Foto at top: Gitzo tripod + Wimberley head + Nikon MLC J5 (same sensor architecture as D500!) + FT1 adapter + Nikkor 300mm f/4D + TC-14E II, equivalent 1135mm, home made sight and viewer (J5 has no high resolution viewer), hat, gloves. This famous optically great and sturdy old timer lens can also be combined with top quality TC-20E III asperical converter and then produces1620mm equivalent.

F11: Full screen !!!

Levels of camouflage and behaviour in the field

Shy birds tend to fly as soon as you move hands or put your tripods legs up or down too fast. Keep tripod legs low and put them down gradually and slowly. Cover hands with dark gloves and use hat to get shadow over face particularly in case of shy birds.

If you move your hands, for example holding camera or tripod without using dark gloves you will quite often chase shy birds like Kingfishe (IJsvogel), Bee-eater (Bijeneter, Shrikes (Klauwieren), Great White Herons (Grote Zilverreigers) and all ktypes of Woodpeckers (Spechten) away! Use gloves! Most birds, particulary shy or endangered species, will notice any unnatural move or sound in their environment.

So always try to be “part”of the actual environment: behind, in front or next to a bush, tree, wall or anything that could mask your silhouette. At least also try to remain silent whatever people (like birders) next to you may be doing.

In birding and bird photography we sort of recognise tree “grades” of camouflage:

• “Standard camouflage”: body, face and hands covered as much as required, darker tinted green or brown coloured clothes and shoes/boots, cap or hat (also to shield your eyes from direct sunlight and diffuse light in cloudy wheather!) and equipment. Binoculars, camera’s, lenses, telescope, tripod painted or asmucj as possib;e covered to avoid light reflection (also black shines!) of (elements) of equipment. In case of eavy snow of course use other adapted camouflage.

• “Substantial camouflage”: Standard camouflage plus covering your equipment using towels (as used in photos below) and yourself, tripod, bike, etcetera, with substantial amount of camouflage towels as shown in the illustrations below. Never use those military “camouflage grids/nets” with holes cut in them. Your equipment always gets “hooked” when you cross bush or high grass! So don’t use them.

• “Total camouflage”: hide (kijkhut, schuilplaats), car, house, tent, camouflage towels, whatever covers you and your equipment (almost) completely. When you are photographing from a car or hide, make sure your equipment is camouflaged anyway! As soon as you stick you telelens out of a window or through the opening of the hide, bird(s) may fly off also!

Some examples of (improvised) camouflage:

Incidently the LUKA Cratos tribike is a formidable tool in our bird photography. In fact we are “driving in our triposd”. We are sittiing in our tripod” . It is a great help as long as one can bike in the terrain. We use this bike for years already and almost every day.

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