Shallow water is a perfect place for some bird photography in Spring. That's why I am always looking for places with shallow water where "waders" or other "waterbirds" can find some water and nutrition in the form of insects. These places are unfortunately a very rare here and due to human intervention and global warming and pesticides that kill the insects. I hope we can at least protect the few places that are left for the birds and several other species here. At the place where I took these pictures the birds are only temporary visitors and also depending on the water level of the danube river you can find birds there when the water level is low and the birds can find some food at the shallow river bed.
When they open the sluice gates then all these places with the shallow sandbanks and gravel bars are flooded and most of the birds are gone. So before visiting this place I often take a look at the water level they publish on their website.
greenshank in the shallow water. Picture: Florian Glechner.
| Camera used | Nikon D500 |
|---|---|
| Lens used | Sigma 150-600 mm lens |
| Filter used | none |
| Exposure Time | 1/1000 Seconds |
| Aperture used | F 6.3 |
| Focal Length | 600 mm |
| Time | 07:58 am |
| ISO | 100 |
When the water level is low, then I really love to visit this place because the birds can get so close to you if you just lie down on the gravel and wait for them to step by. If you stay calm and silent they come pretty close like in these pictures. Unfortunately we have only very few of these places here in Upper Austria. At Lake Neusiedler for example you can find wading birds all over the place. In Germany there is a place called Dümmersee that should also be a perfect spot for bird photography and bird watching.
two beautiful greenshanks in the shallow water. Picture: Florian Glechner.
| Camera used | Nikon D500 |
|---|---|
| Lens used | Sigma 150-600 mm lens |
| Filter used | none |
| Exposure Time | 1/800 Seconds |
| Aperture used | F 6.3 |
| Focal Length | 600 mm |
| Time | 07:45 am |
| ISO | 100 |
Unfortunately a lot of birding hotspots are pretty far away from me and I really need to investigate a lot to get the images that I show here. I already have found several interesting places, and they prove their worth nearly every time but still I want to find some new places to find different species and have some places as a reserve if one place is not so good at a time. Most of the places are good in spring, some are good in summer and this is probably the most difficult thing to investigate.
Two greenshanks. Picture: Florian Glechner.
| Camera used | Nikon D500 |
|---|---|
| Lens used | Sigma 150-600 mm lens |
| Filter used | none |
| Exposure Time | 1/800 Seconds |
| Aperture used | F 6.3 |
| Focal Length | 600 mm |
| Time | 07:45 am |
| ISO | 100 |
Greenshank with reflection in the water. Picture: Florian Glechner.
| Camera used | Nikon D500 |
|---|---|
| Lens used | Sigma 150-600 mm lens |
| Filter used | none |
| Exposure Time | 1/500 Seconds |
| Aperture used | F 6.3 |
| Focal Length | 600 mm |
| Time | 07:51 am |
| ISO | 100 |