Every few years various species of birds come spilling out of the far north into more southerly locations in mass. Most of these birds are specialists, species who are so finely tuned to life in the boreal and arctic world but whose survival rests upon finite food resources. In the far north, where the perils of winter dictate all, when natural boom-and-bust cycles occur, the populations of species as diverse as great gray owls, boreal owls, northern hawk owls, snow owls, black-backed woodpeckers, three-toed woodpeckers, pine siskins, white-winged crossbills, evening grosbeaks, and boreal chickadees, ebb and flow with those cycles. And when a bust occurs, when that food becomes scarce, these birds will make a mass exodus from their circum-boreal haunts by the tens of thousands in what is known as an irruption.

This year, the winter of 2024/2025 has proven to be one of the biggest irruptions for both great gray owls and boreal owls in over a decade. And in Episode 25 of the PhotoWILD Podcast, Jared Lloyd and Annalise Kaylor discuss the science behind the irruption and how wildlife photographers can use this knowledge to set themselves up to photograph one of the greatest bird photography opportunities across the Northern Hemisphere.

But just because the owls are easy to find, if you know where to look, doesn’t mean creating amazing photographs is easy. Secretive forest owls such as the great gray owl are some of the best camouflaged species on Earth. And making this species stand out from environment is one of the biggest challenges wildlife photographers face when working with these birds.

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In season one of the PhotoWILD Podcast, we talked about how we prefer not to use camouflage in the field, relying instead upon our body language and behavior to help keep animals calm. However, there are times in which camouflage is a necessity in wildlife photography. Whether it’s working with animals that experience hunting pressure or photographing sensitive situations such as nests and dens that require the upmost stealth and concealment for the protection of the animals, camo is a tool that should be used strategically.

Not all camouflage is created equally, however. Most of it is completely useless for wildlife photographers. The vast majority of mass marketed camouflage works only inside of one extremely specific situation. Outside of this scenario, it works against you.

In this episode we take a look at the art of concealment, how predators make a living by staying hidden from prey and how wildlife photographers can emulate the tactics of predators to get closer to wildlife.

But to understand how and when to use camouflage first requires an understanding of how our subjects experience the world. Humans are unique in how we see the world around us. Very few animals see what we see. And to assume that what looks “good” to us will offer concealment from other animals is a recipe for failure in the field.

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• For birds, wind dictates everything

• Studying wind speed and direction can have dramatic impacts on your photography if you pair that knowledge with an understanding of light and your backgrounds

• In order to move beyond creating cliche and trite images of birds in flight, we have to begin exorcizing creative compositional strategies

• Sometimes the most beautiful images come about as we are forced to overcome challenges in the field

Kicking off season 2 of the PhotoWILD Podcast, Jared and Annalise discuss spending a week immersing themselves in the world of tundra swans along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Each winter, around 100,000 tundra swans descend upon this region after migrating from their breeding grounds along the edge of the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea, creating one of the greatest wildlife spectacles of the eastern United States. The swan migration can offer wildlife photographers non-stop birds in flight opportunities with these visitors from the arctic each year.

In season 1, Jared and Annalise discussed photographing birds in flight on several different episodes from how artificial intelligence is changing the face of flight photography, to rarely considered impact that contrasting colors have on the success of birds in flight.

But mastering birds in flight requires so much more than just sophisticated autofocus systems and matching the background to the color of the bird. In fact, of all the many facets of this style of photography it is perhaps understanding the interplay of wind direction, light direction, and backgrounds that will do more for your bird in flight compositions than anything else.

Bird in Flight Episodes from Season 1

Episode 4: Pelagic Seabirds in Panama

https://www.photowildmagazine.com/episode-20

Episode 16: Artificial Intelligence and how it's revolutionizing birds in flight

https://www.photowildmagazine.com/podcast/episode-16-artificial-intelligence-and-how-it-is-revolutionizing-birds-in-flight

Articles

The Best Lenses for Birds in Flight

https://photowildmagazine.com/free-articles/the-best-lenses-for-birds-in-flight