How feasible would it be to photograph the following birds?

dillotest0

dillotest0

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I recall I have posted here in the past about an old sketchbook of mine that was an abecedaria. And seeing as my bird photographic collection has progressively grown, I had an interesting idea - namely to have photographic representatives of much the entire book in my own photographic collection. I have a few of the birds already... but there are quite a few more which I have found to be absent from the collection, or unhappy with what quality they were already.
And so here is the list -

Albatross

American Pygmy Kingfisher

Anna’s Hummingbird

Arctic Skua


Bare-throated Bellbird

Barred Owl

Blackbird

Black-headed Gull

Blue-crested Parrot

Bonelli’s Eagle

Booted Eagle

Brambling


California Condor

Canary

Cardinal

Carrion Crow

Chough

Coot

Cormorant

Corncrake

Cuckoo

Cuckoo-hawk

Curlew


Dipper

Dotterel

Dunlin

Dunnock


Eastern Screech Owl

Elf Owl

Emperor Penguin


Feral Pigeon

Fieldfare

Fiery-throated Fruiteater

Frigatebird

Fulmar


Galapagos Penguin

Gannet

Golden Eagle

Great-crested Grebe

Greenfinch

Green Woodpecker

Grey Wagtail

Griffon Vulture

Guillemot


Harpy Eagle

Hawfinch

Helmeted Guineafowl

Honeyguide

Hoopoe


I’iwi

Iranian Eagle-Owl


Jay

Jabiru


Kakapo

Killdeer

King-of-Saxony’s Bird of Paradise

Kingfisher

Knot


Lanner Falcon

Lapwing

Laughing Gull

Lesser Kestrel

Little Bittern

Little Egret

Little Owl

Long-billed Curlew

Long-eared Owl

Long-tailed tit

Lutino Peach-faced Lovebird

Lyrebird


Malabar Parakeet

Magpie

Marsh Harrier

Martin

Merlin

Mistle Thrush

Montagu’s Harrier

Moorhen

Mountain Quail


Nightingale

Nightjar

Northern Goshawk

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Hawk Owl

Nuthatch


Osprey

Ovenbird

Oystercatcher


Pallid Harrier

Palm Cockatoo

Painted Bunting

Partridge [already have Arabian partridge; but a Eurasian species would be favorable in this case]

Peregrine

Peregrine Chick

Pheasant

Pintail

Pochard

Pitta

Puffin

Quetzal

Quelea


Razorbill

Red Bird-of-Paradise

Red-footed Booby

Red Grouse

Redstart

Rifleman

Ring-necked Parakeet

Roadrunner

Ruff

Ruffed Grouse


Saddle-billed Stork

Secretary Bird

Shoebill

Siskin

Skylark

Southern Ground Hornbill

[House] Sparrow

Sparrowhawk

Spix’ Macaw

Starfinch

Starling

Storm Petrel

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Swallow

Swift

Temminck’s Stint

Thrush

Tinamou

Toco Toucan

Turkey

Turnstone

Turtle Dove

Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise

Umbrellabird


Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

Violaceous Turaco

Vulturine Parrot

Vulturine Guineafowl


Woodgrouse

Whip-poor-will

Whooping Crane

Whooping Swan

Whimbrel

White-tailed Eagle

Willow Warbler

Woodcock

Xantus' Murrelet


Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellowhammer

Yellow-knobbed Curassow

Zebra Finch
So obviously quite a big list, so obviously I don't expect detailed advice on each bird; but if anyone thinks they have good advice on a given bird/s it would be appreciated.
 
First thing to do would probably be to split your list into native birds / birds you can see in the U.K. and then the others.

If you’re happy to do some wild photography there are some you can go after that way.

Blackbirds you should be able to see in a garden or local park where there is some tree cover etc. Same for starlings. And thrushes. They can also be seen in a lot of collections living wild (I’ve photographed some nice young starlings at Colchester for example). Zoos often have a great population of native birds due to good pest control and the prevelance of people with food. You could probably get all the native garden birds at zoos in the Spring. I’m always shooting native birds at the zoo (in the non lethal sense).

