Reach 11 Recreational Area - Nov 1st

 I decided to use a blind and a temporary setup this weekend. I arrived at Reach 11 about an hour and a half before sunrise and established the shooting area. I was tucked up in my blind with a cup of coffee long before the birds woke.

My shooting area took into account several components that I had been considering for about a week:

1. Location of the sun as it rose.
2. The background needed to provide a good bokeh for the images.
3. Position of feeders and a constructed perch.
4. An area that my blind could be as hidden as possible (from other people)

Ultimately, there is some fine-tuning to be made - I expected there to be some issues setting up a position in the dark, but I have some possible solutions for next time (mostly the issue was the proximity of the setup to one of the footpaths).

Here is my 'studio':

A really simple setup - using a small hummingbird feeder, plastic plate, 2 cheap tripods and a branch I found on the ground.

The theory is that birds will be attracted by the seeds, but will take advantage of the branch as a final stop as they descend to the feed, or use it if the feed station is already occupied. Meanwhile, I added a hummingbird feeder that does not interfere with the seed station, but is close enough that I do not have to move my lens significantly to capture any visitors. Again, the intention is to get images of the hummingbirds on natural perches, rather than on the plastic feeder.

From the hummingbird feeder.

Anna's Hummingbird.

From the seed station.

Gray flycatcher (confirmation of ID pending)

Yellow-rumped Warbler (juvenile)

And an adult female Yellow-rumped Warbler who did not want to pose of the provided perch.