To Protect Her Subjects, a Photographer Chooses Patience Over Playback
Kelley Luikey wants birders and shutterbugs to recognize that playing recorded songs can stress vulnerable birds.
Photographer hasnt always focused on birds; initially, she was drawn to landscapes. But in 2013, while taking photos of Barred Owls, Prothonotary Warblers, and other species at South Carolinas , she got the bird buzz.
Beidlers virgin cypress-tupelo swampsome of whose trees have stood for more than a millenniumwas also among the first places Luikey witnessed a photographer using playback: the use of recorded sounds of a bird species or its predator to draw the bird out for a look. Its a practice photographers and birders should avoid because it can distract birds from survival tasks. Its especially harmful during nesting season, when doing so can draw birds away from their nests, causing them to waste precious energy and leave their young vulnerable to predators. In Luikeys encounter, a man placed speakers on the boardwalk and blasted a Prothonotarys song. She asked him to stop, and he complied. She believes he, like others who use the method, meant well but simply didnt know better.
To photograph furtive species like this Prothonotary Warbler without resorting to playback, Luikey suggests thinking like a naturalist. That includes finding birds by learning to recognize their vocalizations rather than broadcasting them. It also involves putting in the time: To capture this bird emerging from its nest in a cypress knee, Luikey visited Beidler many times in spring 2019, growing deeply familiar with the forest. Over the course of the season, she watched the warbler pair select the site, build their nest, and ultimately raise their young.
On the day she took this photo, Luikey sat for hours with her Canon EOS 5D Mark III on a tripod, lens trained on the nest. She used an ISO of 2500, a shutter speed of 1/250, and an aperture of f/4 to compensate for the swamps dim light. A 600mm lens allowed her to shoot from a distance without disturbing the nesting birds. She clicked the shutter at the exact moment the radiant warbler moved to exit its nest. Patience is key, she says. Youre not going to just walk up and get that.
Prothonotary Warblers are declining with the clearing of the swampy woodlands they rely on. Like many other migrants, they face enough burdens without the added pressure of photographers distracting them. Whatever your shot is, Luikey says, its not worth some impact thats negative for the bird.
This story originally ran in the Spring 2022 issue as The Art of Patience. To receive our print magazine, become a member by .