Pheasant (Chinese ring neck in particular) you can get in large open fields (you’ll see loads on the way to CWP or Hamerton). Partridges will be the same in particular areas (east anglia is great).

There are lapwings in some of the large enclosure at Whipsnade at the moment, they were in with the yaks this week. Moorhens live in the lake at Whipsnade and hatched young in the Cheetah enclosure pond and in with the Ostriches this year snd are very common in wild lakes and ponds. cwP’s lake also has lots of native water birds on it.

Wild birds will be more seasonal of course so that’s another good way to split them - time of year and habitat.

Then there will be the native birds that are a bit harder to see - you can usually Google for places Kingfishersare found or I’d recommend a bird hide where they are living wild and you pay a fee to go and sit and hope they turn up (they often do).

And then you can have a look at ZTL for captive exotics you can access and then you’d have the list of the differences (not wild in the U.K, not in captivity). So Zebra finches at Hamerton for example (they have loads of them in a lovely walkthrough where they are easy to shoot) and they also have roadrunners who are very photogenic, for example. And the southern hornbills at Linton are lovely and super to photograph.

Birds of prey I’d recommend a visit or photo day at one of the specialist collections like millets wildside or the Cotswold Falconry centre (or one near you) as well as zoos that have flying displays like Whipsnade or Banham. The specialist centres usually have a selection of the British birds / more common birds like peregrines and their young. British wildlife centre is also great for owls and other native birds.

I recommend a small bird book, something like RSPB pocket birds of Britain and Europe which easily fits in your camera bag and helps spotting those native species.
 
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Lots of money and travelling would probably allow you to get all of them excluding kakapo (but the latter may change in the future), ie. I'iwi you'd have to go to Hawaii, Guadalupe Murrelet you'd have to do some pelagic trip out of California, Titipounamu/Rifleman you'd have to visit NZ, the stint I'd assume you have to 'twitch' in the UK spring (they seem to be a fairly? common vagrant), some of these birds on the list also feel pretty redundant, 'American Pygmy Kingfisher & 'Kingfisher', and so on.
 
As @Lafone has pointed out, a number of the species you have listed are UK natives and have degrees of variation of how likely you are to see and get a photograph of them.

Passerines generally on your list for UK species widely use garden feeders and a visit to any local woodland, park and gardens will obtain you these. However, patience with species such as bramblings and yellowhammer and knowledge on their local haunts to you will increase your likelihood of seeing them. Getting an app like eBird, BirdGuides or BirdTrack will help locate species but as with any birdwatching, patience is needed. :D

If you want any more information, don't hesitate to give me a PM. :)
 
dillotest0 said:
I wonder if anyone on here has seen Xantus' Murrelet themself?
Click to expand...
At least one ZCer has seen Scripp's Murrelet, and I assume they're not too uncommon off Californian pelagic trips, so yes someone on here has (specifically at least Coelacanth18)
 

I spent way too long playing with this list, but I've split out the species which you would need to go to specific countries or places to see in order to photograph them:

Australia:
Lyrebird - Healesville for captive birds, but they can be readily seen in the wild in the right places.

New Guinea:
King-of-Saxony’s Bird of Paradise (I don't think there are any captive outside the island)

New Zealand:
Kakapo - but you'd probably have to time it for a public appearance by Sirocco.
Rifleman - wild

USA (mostly wild):
Anna’s Hummingbird
California Condor
Elf Owl
Whip-poor-will
Whooping Crane
Xantus' Murrelet
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Hawaii:
I’iwi - wild

South / Central America (and probably would need to find them in the wild):
American Pygmy Kingfisher
Bare-throated Bellbird
Fiery-throated Fruiteater
Jabiru
Ovenbird (assuming this means the South American one and not the North American warbler)

