CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — There are many ways people get started in birding and nature photographer, David Sikes joined us to talk about how his journey began with photography.
Tell us how you got started in looking at birds. Sykes says; Actually, I’ve always been fascinated by birds. As a kid, I would trap them and band them with different colored twist-ties from bread bags. Plus, Dad was a bird hunter. So, when he took me hunting, he’d identify all the birds we saw in the field. And then, of course, I spent 22 years writing the Outdoors column for the Caller-Times, which put me in the field every week, and I had to shoot all my own photos, many of which were birds. What type of equipment would someone need to get started? Sykes says There’s no rule of thumb on this, but I suggest getting the best SLR camera you can afford, so you can upgrade with more powerful lenses as you progress. I use a Canon 7D Mark II today, but the cameras the Caller-Times gave me were more expensive. And of course, you will need a pair of binoculars. 10x42 is a good size, and the brands will vary by how much you can afford. Do you have favorite places to go to take pictures, and what birds are easiest to capture on camera? Sykes says Locally, there are many dedicated places to see a wide variety of birds. They include Oso Wetland Preserve, on the city’s southside, Packery Park on the island, Paradise Pond & Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, both in Port Aransas, Blucher Park in downtown Corpus, and Hazel Bazemore Park in Calallen. Wading birds, like Egrets and Herons are probably the easiest to capture because they tend to be more stationary making it easier to focus. Is there good resources available for people to get started in birding/photography? Sykes says there are several photography and/or birding groups on Facebook that are quite useful in knowing what birds folks are seeing and where. Birds of Texas, Shutter Bugs Port Aransas, Texas Birds, Birding Texas, and Coastal Bend Birding, to name a few. If you’re new to birding, but not to photography, I suggest putting the Merlin App on your phone. It’s not 100% accurate, but if you submit a photo, even a bad photo, of a bird, it will tell you the most likely species it is. Of course, you’ll need a field guide. I recommend National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America.
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