Page 4 - Backyard Bird Photography: How to Attract Birds to Your Home and Create Beautiful Photographs

Mourning Dove

Bushtit at birdbath

Hosking’s story gives me inspiration every time I go out to photograph birds. I figure, if
Hosking could do it, so could I, and so this pursuit has become a lifelong occupation for
me.

In his book Bird Photography as a Hobby, which has a chapter entitled “Bird
Photography at Home,” Hosking states so eloquently what I feel as well about this subject:

There can be few activities which surpass bird photography as an occupation for the

leisure hours of anyone who is young in heart. Here we have an absorbing hobby
which will appeal to the photographer and to the scientist, but will no less offer an
opportunity for artistic expression to all those who love to see, and be with, Nature.

This, in the end, is what it’s all about—the natural world, and preserving the open
spaces and the various forms of wildlife that use these areas. If our backyards can become
oases for the birds across the country, then the environment can be enhanced and we can
benefit from the personalities of these creatures as we cohabit these spaces. And if we apply

our creativity and produce some great bird photographs along the way, so much the better.