How to record video to document bird behavior

Stabilize, frame, and choose the moment

Stability comes first. The Macaulay Library recommends a tripod to avoid shake and suggests turning off image stabilization if the tripod is on solid ground, because it can introduce unwanted motion (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1). If you don't have a tripod, rest the camera or phone on a rock, tree trunk, or other stable object (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1). Audubon agrees: for video, a tripod or ground pod is first and most important for following a subject (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s5).

Before recording, decide whether you will follow the bird with a pan or hold the camera still and let the bird leave the frame; deciding ahead of time avoids jerky, indecisive movements (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1). Try to keep the entire bird in frame when possible and leave looking space in the direction it faces or moves (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1). As our own practical suggestion, for the Puerto Rican Tody, which often perches on low branches and sallies to leaves (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s7), a slightly wider framing that includes the branch and nearby foliage may capture foraging behavior better than an extreme close-up.

Record longer than feels necessary

Behavior is video's great strength. The Macaulay Library advises staying with the bird longer than feels necessary and aiming for 20–30 seconds or more per clip to capture potential interactions, movements, or vocalizations; a longer video can always be trimmed, but a too-short one cannot be saved (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1). Audubon suggests documenting a behavior or series of behaviors and ending by allowing the subject to naturally leave the frame (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s5).

Think about which specific behaviors you want to document. The Puerto Rican Woodpecker is sociable: although territorial during the breeding season, pairs often join with other individuals to form larger groups during the nonbreeding season and may join in bouts of calling (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s6). As our own recommendation, a clip showing two or more woodpeckers calling or moving together may be more valuable than a static portrait. For the Puerto Rican Tody, a clip showing the moment it captures an insect or spider from the underside of a leaf, or captures a small Anolis lizard, documents a specific foraging behavior (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s7).

Audio is data too

The Macaulay Library describes good audio as crucial to understanding behavior and recommends considering an external microphone, avoiding talking or moving while filming, and being conscious of autofocus or stabilization noise (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1). Audio is valuable data and should not be replaced with music or unnatural sound (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1).

For Puerto Rico's birds, audio can be as important as the image. The Puerto Rican Woodpecker joins in bouts of group calling (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s6). If you record a woodpecker drumming, the drumming sound is a mechanical sound that can be tagged as such in the Macaulay Library (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s2). Do not replace field audio with music: that removes scientific information.

Metadata: what turns a clip into evidence

Every Macaulay Library video is a scientific record. Make sure your camera clock is correct (date and time) and create an eBird checklist as soon as you begin birding, to log the precise date and location tied to your uploads (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1). At upload, add any other species that appear, relevant sound types, whether playback was used, age and sex of the target species if known, relevant behaviors and tags, equipment used, and additional notes about the context of the video (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1).

Behavior tags apply only to the focal species and only to behaviors occurring during that specific piece of media, not to behaviors the bird exhibited outside the clip (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s2). Defined tags include: foraging or eating; vocalizing (photos and videos only, for a bird visibly calling or singing); carrying food (often an indication of breeding); courtship, display, or copulation; flying; feeding young; nest building; and preening, scratching, or bathing (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s2). You can also tag sound types, such as song, call, mechanical sound, or duet (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s2). If you used playback before or during recording, tag "Used"; if not, "Not Used." Playback includes vocal imitations. If you used pishing or other non-conspecific stimuli, tag "Not Used" but note it in comments (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s2).

Ethics: the bird comes first

Audubon puts it clearly: respect for birds and their environment must come first, and in any conflict of interest the well-being of birds and their habitats comes before the videographer's ambitions (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s4). Use a telephoto lens and maintain enough distance to allow the bird to behave naturally; if your approach causes a bird to flush or change its behavior, you are too close (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s4). Never advance on birds with the intention of making them fly (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s4).

For the Puerto Rican Woodpecker and the Puerto Rican Tody, this means observing from a distance that does not interrupt foraging or activities at the nest. The Puerto Rican Tody excavates its nest burrow in dirt banks and typically breeds from February to July (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s7); approaching an active bank too closely can cause stress. Audubon says not to use drones to record birds, especially at nests (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s4). If a bird freezes or hunches into a protective stance, back away (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s4).

How long should a behavior video be?

The Macaulay Library recommends aiming for at least 30 seconds per clip, longer when possible; to capture interactions, movements, or vocalizations, it suggests 20–30 seconds or more. A longer video can be trimmed later, but a too-short one cannot be saved (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1).

Can I upload video recorded with my phone?

Yes, you can upload video directly from your phone via the web browser, but consider trimming it first. The Macaulay Library discourages most phone video unless it is exceptionally close or well-shot digiscoping (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1).

What metadata should I add when uploading a video?

Whenever possible: any other species that appear, relevant sound types, whether playback was used, age and sex of the target species if known, relevant behaviors and tags, equipment used, and additional notes about the context of the video (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s1).

How do I tag a video of a woodpecker drumming?

Drumming is a mechanical sound, meaning an audible non-vocal sound. You can tag it as "Mechanical sound" in the Macaulay Library. If the bird is also actively foraging, you can add the "Foraging or eating" tag (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s2).

Can I use playback to attract the bird and record it?

Audubon recommends not using playback of bird calls (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s4). If you used it before or during recording, you must tag it as "Used" in the Macaulay Library metadata (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s2). Keep in mind that, according to Audubon, when a bird leaves the nest to respond to a perceived challenger or predator, eggs or chicks are left open to predation and weather conditions (c300-fieldcraft-video-behavior-s4).