
Tropical Bird Feeding Setups by Nate Chappell
In the tropics many bird species feed on fruit, with bananas being perhaps the most widespread food. It’s often possible to get some good photos quickly by setting up a feeding station just as you would with seed for birds in North America. In Ecuador many species will feed on bananas including tanagers, thrushes, euphonias, barbets, sparrows, doves and even woodpeckers.
I’ve used this technique successfully in Thailand but most often in Ecuador, even on the roof of my mother-in-law’s house in downtown Santo Domingo. In Ecuador some of the lodges in the western lowlands have banana feeders which attract a lot of birds. The problem is that they are not setup for photography. The birds often land directly on the feeders and the feeders are located in dark areas resulting in poor, unattractive p

I always bring some flexible tubing which has clamps attached at each end when I travel. If there is an attractive perch in the area I fasten the clamp at one end to part of the tree. The clamp at the other end holds a feeding cup, this end I place in a strategic location where I want the bird to land. Bill Forbes makes a complete set of tubing with clamps on each end and a feeding cup and sells them for $55-65. You can contact him through his w

One other option is to bring a flash stand and a clamp which attaches to the stand. This way you can create a free standing perch and select your own perch from among dead branches which are lying around. In the tropics these are often laden with moss and make for great setups. Attach the clamp to the top of the flash stand and use it to hold your free standing perch. You can then just

Nate and Angie Chappell lead bird photography tours to Ecuador, Thailand and other locations and lead photo workshops in the US. You can visit their website at www.trogontours.net .
Nate Chappell
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