Posted by Ryan Askren on February 27, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Hey,
Curious if any one has ever recently or ever been to the St. Louis zoo to photograph any of the birds? I am going to bee heading down and I was wondering how low of an angle you can get in the flight cage? I'm assuming I will have to shoot through a fence? What kinds of waterfowl did you find there? Any information, or pictures, on the zoo is welcome! Thank you.
Posted by Doyle Cozadd on February 28, 2008 at 1:31 AM
I took this photo of a couple of young bufflehead ducks there about a month ago. A list of birds there and other info can be found at [url]http://www.stlzoo.org/yourvisit/thingstoseeanddo/historichill/1904flightcage.htm{/url]. Have fun!!!
Doyle
Posted by John Watson on February 28, 2008 at 8:48 AM
Hi Ryan:
You go inside the flight cage with the birds (no wires). You can get as low a shot as you want. I have laid on the walk way (when it's not busy. The birds in the flight cage are ones that are native to the area or use to be native. The waterfowl in the ponds outside of the cage are mostly not native to North America. No cage, but you have to shot from a higher position. There are signs naming the ducks and showing photos. I suggest photographing the signs so you can figure out later what you have. There is also a bird house, were the birds are behind wire. Photo's there are not as easy, but you can get your camera close to the wire and if the bird is far enough towards the back, the wires not are as noticeable. There is also a bird garden between the bird house and the flight cage which is worth visiting. There is a small bird cage there that you can go inside of that has some perching birds. http://www.stlzoo.org/yourvisit/thingstoseeanddo/historichill/birdhousegarden.htm
Good Luck
John
Posted by Ryan Askren on February 28, 2008 at 3:24 PM
Thank you John. You gave me what I was looking for.
Posted by Ryan Askren on February 28, 2008 at 3:27 PM
Do you know any of the non-native waterfowl species in the bird hous and garden John? They obviously do not have all of their waterfowl species listed. Thanks.
Posted by John Watson on February 29, 2008 at 9:38 AM
Not off hand, but if you go to the bottom of the page I listed above and click on the various bird groups listed, you will get a page listing each bird in the group that the zoo has. It doesn't show you were the birds are, but there are signs at each exhibit identifying the birds.
John
Posted by John Watson on February 29, 2008 at 10:44 AM
P.S.
The best times to go to the zoo for photography are [Tues and Sat]. They open at 0700 for "wild side walkers" and that is when many of the photographers get there. If you get there early you can ofen park on the street across from the North entrence or along art hill, also just north of the north entrence for free. The parking lot is $10. parking. Since the zoo itself is free, you can't beat free parking.
Posted by John Watson on February 29, 2008 at 1:36 PM
P.S.
The best times to go to the zoo for photography are [Tues and Sat]. They open at 0700 for "wild side walkers" and that is when many of the photographers get there. If you get there early you can ofen park on the street across from the North entrence or along art hill, also just north of the north entrence for free. The parking lot is $10. parking. Since the zoo itself is free, you can't beat free parking.
Discussion
7 repliesCurious if any one has ever recently or ever been to the St. Louis zoo to photograph any of the birds? I am going to bee heading down and I was wondering how low of an angle you can get in the flight cage? I'm assuming I will have to shoot through a fence? What kinds of waterfowl did you find there? Any information, or pictures, on the zoo is welcome! Thank you.
Doyle
You go inside the flight cage with the birds (no wires). You can get as low a shot as you want. I have laid on the walk way (when it's not busy. The birds in the flight cage are ones that are native to the area or use to be native. The waterfowl in the ponds outside of the cage are mostly not native to North America. No cage, but you have to shot from a higher position. There are signs naming the ducks and showing photos. I suggest photographing the signs so you can figure out later what you have. There is also a bird house, were the birds are behind wire. Photo's there are not as easy, but you can get your camera close to the wire and if the bird is far enough towards the back, the wires not are as noticeable. There is also a bird garden between the bird house and the flight cage which is worth visiting. There is a small bird cage there that you can go inside of that has some perching birds. http://www.stlzoo.org/yourvisit/thingstoseeanddo/historichill/birdhousegarden.htm
Good Luck
John
John
The best times to go to the zoo for photography are [Tues and Sat]. They open at 0700 for "wild side walkers" and that is when many of the photographers get there. If you get there early you can ofen park on the street across from the North entrence or along art hill, also just north of the north entrence for free. The parking lot is $10. parking. Since the zoo itself is free, you can't beat free parking.
The best times to go to the zoo for photography are [Tues and Sat]. They open at 0700 for "wild side walkers" and that is when many of the photographers get there. If you get there early you can ofen park on the street across from the North entrence or along art hill, also just north of the north entrence for free. The parking lot is $10. parking. Since the zoo itself is free, you can't beat free parking.