Songbirds of Southern NJ: Photography Workshop

Join Matt for a morning of songbird photography in Southern New Jersey. During this workshop, we’ll focus on capturing stunning images of birds such as new world warblers, sparrows, finches, and more during migration. Our goal is quality over quantity.

Workshop Includes: 4-hours in the field instruction

This workshop runs rain or shine (unless it’s an absolute deluge).

What we may see:

Pine Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Northern Parula
Louisiana Waterthrush
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Worm-eating Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler

What you’ll need:

Interchangeable lens DSLR or Mirrorless Camera with a 300mm lens or longer
Plenty of memory cards + batteries
Rain gear (for you and your gear)
Long pants and insect repellent (Deet or Permethrin for Ticks)

- Close encounters with migrating songbirds as they sing, forage, and look for territories in the area. Though they will come in close, a longer lens is ideal as these are still small birds. We’ll need as much magnification as possible!
- Some birds may come in close, others won’t. For this reason, I cannot guarantee any particular species. I will do everything in my power to put us in the right spot for a particular species, but if the birds are not cooperative we’ll move on to another spot.
- This workshop is held in a region with multiple parks, trailheads and preserves. We’ll be driving to and from each shooting location and work with various subjects in different habitats. Attendees will follow me in their vehicle unless otherwise stated.
Below, I’ll list the species way may see on our outing. Birds that arrive later in the season will be in bold.
- Pine Warbler
- Yellow-throated Warbler
- Black and White Warbler
- Northern Parula
- Louisiana Waterthrush
- Prairie Warbler
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Worm-eating Warbler
- Prothonotary Warbler
- White-eyed Vireo
Camera Gear
- Interchangeable lens DSLR or mirrorless camera with a 400mm lens or longer (The longer the better!)
- Plenty of memory cards and batteries
- Tripod or monopod if needed. Handheld is ideal as we’ll be moving around in some cases.
- Rain sleeve
Non-camera gear
- Sturdy, waterproof hiking footwear.
- Long pants (tucked into socks for maximum insect shielding)
- Insect repellent (I treat my clothes with permethrin, but use what works best for you)
- Rain jacket