Shawnee Ohio Songbirds 2025
Available Dates: April 22-25, 2025
Fee: $3200 Does not include meals or lodging.
Deposit : $800 leaving the tour fee of 2600 due 90 days before the trip
Target Group Size: 4 participants
From: Portsmouth, Ohio
Southern Ohio is known for its expansive forests and bountiful wild areas. It is situated in the Appalachian foothills and in the spring, comes alive with small rushing streams, blossoming red-bud trees, and the forest echoes with songbirds arriving in fresh plumage from Central and South America. It's one of my favorite places to be. 2025 will be my 19th year doing the Shawnee trip and it's an absolute favorite. On this photo tour we strive for quality over quantity, and often only walk away with two or three truly stunning shots per day. But the rewards are sweet. The quality of these images surpasses weeks and weeks of work at migrant traps and has the advantage of showing the birds in their preferred environment and breeding ground.
During our trip, I will show you how to get that perfect shot, whether we are photographing a Prairie Warbler picking bugs out if a Redbud Tree, or a Louisiana Waterthrush singing from the top of a mossy rock in the middle of a stream, the trip focuses on giving the images that extra touch that separates the good images for the work of a master bird photographer. I know exactly which parts of the forest to shoot from and when, how to take advantage of the birds’ daily patterns and work with the light. I will provide natural props to enhance compositions if desired. I have all the Eastern US bird's songs memorized in order to quickly locate birds for the group.
Equipment: I recommend bringing a digital SLR with matching lens. When you calculate your digital crop factor (usually 1.5x the normal focal length or so for digital cameras today) and slap on your tele-extenders (1.4x or 2x) you should have the equivalent of at least 600mm. Please be familiar with using the equipment you bring. While I have experience with basic Nikon, Canon, and Olympus systems and can help guide you along, you could miss a rare photo opp when adjusting settings or even looking through the viewfinder with new equipment.
If we have cloudy weather, the photos often turn out as good or better than in sunny weather, but having a fill flash really helps bring the colors to life in overcast conditions.
Once a participant commits to doing the tour, a down payment is required right away to reserve the date. Participants can pay with personal checks or money orders. Unfortunately, refunds are impossible.
Physical Activity Requirements: Low activity. We’ll be shooting near the car most of the time. We may walk across a couple small fields. You certainly don’t need to be athletic to do this photo tour. If you can walk a normal city block or go grocery shopping you should be just fine. One of the biggest hassles of the workshop is simply taking out the equipment from the vehicle and putting it back in every couple hours. We shoot within a short drive of the lodge most of the time, but participants will need to follow Matthew in their own vehicle to the shooting locations. Carpooling is optional.
Transportation: Each participant must have their own transportation. Carpooling will be optional and encouraged. Usually each participant follows me in their own vehicle through the forest. Once I find a cooperative bird, we pull off the road and start working on a setup. If you aren’t riding with me, you will probably want the clearance of a standard SUV. A minivan or small car may bottom out on some of the small dirt roads we use. We sometimes have to cross small puddles which are no problem for, say, a Toyota Rav4 but potentially problematic for a Toyota Corolla.
Where to Stay: We usually stay in the park itself. More information will be provided once a deposit and contract are received.
Best Airport: Port Columbus International Airport (CMH) in Columbus, Ohio is the closest large airport, located about 1 hour and 30 mins
North of Shawnee State Park.
Likely Species on the Shawnee Forest Photo Tour - species in bold have historically been the most cooperative, and a sampling of the other species usually oblige as well:
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Scarlet Tanager
Brown Thrasher
Eastern Pheobe
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
Louisiana Waterthrush
Ovenbird
Pine Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
American Redstart
Black-and-white Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Northern Parula
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Field Sparrow
Sunrise will be around 6:40am, sunset at 8:10pm
View the gallery below to see images taken on the Shawnee Photo Tour by participants during previous tours.
Cancellation Policy: Participant will receive a full refund of their deposit minus a $250 re-listing fee if we are able to fill the cancelled space. If we are unable to fill the cancelled space, we cannot issue a refund or credit of any kind.