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Photographing from Bird Hides
What is a 'Hide'?According to Wikipedia a bird-hide is a shelter, most often made of wood, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters.Although hides were once built chiefly as a hunting aids, they are now commonly found in parks for the use of bird watchers and other observers who do not want to disturb wildlife as it is being observed. A typical bird-hide resembles a garden shed, with small openings, shutters, or windows built into at least one side to enable observation.
Photographing from these wooden structuresPhotographing from bird hides can be challenging but very rewarding so we will discuss which ones are our favorites and why.We’ll also look at the best times of day to visit them. The only accessory you will need for your camera and lens in the various structures will be a bean-bag and one of the most versatile beanbags is the Apex...
Pilanesberg:• Rathlogo faces west so mornings are best but afternoons can produce nice back-lit pictures. • Mankwe – faces east but both mornings and afternoons are good as the structure is a ‘C’ shape and you can shoot both east and west. Mornings can also provide great silhouettes and sun reflections.
• Ruighoek – faces south-east so afternoons are best. We have been here often but have not had good sightings. The remaining two structures (Makorwane and Batlhako) in the Pilanesberg both face north so the lighting on sunny days is not good unless you are there at sunrise and sunset. Later in the day you'll be shooting into the sun. To us Pilanesberg is all about these small wooden structures and we have taken our best photographs from Rathlogo and Mankwe. Most of these structures have burnt down due either to lightning and veld fires or some officials / FOPS (Friends of Pilanesberg) starting fire breaks near the structure and then not monitoring them...
Kgalagadi:• Nossob – faces east so afternoons are best. The waterhole is floodlit so night-time action is a possibility.
The waterhole has been moved about fifty meters to the south so it now lies in front of the eight new river-facing chalets but can still be seen from the structure. The old waterhole may still be operational but it had no water in it when we visited in March 2010.
Kruger Park:There are eleven hides located throughout the park, excluding the ones within camps - all five bushveld camps have these wooden structure as do Punda Maria, Tamboti, Letaba, Skukuza, and Shingwedzi camps. Some of these hides are private such as the one at the Fish eagle guest house in Letaba camp. Only the residents staying in the guest cottage are entitled to use it.• Lake Panic – faces east so afternoons are the best time to visit. Lake Panic has given us some very nice pictures so we rate it the number-1 hide in the Kruger Park. It has never disappointed us as it always has some sort of activity be it hippos, crocodiles, birds or elephants. Lake Panic can get busy as it is very near Skukuza camp and sometimes we have not been able to get a seat so try and get there after an early lunch!
EtoshaEtosha do not have 'hides' - they have only small covered viewing platforms at each of the three camp waterholes.
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