Galapagos Islands:
Galapagos Penguin - wild

Common wild birds in the UK which should be easy to photograph at parks or in zoo grounds:
Blackbird
Black-headed Gull
Carrion Crow
Coot
Cormorant
Dunnock
Feral Pigeon
Great-crested Grebe
Greenfinch
Green Woodpecker (I doubt easy to photograph but they are common enough)
Grey Wagtail
Jay
Magpie
Martin (I doubt easy to photograph, but you're not going to find captive ones - photographing them at a nest would be your best bet)
Mistle Thrush
Moorhen
Pintail
Pochard
[House] Sparrow
Starling
Swallow (as for Martin)
Swift (as for Martin)
Thrush
Turtle Dove

UK birds easy to photograph with a visit to the right coastal spot:
Chough (I guess? - captive is probably better. They are easy enough in the mountains in China or the HImalayas)
Fulmar
Gannet
Guillemot
Puffin
Razorbill

Other UK birds, but I don't know how common they are nowadays, nor how easy to photograph - probably for most you'd be better looking for a zoo with a good collection of native birds:
Brambling
Corncrake
Cuckoo
Dipper
Fieldfare
Hawfinch
Kingfisher
Little Egret
Little Owl
Long-eared Owl
Long-tailed tit
Marsh Harrier
Nightingale
Nightjar (you'd need to find one roosting by day to get a photograph)
Nuthatch
Osprey (shouldn't be too difficult at one of the sites where they nest)
Partridge
Pheasant
Redstart
Skylark
Yellowhammer

Waders which are in the UK - no idea if it would be possible for you to get good photos in the wild or if finding somewhere captive would be better for your camera, however given all the travelling you'd be doing for other birds there will be easier sites in other countries:
Dotterel
Dunlin
Curlew
Knot
Lapwing
Oystercatcher
Ruff
Turnstone
Whimbrel

Find a bird of prey centre or two in the UK, which should have all (or at least most of) these species:
Bonelli’s Eagle (?)
Booted Eagle (?)
Griffon Vulture
Golden Eagle
Merlin
Lanner Falcon
Northern Goshawk
Peregrine
Peregrine Chick
Sparrowhawk

These ones will be around in zoos in the UK (or at least Europe) so a look on Zootierliste will sort you out:
Cardinal
Hoopoe
Lesser Kestrel
Little Bittern
Malabar Parakeet
Montagu’s Harrier
Mountain Quail
Pallid Harrier
Palm Cockatoo
Painted Bunting
Red Bird-of-Paradise
Roadrunner
Saddle-billed Stork
Secretary Bird
Shoebill (Exmoor Zoo)
Southern Ground Hornbill
Starfinch
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Toco Toucan
Violaceous Turaco
Vulturine Parrot (assuming that means Pesquet's Parrot)
Vulturine Guineafowl
Whooping Swan
White-tailed Eagle

Common pet shop birds:
Canary
Lutino Peach-faced Lovebird
Ring-necked Parakeet
Zebra Finch

Common on farms (I assume this is the case in the UK as well?):
Helmeted Guineafowl
Turkey


Other stuff:

Albatross - your best options would probably be New Zealand for multiple species easily photographed off a pelagic trip; or Hawaii where they can be photographed on the ground; or Monterey Bay Aquarium (USA) for a captive bird.

Emperor Penguin - other than Antarctica, you'd need to go to USA, China or Japan.

Frigatebird - given that you have to go to Hawaii (for I'iwi) and the Galapagos (for the penguin), these would be your best options for Frigatebird.

Honeyguide - would need to be wild - African species would be much easier to photograph than Asian species

Pitta - lots of species, some of which are found in zoos in Europe. Some species are easy enough to find and photograph in the wild, eg Noisy Pitta in Australia.

Red-footed Booby (as for Frigatebird)

Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise - not sure about Europe but they can be found in Asian zoos.

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch - I expect they are in the private trade in Europe, but wild in southeast Asia would be your most likely option. They are pretty common and easy to find.


