Many of us are fortunate that birds nest in our yards. Some of the birds that commonly nest in our trees, shrubs, and nesting boxes are cardinals, brown thrashers, and mockingbirds. If we just happen across a nest while walking about our yards or notice adults regularly bringing food to their young, it is not hard to find a nest. When you locate one, often the first thing that often comes to mind is the desire to take pictures of the nest, eggs and young. There is nothing wrong with this however, if you are not careful your attempts to take great pictures can result in the birds abandoning it or the eggs and/or young found in the nest falling prey to predators. Here are a few tips that will help ensure that this does not happen.
Keep your visits to a minimum. If you visit nests where the adults are incubating their eggs, the nesting birds will often abandon their nests. This is especially tree early in incubation. In addition, frequent visits can alert predators that a nest is near.
When photographing nests and their contents, you should never cut leaves and branches that prevent you from taking clear photos. When you cut down the vegetation, you are making it easier for predators to find it.
Resist the urge to take pictures from as close as possible. Take your photographs as far away as possible. Then regardless of whether you are taking photos with a camera equipped with a telephoto lens, or a smart phone, you can later easily edit the photographs digitally.
In addition, when photographing adults bringing food to their young, you should always stand as far away as you possibly can. When you are too close, the parents will sometimes not visit or reduce the number of times they bring food to their hatchlings.
If you are careful, you will be able to take some memorable photos of the nest and while you witness a new generation of birds fledge—it does not get any better than that.