the floor. If the squirrels don’t get to it, the birds will.
One of the big problems about photographing birds in cities is that you mostly find pigeons or sparrows. But it’s possible to find other birds if you understand their diet.
According to What Birds are in my Backyard, here are some of the most common birds. We’ve done a bit of research to also add in what they eat.
Blue Jay: Peanuts and sunflower seeds. Try to make sure the nuts aren’t salted.
American Robin: Fruits, berries, earthworms.
Northern Cardinal: Sunflower seeds, grains, fruits.
American Crow: Grains, nuts, seeds, berries.
Black-capped Chickadee: Insects, seeds, berries.
Mourning Dove: Sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and shelled peanuts.
American Goldfinch: Seeds
European Starling: Insects, berries, and seeds.
Song Sparrow: Insects, seeds, berries.
Downy Woodpecker: Beatle Larvae.
Red-winged Blackbird: Insects, corn, and wheat.
House Sparrow: Grains and seeds
Common Grackle: Seeds, grains, and rice.
Red-bellied Woodpecker: ...