Blue-crested Parrot - not sure what this is supposed to be (maybe Pionus?) but whatever it is will probably be easily found in European zoos.



Other stuff not sure about:

Arctic Skua
Barred Owl
Cuckoo-hawk
Eastern Screech Owl
Harpy Eagle
Iranian Eagle-Owl
Killdeer
Laughing Gull
Long-billed Curlew
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Hawk Owl
Quetzal
Quelea
Red Grouse
Ruffed Grouse
Siskin
Spix’ Macaw - not sure off-the-top-of-my-head where these can be seen on display now
Storm Petrel
Temminck’s Stint
Tinamou
Umbrellabird
Woodgrouse
Willow Warbler
Woodcock
Yellow-knobbed Curassow
 
Chlidonias said:
Osprey (shouldn't be too difficult at one of the sites where they nest)
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The trouble with ospreys in the UK is that whilst there are some visitor centres in the UK that overlook osprey nests, the nests themselves are always provided a roomy [~300m] distance from spectators.
But I have heard some good things about Rutland’s ospreys… where most in England anywho are photographed
 
Whip-or-will is lowkey probably the hardest bird to photograph on this list, other than maybe Kakapo. They aren't kept in captivity and they are super secretive and extremely difficult to see. There are serious birders that lived within their core range and go decades or even their whole live without seeing them. Best bet is Magee Marsh in Ohio during the Biggest Week, when there are so many people looking you might get lucky.
 
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I've helped fill in the gaps with the knowledge with the species that @Chlidonias idonias is not too confident on how frequent they are:

Brambling, a winter finch so from now to March is your best time to see them. They often travel with other finches and can be found feeding in stubble fields
Corncrake, quite a rare bird now in the UK and arrive in May and leave in August/September. If you are lucky locating one, good luck seeing it as you often only hear its call than the actual bird
Cuckoo, can be quite an easy one to locate on moorlands but these birds are always distant, and much like the corncrake, you'll more than likely only hear the bird.
Dipper, rivers and streams in the North end of the country are easy for dipper. I personally have 100s of photos of them
Fieldfare, winter visitors that are found feeding on most fruits like apples, hawthorn berries etc They are often quite flighty though
Hawfinch, hard to find generally speaking but with knowledge of their local haunts they can be found.
Kingfisher, generally an easy bird to find on rivers but getting photos is another matter, particularly ones of decent enough quality.
Little Egret, Estuaries and other freshwater bodies often have good numbers of egrets and these birds can often be within range
Little Owl, knowing their haunts is key but they can sometimes be found by chance on farmland and woodland edges
Long-eared Owl, a bird that is sadly often harassed by photographers and therefore haunts are generally kept under wraps, for example a good friend of mine had their long-eared owls found and the location was publicly posted on Facebook.
Long-tailed tit, travel around in flocks through winter and will often visit feeders
Marsh Harrier, places like RSPB Burton Mere & Parkgate often have good views of these birds
Nightingale, a local bird nowadays but places like Knepp in Sussex they seem to be doing well
Nightjar, Heaths and clear felled conifer plantations often bring about good views on a summer's evening but seeing them in daylight is often very hard
Nuthatch, visit feeders and are a common woodland bird
Partridge, red legged are relatively common further south in England and can be on farmland. Grey have seen massive declines but are still prevalent on some areas of farmland
Pheasant, easy down most country lanes especially near large shooting estates
Redstart, older woodlands and in my experience, sycamore shelter belts on farmland.
Skylark, a ground nester and is very common in long, generally undisturbed (human wise) meadows or on salt marshes
Yellowhammer, a declining farmland species but seems to be clinging on in some areas where intensive agriculture isn't practised or there is little of it.
 
dillotest0 said:
The trouble with ospreys in the UK is that whilst there are some visitor centres in the UK that overlook osprey nests, the nests themselves are always provided a roomy [~300m] distance from spectators.
But I have heard some good things about Rutland’s ospreys… where most in England anywho are photographed
Click to expand...

