Is something holding you back from achieving your potential with your bird photography?
It might be that you have bought into one of these common myths.
Read on to see if any of these apply to you, and if so, I think I can help you dispel it!

Myth #1
You need to travel to exotic locations to make great photos.

I'll be the first to admit I love traveling to exotic locations to photograph birds when I have the opportunity. But is that necessary to make great bird photos? Not at all. Wherever you live in the world, there are birds nearby. Urban parks, nature reserves and even your own backyard can provide excellent opportunities for bird photography. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Here is a photo I made right in my backyard of a very common bird, the Black-capped Chickadee. By using backlighting and capturing a mid-flight moment of this speeding little bird, I made a unique image. 

Myth #2
You must master manual exposure control to photograph birds successfully.

Are you daunted by all the buttons and menus on your camera? Do you feel like you must understand all the possible settings, including "full manual" mode to be able to make great pictures? I think mastering manual exposure is a good goal, and it will help your photography in the end, but only a small proportion of situations in bird photography need this approach.

You can succeed most of the time with what I call my "Ready for Action" settings. Use 'Shutter Priority' mode, set the shutter speed to 1/1000 sec, set the ISO on 800, put autofocus on the 'Continuous' mode, and focus using your thumb on the back button.

I use these settings or similar ones whenever I head into the field not knowing what I'm going to find, and I have countless successful images taken at these settings. Below is just one example. 

Myth #3
The latest autofocus lenses are essential to capture flying bird images.

Autofocus is a very useful tool for bird photography. It is very helpful for capturing birds in flight, and it just keeps getting better with newer cameras having features like eye-tracking. However, the reason it is a "myth" that autofocus is essential is that there are a great many situations in bird photography where you don't need autofocus.

For example, takeoffs and landings. To capture these peak moments of action, is much better to pre-focus and fire when the bird takes off or comes into the frame. As the bird moves suddenly across the frame, it's very unlikely that your autofocus will track successfully.

Here is an example of a shot in which I pre-focused on the branch, and then waited for the kestrel to return.

Myth #4
Tripods are obsolete because you can use shoot at a high ISO.

Recently, I have heard many people talking about how they don't carry a tripod anymore because using high ISO settings on the newer cameras allow them to shoot hand-held all the time. It is true that newer cameras that shoot quality images at higher ISO's allow us to get higher shutter speeds in lower light and make hand-held shots more feasible. Image stabilized lenses also help if your subject isn't moving.  But does this mean camera supports are obsolete? Not at all!

There are many ways that I use tripods and monopods to improve my success in bird photography. Most important, I would say, is being ready for the shot. There are many bird photography situations where you are waiting for the bird to do something - waiting for a perched bird to take off for example or waiting for a bird to land at its nest delivering food. In these situations, your chances of success are much higher if you are using a tripod to hold your camera in place with the shot framed perfectly. You can avoid fatigue, frame carefully, and not miss the shot.

There are many other great reasons to use a tripod or monopod, like reducing the chance of scaring birds with sudden movements, and many others. Check out my Gitzo blog post on " Five Reasons I Use Tripods for Bird Photography " to learn more!

I hope that debunking some of these common myths helps you get out and have more fun and success with your bird photography.