Shooting birds in low light – Swainson’s Thrush

Photographing birds in the shadowlands of the forest has its challenges.  They are numerous because of the vegetative behemoths which dwell there.  Even on a cloud-free sunny day, light has a hard time penetrating the canopy.  White balance tends to be on the cool side.  Then there is the distance problem.

The forest is, in a way, like a high rise apartment building.  Its tenants have preferences for which floor they reside on.  This is especially true for birds, which are not limited to the forest floor, as are many of the building’s inhabitants.  Grouse and towhees are ground dwellers.  They forage on or near the bottom.  Chickadees and woodpeckers require cavities in trees to nest and are typically found mid-level.  Some, like the Swainson’s thrush and Nashville warbler, prefer the upper reaches.

During spring and summer, the Swainson’s thrush can be heard plying its distinctive song throughout its range.  It makes an escalating series of warbling notes, each bar of its melody increasing in pitch while decreasing in volume.  It is quite somber and pleasant at the same time.  You will notice that it always comes from the top of the forest hotel.  The mysterious songster is plainly heard, but not seen.

I have photographed a great many birds over the years, but have never obtained a Swainson’s thrush picture.  Early on a summer’s day, a hike through a woodland will be accompanied by this denizen’s song.  Yet the musician is rarely seen.  Yesterday I was hiking at a park along the shores of Cultus Lake, an area about two hours east of Vancouver.  A thrush-like bird had perched on a branch close to the path I was on.  It was time to bring my camera to bear.  Could this be the elusive bird I have heard so often but never photographed?

The light was abhorrent.  Even at an ISO of 400, I was only getting a shutter speed of 1/20^th of a second.  I had brought my Panasonic FZ2500 along, a bridge camera with a one-inch sensor which allows me to zoom to a relative focal length of 460 mm.  If I had a full frame camera with me I would have chosen a much higher ISO, but the noise generated by the smaller sensor camera at those values becomes quickly untenable.  The camera’s vibration mitigation system was very good though, and I had nothing to lose by trying.

I shot six or seven images.  Even at 1/20^th of a second, the bird was underexposed because of the backlighting.  However, I was shooting in RAW format and I knew there would be some latitude there.  I could also post correct the white balance easily.  The bird cooperated and hardly moved, apparently as interested in me as I was in it.  Our symbiotic fascination served me well.

When I got back to my computer I processed the photos.  I knew I would not have any great images, but as a birder, I love getting a shot good enough to facilitate identification.  And I did, the elusive Swainson’s thrush was my subject.  Most of the images suffered from camera motion blur, but there was one that was quite useable.  Again, it was not something I would print and frame, but I had finally got a shot of this amazing singer.  It was the achievement of a lifetime.