Foto at top (and bottom of page): Gitzo tripod Wimberley head, Nikon V3 + FT1 + Nikkor 300mm f/4D TC-14E equivalent 1135mm, a high optical quality lens with home made sight, stirdy when carried in backpack, home made loupe viewer, hat, dark gloves, remote control. This old timer lens still is optically perfect and can be combined with TC-20E III producing 1620mm equivalent and good image quality. This photo illustrates that we always use hat and dark gloves, and sometimes remote control to avoid vibrations of unstabilised equipment like this lens. In this case the lens was not camouflaged since we were testing this home made sight, which really is perfect although it looks clumsy. It works far better than the well known “point in the middle of a circle” sight.

Always use at least some grade of (improvised) camouflage. Most birds particulary shy endangered species will notice any unnatural move or sound in their environment. 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 use three “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 covered to avoid light reflection (also black shines!) of (elements) of equipment. 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 birds like Kingfisher, Bee-eater, Shrikes, Herons, Woodpeckers away! Believe it or not. Use gloves!

• “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 those holes cut in them like they are selling in some shops. You or your equipment always get “hooked” when you cross bush or high grass! So don’t use them.

• “Total camouflage”: hide, car, house, tent, camouflage towel, whatever covers you and your equipment (almost) completely. When you are photographing from a car or hide (kijkhut, schuilplaats), 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 right anyway!

Some examples of (improvised) camouflage:

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