What are your most cherished photographic Bucket List birds?

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M R Opp said:
Not sure where in CA you are located, but California Thrashers are plentiful in Crystal Cove state park down south.
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That's too far south for me unless I get desperate. I'm in the Sacramento area. I'll keep it in mind though. Thanks!
 
GrandNagus50 said:
One first-half-of-May trip to Magee Marsh in Ohio or other spring migrant trap will give you a chance, at least, at all of these birds except the Golden-winged. Connecticut warbler does appear at Magee, but the time I saw a crowd on the boardwalk gawking at one it was not photographable (skulking, low, shy). But the general point remains, that the best opportunities for wood warblers usually offer themselves during spring migration when the birds come down lower in trees and are very fixated on feeding in preparation for the next flight.
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I was told that a light rain knocks the insects out of the canopy and the birds follow. IIRC my Golden-winged Warbler was at Point Pelee, across Lake Erie from Magee Marsh.
 
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You know, I don’t have a bucket list for subjects. I guess the closest thing would be a kingfisher. I do have some kingfisher pics but none that are very good. I’ve take the pics of over 100 species or so and I guess my bucket would be getting a pic I’m truly proud of as I’m a harsh critic of my own work.
 
Butlerkid said:
Ones that are doing something interesting! Something more than a portrait or bird-on-a-stick photo opportunity. I'm not a birder.....I'm just a photographer that enjoys being in the natural environment and photographing a wide range of subjects: wildlife, landscapes, architecture, etc.
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Often it's difficult enough to get the portrait, and I've seen enough of the techniques people use to get the bird to "do something" to be wary of any photo of the kind.
 
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Doug Herr said:
Often it's difficult enough to get the portrait, and I've seen enough of the techniques people use to get the bird to "do something" to be wary of any photo of the kind.
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That a pretty biased, negative and judgemental statement on images that show natural behavior. Sorta like saying all bird-on-a-stick images must have been baited. I believe there is more good than bad in this world. YMMV........................
 
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GrandNagus50 said:
I am leaving for Panama on Friday night. It's a birding tour with Eagle Eye Tours of British Columbia, so I will be mostly in "run and gun" mode using my. OM1 plus Olympus 150-400mm zoom outfit. I have no particular expectations for what birds I will see and photograph, though I admit I would love to see a Blue Cotinga and/or a Harpy Eagle. I try to maintain a philosophy of "I am happy with whatever I see (and photograph)."

But as I start to prepare I am thinking about those Bucket List birds, the ones I would love so much to get photos of. A few of the New World birds I would love to photograph someday, somewhere, are the Lovely Cotinga, the Pompadour cotinga, and the Sharpbill. I could think of others, but those popped into my head.

Do you have a few birds that for you are "dream birds," possible but difficult and elusive?

Doug Greenberg
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I keep hoping to spot a Dodo bird but haven’t had much luck so far. Any tips on where to find one would be appreciated.

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Butlerkid said:
That a pretty biased, negative and judgemental statement on images that show natural behavior. Sorta like saying all bird-on-a-stick images must have been baited. I believe there is more good than bad in this world. YMMV........................
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There are many documented cases of well-known photographers provoking wildlife action. You may call it biased negative and judgmental but it's fact.
 
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Butlerkid said:
I'm not ignoring facts. The facts are that a few bad apples don't define the rest of us. I hope they don't define you.
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I've personally observed harassment on multiple occasions, and one popular YouTuber even recommended disturbing animals to get their attention. It's often obvious on social media when someone posts an action photo. There have been enough that it's hard to say it's just a few; unless I know the photographer personally I'll not assume the best.

EDIT: this DOES NOT mean I assume the worst; it means it's an open question.
 
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For me, it is not the "birding" or bird-species, per se, it is photographing a bird... often exotic... in an interesting or novel way. I just returned from Japan and have always wanted to see and photography a red-crowned crane. However, just getting a photo is easy. In fact, I'd argue that taking the picture is the easiest part of photography. The challenge is being in the right place when the light and habitat support the production of something just a little bit special.... So, did I get my "bucket-list" shot of a red-crowned crane, well no... but I did get something close to what I had pre visualized in my mind's eye.
cheers,
bruce
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Doug Herr said:
Often it's difficult enough to get the portrait, and I've seen enough of the techniques people use to get the bird to "do something" to be wary of any photo of the kind.
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I feel like this is only true for a select few types of shots. Owl flying directly at you, kingfisher dive are two off the top of my head. Wildlife behavior is largely undisturbed by humans. How is it possible to make two animals fight, or play, or mate?
 
raptor photo said:
I feel like this is only true for a select few types of shots. Owl flying directly at you, kingfisher dive are two off the top of my head. Wildlife behavior is largely undisturbed by humans. How is it possible to make two animals fight, or play, or mate?
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Many of the 'action' photos I see posted regularly are birds fleeing harassment; an owl flying directly at the camera is often the result of baiting, then there's the classic example of John Dominis' staged photo of a leopard attacking a baboon. The public's demand for 'action' photos regardless of the techniques used to get them is all the incentive some photographers need to push the odds in their favor.

I can post photos of mating stilts, a sapsucker leaving the nest hole or a bear with a salmon in its mouth (it's been done, boring).

On several occasions I've personally seen some of these people-with-a-camera harassing wildlife. If these techniques are what is required to get 'action' photos I'll have nothing to do with it.
 
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I just got back from Panama a few weeks ago. Quick weekend stay at the Canopy Tower. Saw blue cotingas on two occasions but too far off for a quality photo - even with my 800PF in DX mode. If you want a harpy eagle you'll need to go down to the Darien area. Canopy Camp has them pretty reliably but as I understand it you need to do a 6 hour round trip hike to the nesting area. Totally worth it for that bird though.

I was only at Canopy Tower for two days but I got a lot of great shots. Hired a private guide (Carlos Bethancourt, who is legendary down there) who really focused on getting me quality photo ops rather than just the most species possible. It really paid off too. Check out my Instagram (@finsfeathersphotos) for some of the shots, which I'm still posting.

For a lot of birders visiting Panama, the other bucket list bird besides Harpy Eagle is the rufous-vented ground cuckoo. I have an ornithologist friend who has seen thousands of species but never that one.
 
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Doug Herr said:
Many of the 'action' photos I see posted regularly are birds fleeing harassment; an owl flying directly at the camera is often the result of baiting, then there's the classic example of John Dominis' staged photo of a leopard attacking a baboon. The public's demand for 'action' photos regardless of the techniques used to get them is all the incentive some photographers need to push the odds in their favor.

I can post photos of mating stilts, a sapsucker leaving the nest hole or a bear with a salmon in its mouth (it's been done, boring).

On several occasions I've personally seen some of these people-with-a-camera harassing wildlife. If these techniques are what is required to get 'action' photos I'll have nothing to do with it.
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Don't you think bird on perch portraits are also often called in?
 
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