Ten exciting birds worth photographing and an introduction to bird watching! With @mankeyfoto / “I love wildlife photography, and it is fascinating to see how animals behave. So I feel lucky to have a lot of wildlife near home. In Sweden, some of the most well-known hotspots for bird watching are Öland and Gotland, the beautiful and lush green forests are home to a rich ecosystem of wildlife, and there is a wide variety of birds to be found. When photographing birds, I like to get close-ups to capture their true essence. For that, keeping a bird journal is helpful. The goal is to learn about the birds by describing the little details of each species. So I fully engage with the bird and do not just focus on the surface level. In this regard, feeding routines are one of the most common behaviors happening every day at all times of the year. Therefore, it is one of the best ways to get started. Another common type of bird behavior is territorial behavior. If you have ever heard a bird sing, you have already observed songbird territorial behavior in action. Sometimes the best clues for understanding bird behavior are sound rather than sight. If you can both see and hear a bird, you will be much more likely to understand what it is doing. The next thing to start looking for is courtship behavior. Sometimes the main clue of courting activity is simply seeing pairs of birds spending all their time together. Nest, mating, predator, fledgling, and flocking behavior are also worth noting. And, of course, migration and seasonal movement. It is also worth paying attention to the location of the behaviors because everything in nature fits into a context. Sometimes context can completely change the meaning of the behavior. Finally, ask yourself why. Do not be satisfied with knowing what behavior is. Ask yourself why the bird is acting that way. Why is it doing this here? Why now? Why not somewhere else? These questions guide our attention towards an ecology of connections that increase the quality and quantity of knowledge we have about birds. The deeper the bond, the better you can capture the bird's true essence, its uniqueness!" 🦅