Rutland water is indeed a pretty good place for them. I've been to Osprey hides like the one at Horn Mill trout farm and would recommend it.
 
Chlidonias said:
Other stuff not sure about:

Arctic Skua
Barred Owl
Cuckoo-hawk
Eastern Screech Owl
Harpy Eagle
Iranian Eagle-Owl
Killdeer
Laughing Gull
Long-billed Curlew
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Hawk Owl
Quetzal
Quelea
Red Grouse
Ruffed Grouse
Siskin
Spix’ Macaw - not sure off-the-top-of-my-head where these can be seen on display now
Storm Petrel
Temminck’s Stint
Tinamou
Umbrellabird
Woodgrouse
Willow Warbler
Woodcock
Yellow-knobbed Curassow
Click to expand...
With input from @Prochilodus246
Arctic Skua
A visitor to the UK. Can be found on the East Coast; but not easy to photograph.
Barred Owl
A North American species; held in a few falconries in the UK.
Cuckoo-Hawk
Genus Aviceda, native to Africa and Asia. The two known mainly as 'cuckoo-hawk' are found in Africa; on the continent and Madagascar. None in captivity to my knowledge
Eastern Screech Owl
Another American; nocturnal. None in Europe; but a few in American rescues.
Harpy Eagle
A few in captivity.... hopefully I may go to Walsrode next year to see it
Iranian Eagle-Owl
A fairly obscure sub-species... Dorling Kindersley has photographed it to my knowledge. Native to Afghanistan etc; None in Europe
Killdeer
American [stretches into the South]. Held at Monterey Bay
Laughing Gull
Berlin Tierpark has some; native to South America
Long-billed Curlew
Held at Seattle Aquarium [only one?]
Northern Mockingbird
By all accounts conspicuous; but none in Europe
Northern Hawk Owl
Actually quite abundant in UK collections. Almost 20 collections hold it. Found in both Northern North America and Eurasia
Quetzal
Golden-headed at Walsrode
Quelea
A few collections hold red-billed quelea; and I have even seen them being kept as pets
Red Grouse
Found at moorland in northern areas as well as Scotland. A sensitive bird however.
Siskin
Another UK native; populous at conifer plantations.
Spix Macaw
Pairi Daiza... I think
Storm Petrel
Found off the UK's west coast. However they are nocturnal and quick flying... so hard to photograph
Temminck's Stint
A regular [annual] visitor to Merseyside and Norfolk.
Tinamou
A few Elegant Crested tinamou are held in the UK.
Umbrellabird
The Walsrode animal is still going strong... and he may well live several more years
Woodgrouse
Also known as Capercaillie. A few scattered in collections around Europe. Found wild in the Scotland... but observation of interesting things has now been made largely illegal sadly
Willow Warbler
UK native. Easy to observe in northern UK
Woodcock
UK Native; but somewhat difficult to observe.
Yellow-knobbed curassow
My immediate local collection has one actually... it's just I haven't visited all too recently xP

I will say that neither Booted or Bonelli's eagle seem to be in the UK [anymore]... and neither of the harriers are particularly abundant
 
