Photographing birds in a nest

Einhard

Hey,
We've had swallows nesting in our shed for the last four years. They build their nests in the rafters about a foot above our heads, and don;t seem at all bothered by us wandering in an out, or by our two idiot dogs yelping and jumping about the place. The nest has two adults now, and four chicks who seem quite big and are now perching on the edge of the nest. I imagine that if they haven't taken their first flight, they'll do so soon. Anyway, I want to take a picture of them, but I don;t want to disturb them. I'm not talking about clambering into thr nest with them or anything close, but just a picture from the ground. Would that be ok? As I said, they are entirely unfazed by all the activity that regularly goes on in that shed.

Kess73

Common sense has to come into play during the breeding season. If you think that there is the slightest chance of disturbing the birds then stay away, but if you can take a shot from distance using your camera's zoom capability then the bird's will have no idea and you will have something to look at and cherish.


There is legislation in place regarding going near animals during the breeding season, but a picture taken from a distance that does not faze the animals is a lesser evil in my eyes.

Einhard

Thanks for that. I think I'll take a couple. I can stand a few metres away from them, and zoom in. We get much closer just passing in and out of the shed during the day and they haven't objected yet!