It’s easy for us living in the urban city to overlook the natural beauty that actually surrounds us. Benefited from its geographical location and being surrounded by the ocean, Hong Kong, although small in area, has more than 530 bird species. At different seasons of the year, we can observe the varying habits of birds of different species. In spring, Hong Kong is also a stopover point for migrating birds like Grey Frog Hawk, Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Brown Shrike. This article will share some basic and useful tips on bird photography, helping beginners create high quality photos with lightweight and compact gears!

As birds are alert to movements and sounds, photographing birds (especially getting feature shots) requires lenses with long focal lengths. In general, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6LIS USM or the more advanced EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM telephoto lenses are used. However, these lenses together with the DSLR camera are heavy to carry around for shooting. In the area of bird photography, shooting agility is important, as we may need to walk around often to observe and learn about the different habits of birds to get ourselves familiar with that. For beginners, digital compact cameras with high zoom power like PowerShot SX60 HS is thus recommended for practice. Although there is a difference in image quality between PowerShot SX60 HS and DSLR camera, PowerShot SX60 HS weighing only 650g and featuring a powerful 65x optical zoom lens for a super telephoto reach of 1,365mm makes it easy to photograph even birds in the mangrove forest across the pond at Nam Sang Wai. 。

With a tele-zoom camera, we can wait and shoot from afar without disturbing the birds. To start with, we can try capture the birds at rest or those preening their feathers. Since we are shooting at telephoto range, any slight movement will lead to a blurry image. That’s why a reliable Image Stabilizer is required, like the Optical Image Stabilizer (IS) built-in in PowerShot SX60 HS. There is also a “Lock” button located on the lower left side of the lens barrel. By holding down the “Lock” button during tele-shooting, camera and hand shakes can be suppressed. Coupled with a rigid tripod, sharp and clear images are guaranteed.

Besides, when taking bird photos at tele-end, it’s easy that your subject goes out of the frame as a result of the narrower field of view. PowerShot SX60 HS offers an Enhanced Zoom Framing Assist function to aid shooting at tele-end. Simply hold down the button on the upper left side of the lens barrel, the camera will quickly zoom out to help you relocate the bird. Coupled with continuous AF shooting, you can track the focus of your subject and capture it with ease.

Apart from tele-shooting, shooting at a wide angle can capture the spectacular image of a flock of birds or outstand the beauty of birds with beautiful scenic view at the background. For example, PowerShot SX60 HS offers a 21mm ultra wide end to help create images with a wide angle of view. Alternatively, you can try the 16:9 aspect ratio to create a panoramic result.

Bird photography is all about a split second of decision. Sometimes we succeed in capturing the moment a bird dances or preys but the composition may not be perfect. When this happens, use the image editing software to crop the image to your liking.

There are many good places for bird watching and photography in Hong Kong, for example Mai Po, Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, Ng Tung Chai, Tsim Bei Tsui, Nam Sang Wai, Long Valley Wetland and Tai Mo Shan. Po Toi Island, Tung Ping Chau and Tap Mun are also good outlying island locations to photograph rarely seen birds. For easily accessible locations within the city, you can go to Hong Kong Park, Kowloon Park, Aberdeen Reservoir and Mount Davis.

• Avoid colorful garments and wear subdued-colored clothes such as green, brown and blue
• Go at different time of the day for different bird species. For example, morning for forest birds, before and after tide peak for wetland birds, midday for birds of prey, early morning or evening for birds in the city
• Protect the environment and put the welfare of the birds first during bird watching and photography