TIP 1
Depth of field is important for the ultimate bokeh (or blurry background) but lets face it a blurry photo where nothing is in focus is generally garbage. So for bird photography I set the camera to TV mode with a shutter speed of 1/1000th or faster depending on the lens I’m using.
TIP 2
With most cameras today you can get away with a reasonably high ISO setting. I know 100 ISO is ideal for low noise but honestly in the bush taking pictures of birds requires you to be ready for almost anything. The photo in this article was taken on a bright sunny day with an ISO of 1250, yep that high.
TIP 3
I’m a fan of shooting everything at max burst rate but here again is where the real world and ideal settings depart. In the real world you often have seconds to grab the photo. Having burst mode setup for maximum shots I was able to grab this bird just before it took off.