Trying to capture birds in flight take an extra effort and not many keepers. Smaller the bird the harder it is. When I try to get their pictures perched, they never seem to stay in a spot long enough and when in flight they never seem to take a predictable route. With the Mountain Bluebirds, I had five birds to work with as they were picking off insects between perching in an open field. I was trying to take their picture just as they flew from their perch. If they did not catch any insects, they would perch for a few seconds, before they were off again. I would be clicking as soon as I though they were about to fly. But before that, I would compose the picture and I would hope they would go in the direction they were looking at. I never use a tripod or any support for the camera, I need to be able to move quickly in any direction. As well, look toward the bluebird that was near me. After about two hours with the camera near my face, so I can react quickly, the shoulders were hurting. But when I looked at the few keepers, it was a great way to get a shoulder workout.
