Spot the Potoo
The Red Crossbill was nowhere to be seen. Indeed, all I had experienced was mud and more mud. I got a shot of a Robin in the dense forest but nothing much else. This was supposed to be a wildlife area known for its Red Crossbills. But there was nothing to see … and what did I expect? I had come to this part of England to visit some friends, and I thought I would see if there were any interesting possible wildlife spots nearby so I could sneak out at 4am and do a few hours of early dawn spotting with my 500mm + 1.4 TC before I caught up with the rest over a late brunch … Google said that this was a great area to spot the Crossbill and I thought it was worth dragging my kit on this family trip and have a go. I should have known better. Without any local knowledge or understanding of the area it was a pot-luck kind of outing. And no surprise, the luck went missing … totally. A single shot of the back of a Robin on a metal gate (well at least the background rendered well ;-).
Just walking into a wood and spotting the bird you want in your frame is not going to happen. You need local input, familiarise yourself with the area, the trails, and repeat the visit several times to be able to observe and understand the pattern of wildlife behaviour. I know my local wood inside out after numerous trips. Combine research, repeat visits with patience and you rapidly increase your chance of great wildlife pictures.
There is a short cut, and I use it often. Enlist local knowledge. Local guides who know where to go will vastly increase your chances of success. So, what has this got to do with a Potoo?
A Potoo is a nocturnal bird of South and Central America. It sleeps perched on top of vertical tree stumps low down in the dense tropical forests during the day, and hunts for insects and moths at night. They are incredibly well camouflaged. The picture below makes it a bit easier to spot, after a bit of cropping and de-saturation of green foliage in post processing.
How did I spot this bird? Well, I didn’t. I never would have spotted it. I didn’t even know the Potoo existed before my bird guide stopped the 4x4 on the dirt road and ushered me into the Costa Rican forest to point out the Common Potoo. It took me quite a few seconds to figure out what she was pointing at … Amazed by this strange bird, I asked her how she knew about it. She explained that all the birding guides keep each other informed about sightings and that, combined with the Potoo’s habit of re-using the same vertical stump to sleep on day after day, often season after season, makes it a reasonable bet that it would be there when she passes on that stretch of road. Local knowledge indeed …