Our Experience At Modderfontein Photographing Birds.

With birds not as easy to find in our well-known bird sanctuaries due to pollution, desperation took over, and we decided to give Modderfontein a go this past Sunday. With 12 eager bird photographers wanting to share their experiences and eagerly capture great shots, we arrived in the parking area at 6:30 as planned. We decided to pack as lightly as possible, which is nearly impossible for a bird photographer. Most of us used a trolly/camera bag on wheels as a backup plan to get our equipment to the only hide bordering the dam big enough to accommodate all of us.

Expecting walking trails, we eagerly pulled our overloaded trollies in the direction towards the hide. To cut a long story short, it’s not a walking trail but a hiking trail with uphills, downhills, rocks, and the worst nightmare with a trolly. It felt like a 5km trail of Hell in the hot sun.

When we finally arrived at the hide, we were exhausted, with sweat running down our faces, already worrying about the thought of making our way back again. The park has many rules regarding where to park your vehicle, and management needs to understand how heavy our equipment is.

To sum our experience up, it was an excursion to Hell! Water birds were few; however, many other bird species were in the grasslands and shrubs. Will we revisit Modderfontein? Most likely, however, with a different mindset. There is a vast difference between photographing water birds and birds in grasslands.

Photographing birds in grasslands and shrubs is more challenging with different rules and setups. A hide is unnecessary. Instead, we will walk with one camera body and one suitable lens, pack our refreshments, and I will remember the hot water for a coffee break in between and the birds will guide the way.

What became crystal clear to me on Sunday was the dedication of bird photographers, their passion, and the extent to which they are willing to push themselves to get just one good shot of a bird. I am honored to be part of all of you. Thank you so much for all your support during the year.