So, yesterday I had meeting with my editor and we went page by page through the book deciding where I'd like photos. I had to fight for color for the book, but I think it's worth it. There are a lot of great books out there with great information, but if they don't have bird photos with them, the books just don't sell very well. I saw that at the bird store and don't want that to happen with this book.
Alright, here are the types photos I need for my book City Bird/Country Bird. Take a look, do you have a photo from your yard that might work for it? Keep in mind that all the birds need to be native to North America, commonly found east of the Rockies.
1. Wooden bird feeder
2. General shot of a yard with a bird feeding station (feeders need to look clean).
3. Birdbath on a deck (preferably with birds using it, but if you have a really cool birdbath, I'm interested in that too).
4. Heavily Wooded Yard
5. Mildly Wooded Yard
6. Few to No Trees Yard
7. Marsh/Wetland
8. Birds in obvious city areas--sidewalks, sides of buildings, etc.
9. Hummingbirds near people
10. Robins on lawn
11. Bird feeders mounted from a deck
12. Bird houses mounted from deck
13. House finch nest in plant basket
14. Hummingbird coming to plant basket
15. Photo of shepherd's hook pole w/feeder
16. Squirrel Baffles--hanging and pole mounted (raccoon resistant)
17. Window mounted bird feeders
18. Squirrel-proof feeders
19. Birds eating mealworms
20. Birds using egg shells
21. Birds eating berries--chokecherries, pincherries, crab apple, sumac
22. Birds bathing in birdbaths
23. Dirty bird feeders
24. Photo of a sick bird (puffed up, eyes half closed)
25. Bluebird houses (Peterson style, Gilbertson style, or Gilwood style)
26. Wren house (1 inch hole)
27. Chickadee house
28. Robin nest ledge
29. Purple martin house
30. Suet feeders
31. Wood duck houses
32. Cats
33. Woodpecker pecking on house
I need the following species either feeding on bird feeders or using bird houses or on some type of building or fence (or something that shows the birds are coexisting with humans):
1. Cardinal
2. Black-capped and Carolina chickadee
3. Orioles
4. Ruby-throated hummingbirds
5. Rose-breasted grosbeaks
6. Pileated woodpecker
7. Bluebirds
8. Goldfinches
9. House finches
10. Nuthatches
11. Squirrels (fox, red, gray, black phase and albino)
12. Raccoons
13. Blackbirds (grackles, red-wings, yellow-heads, starlings)
14. Crows
15. Blue jays
16. House sparrows
17. Canada goose
18. Hawks (Cooper's, sharp-shin, kestrel, red-tail, broad-winged, red-shouldered)
19. Rock pigeons
20. Indigo buntings
21. Scarlet tanager
22. Wild Turkey
23. Ring-necked pheasant
24. Pet birds at a bird feeder (budgies, cockatiels, lovebirds, etc.)
25. Native sparrows (white-throated, white-crowned, song, Harris, chipping, tree, etc)
26. Eastern warblers
27. Bears
28. Deer
29. Flying squirrels
If you do have a photo based on the list above please email the highest resolution possible (or for those not so techno savvy --the large picture that comes straight from the camera). My editor and publisher have final say if it gets used and these are some of the considerations to keep in mind when submitting.
This is obviously a photo of an indigo bunting, but there are wires blocking and it's slightly out of focus. This couldn't be used in the book.
This is a cool shot of an oriole and downy woodpecker eating suet at the same time on the same feeder, but the oriole is cut off and the pole is blocking the feeder. Fun for the scrapbook, but not usable for the book.
This would be an ideal shot because you can see the bird's body, it's near a house--you can see cars and a trampoline in the background. Also, it's in focus and not taken through a window screen.
If your photo gets used, you get credit in the book and a free copy of the book. Please email photos to sharon@birdchick.com and be sure to put photo submission in the subject line of the email. If you send emails with blank subject lines, they have a greater chance of ending up in the spam file. Be sure to include your name and snail mail address.