Birds are everywhere! They are singing, flying, eating....  and normally they don't stay very still. Photographing birds is fun and challenging. Sometimes they will stay put and you can get a nice sharp shot. Sometimes they fly away before you can capture anything. I enjoy capturing birds in flight but I also enjoy capturing details of a bird that isn't moving. You have to be prepared for even subtle movements (they rearrange and turn their heads a lot!) Because of this, you should use a fast shutter speed. If you aren't ready to move to Manual Mode just yet, you can use Shutter Priority Mode. You'll want to keep your shutter speed at about 1000 so that if and when they move you can freeze the action. You should also plan on using a telephoto lens so that you can take the photo without being noticed.

My little sample bird was still but quite far away. I used a 400 mm telephoto lens on a crop sensor camera which gave me a reach of 600 mm.  I liked it's beautiful coloring and the way the sun was hitting the feathers and the eye. Just as when photographing humans, you'll want to focus on the eye of the bird.

I really enjoy adding textures in Photoshop, which I did with this photo.

Seabirds, land birds, big birds, small birds, single birds, flocks of birds. It's bird day!

Looking forward to a gallery of feathered friends today!