Tips for Filming a Birding Documentary
WhereNext has filmed a number of birding and wildlife documentaries in Colombia and around the world, including our feature-length birding documentary The Birders. Our team of birders and wildlife filmmakers know what it takes to successfully execute a birding documentary shoot, from what to pack to the best camera settings for filming wild birds in natural conditions.
Here are our top tips for filming a bird documentary:
Plan Your Itinerary Meticulously
When planning a birding documentary, step one is organizing your shooting itinerary. Getting this stage right will set the tone of the entire filming process, so it’s important to plan meticulously and get your itinerary right from the beginning. How many days will you need to make sure you can film your target species? What’s the weather like in your key destinations at this time of year? Are you likely to lose a day to bad weather or poor road conditions?
Similarly, you need to consider which sections of the day should be dedicated to different locations and species. For example, there’s no sense in focusing all of your efforts on bird feeding stations during the vital dawn hours – most tanagers or hummingbirds will use feeding stations throughout the day. In contrast, many forest birds will only call and forage actively at dawn and dusk. Plan to film in the forest for the first few hours of the day, and you can always record birds at feeders from mid-morning onwards.
Some bird species adapted to being fed by humans, such as antpittas, can also be very faithful to a specific time of day. Make sure to confirm with local guides the exact time you need to be ready to film birds like this. For example, there’s no point in arriving at Angel Paz’s Giant Antpitta feeding station to film this elusive species in the open three hours after the regular feeding time. At that point, your odds have reduced dramatically.
Factor in the above details when planning your filming itinerary for a birding documentary, and you'll have more flexibility when the unexpected arises.
Watch Director Gregg Bleakney Discuss the Making of “The Birders” Documentary
Pack and Dress Appropriately
Planning a perfect itinerary, hiring the best local guides, and studying up on bird behavior is all well and good, but if your videographers head off into the forest in bright-white clothing that rustles every time they move a muscle, then all of that meticulous planning goes out of the window in a second.
Many bird species are susceptible to bright colors and loud noises, and it can be almost impossible to get close to them in the field unless you act and dress appropriately. Make sure to pack clothing with earth tones like green and brown, or even camouflage gear if you are hoping to film wary species like antpittas or curassows.
For some shy species, it’s even worth packing camouflage material to create a blind. For example, during a recent bird filming trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, our team spent hours sitting in the tropical heat in camouflaged blinds to film the shy King Vulture close-up. It was uncomfortable, but that’s what it takes to get world-class footage of wild birds and animals. If you have space in your luggage, pack a small camping stool as well – it makes it much more comfortable to sit in the blind for hours on end.
WhereNext’s Head of Content Chris Bell in full camouflage during a birding documentary shoot in the Mexican jungle.
Study the Species You Hope to Film
Birds are creatures of habit. Some species won’t perch above head height, and others forage almost exclusively on the ground in leaf litter. Others like to roost in treetops and sing at dawn or dusk, while others religiously follow swarms of army ants in the jungle.
If you are filming a birding documentary and you have a specific species in mind that you want to record, then doing some research about the habits, diet, and behavior of those species will stand your team in good stead when you come to shoot. Basic knowledge of this information will make it easier to locate the species you are searching for and gain valuable seconds in the field when you encounter that bird. For example, suppose you hear an antbird and know that the species habitually perches on vertical, thin trunks 1-2 meters off the ground. In that case, your chances of quickly locating and filming the bird before it moves are far better. Learning the songs and calls of your target species will also make them significantly easier to find, especially in dense forests.
You don’t need to become an ornithological expert overnight (that’s what local guides and fixers are for – see below), but familiarizing yourself with your target species is a great way to prepare to film a birding documentary. Additionally, downloading apps like Merlin or local field guides is an excellent way to prepare in advance.
Watch “The Birders” Feature-Length Documentary
Work With the Best Local Guides and Fixers
No matter how much research you do, there’s no substitute for local knowledge, both in the pre-production stage and when it comes to locating and filming your target species. Local bird experts like WhereNext in Colombia can save you time and effort in planning itineraries and figuring out the best places to film. We have birded in each of Colombia’s 32 departments, and our team has detailed knowledge of the bird places to find key bird species, right down to exact locations within extensive forests and National Parks.
For example, our bird expert can tell you if you want to know the flowers that the endangered endemic Black Inca hummingbird feeds on in Chicaque Natural Park. That way, you can set up your equipment in the right spot and wait for the bird without wasting hours just trying to locate it.
Similarly, local birding guides are essential to the success of a birding documentary wherever you are in the world. When filming The Birders, we always worked with the best local guides. Not only does this support local economies and help to grow birding infrastructure, but it also saves time in the field: local guides know where to find target species, what time they are most likely to be seen, and even which trees currently have fruit to attract them.
Star of the ‘The Birders’ documentary Diego Calderon celebrating a great shot with our trusted expert local bird guide in La Guajira, Jose Luis Pushaina.
Give Yourself More Time Than You Think You Need
Filming birds in the wild can be an incredibly time-consuming and often frustrating endeavor. In addition, wild animals are rarely predictable and often take days and weeks to film well.
Weather conditions can also be a factor when you film a birding documentary, particularly in the tropics: cloud forests can be shining with brilliant sunlight one moment and become dark and cloudy in minutes. Rainfall can sometimes go on for days, and if the sun is too intense, bird activity can drop off dramatically.
Whenever you plan a birding documentary shoot, make sure to factor in these potential delays in your itinerary and give yourself more time than you would for a typical shoot. For example, while filming The Birders in Colombia’s Tayrona National Park, we were forced to wait for an extra day when Lance-tailed Manakins proved unexpectedly tough to film. The reward for our patience was excellent footage. Because we planned for potential delays, it didn’t impact our overall schedule.
Know Your Camera Settings
Birds are complex subjects. Sometimes, they give you seconds to get a good shot before flying to a new perch or disappearing into the undergrowth. Others like to perch in the dimly-lit understory or are only active at dawn and dusk, when filming conditions are less than ideal. Therefore, it’s vital to understand the best settings for these circumstances. Some species might not give you a second chance. The videographer has to capture quality video in those five seconds on a clear perch. Make those five seconds count.
Watch Our Team Filming an Unexpected Moment in the Field
Pro Camera Tips
WhereNext Head of Video, Julian Manrique, has extensive experience shooting birding documentaries around the world. Here are his tips for videographers filming birds:
Shoot in slow motion, at 60 fps, if possible. This method allows you to maximize the few seconds that a bird might perch.
Filming in 4k is critical when the bird is further away, which can often be the case with more wary species. When shooting in low light, pay attention to ISO. Practice in the field before your main shoot. Understand how high you can push the ISO on your camera and still shoot usable footage. Use a tripod as much as possible in low-light conditions.
It’s possible to shoot at 60fps in decent light using a handheld camera setup. However, in this case, it’s vital to control your breathing to reduce camera shake by keeping your heart rate steady. In Julian’s words: “You need to learn to breathe like a sniper.”