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dillotest0 said:
With input from @Prochilodus246
Arctic Skua
A visitor to the UK. Can be found on the East Coast; but not easy to photograph.
Barred Owl
A North American species; held in a few falconries in the UK.
Cuckoo-Hawk
Genus Aviceda, native to Africa and Asia. The two known mainly as 'cuckoo-hawk' are found in Africa; on the continent and Madagascar. None in captivity to my knowledge
Eastern Screech Owl
Another American; nocturnal. None in Europe; but a few in American rescues.
Harpy Eagle
A few in captivity.... hopefully I may go to Walsrode next year to see it
Iranian Eagle-Owl
A fairly obscure sub-species... Dorling Kindersley has photographed it to my knowledge. Native to Afghanistan etc; None in Europe
Killdeer
American [stretches into the South]. Held at Monterey Bay
Laughing Gull
Berlin Tierpark has some; native to South America
Long-billed Curlew
Held at Seattle Aquarium [only one?]
Northern Mockingbird
By all accounts conspicuous; but none in Europe
Northern Hawk Owl
Actually quite abundant in UK collections. Almost 20 collections hold it. Found in both Northern North America and Eurasia
Quetzal
Golden-headed at Walsrode
Quelea
A few collections hold red-billed quelea; and I have even seen them being kept as pets
Red Grouse
Found at moorland in northern areas as well as Scotland. A sensitive bird however.
Siskin
Another UK native; populous at conifer plantations.
Spix Macaw
Pairi Daiza... I think
Storm Petrel
Found off the UK's west coast. However they are nocturnal and quick flying... so hard to photograph
Temminck's Stint
A regular [annual] visitor to Merseyside and Norfolk.
Tinamou
A few Elegant Crested tinamou are held in the UK.
Umbrellabird
The Walsrode animal is still going strong... and he may well live several more years
Woodgrouse
Also known as Capercaillie. A few scattered in collections around Europe. Found wild in the Scotland... but observation of interesting things has now been made largely illegal sadly
Willow Warbler
UK native. Easy to observe in northern UK
Woodcock
UK Native; but somewhat difficult to observe.
Yellow-knobbed curassow
My immediate local collection has one actually... it's just I haven't visited all too recently xP

I will say that neither Booted or Bonelli's eagle seem to be in the UK [anymore]... and neither of the harriers are particularly abundant
Click to expand...
Killdeer and Northern Mockingbird are both very common over most of the US.

Ruffed Grouse is more difficult. I don't think there's any in captivity atm. They're generally uncommon in the wild, even within their core range.
 
dillotest0 said:
I recall I have posted here in the past about an old sketchbook of mine that was an abecedaria. And seeing as my bird photographic collection has progressively grown, I had an interesting idea - namely to have photographic representatives of much the entire book in my own photographic collection. I have a few of the birds already... but there are quite a few more which I have found to be absent from the collection, or unhappy with what quality they were already.
And so here is the list - . . .
So obviously quite a big list, so obviously I don't expect detailed advice on each bird; but if anyone thinks they have good advice on a given bird/s it would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
The problem with this list is that it is so arbitrary, some of the birds are named very specifically such as the 12-wired bird of paradise and Spix's macaw, while other names cover dozens of species like albatross, cormorant and swallow. I think that is bound to lead to frustration and disappointment. I think you would get more satisfaction by concentrating on a group such as waterfowl or birds from a particular region or birds in flight, but still taking any opportunity to get a good photo of any bird that you happen to see. A really nice photo of a house sparrow beats a blurred image of a distant Montagu's harrier in my book.
 
gentle lemur said:
The problem with this list is that it is so arbitrary, some of the birds are named very specifically such as the 12-wired bird of paradise and Spix's macaw, while other names cover dozens of species like albatross, cormorant and swallow. I think that is bound to lead to frustration and disappointment. I think you would get more satisfaction by concentrating on a group such as waterfowl or birds from a particular region or birds in flight, but still taking any opportunity to get a good photo of any bird that you happen to see. A really nice photo of a house sparrow beats a blurred image of a distant Montagu's harrier in my book.
Click to expand...
It's an abecedaria...
It is based off an older sketchbook-sticker book... I merely thought this a neat idea more than anything
 
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dillotest0 said:
It's an abecedaria...
It is based off an older sketchbook-sticker book... I merely thought this a neat idea more than anything
Click to expand...
I get that, but it's not neat in any conceivable sense of the word. If you took it seriously you could go mad :confused:
 
gentle lemur said:
other names cover dozens of species like albatross, cormorant and swallow
Click to expand...
For most of those single-name birds I assume they are just supposed to be the European species - eg Common Kingfisher, Barn Swallow, Common Swift, Great Cormorant, etc.
 
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