Touching the mother’s love about birds through a photographer’s angle

Photographer Pham Quoc Dan (SN 1964), in Nam Dan town, Nam Dan district (Nghe An) has had more than 20 years of traveling with the camera in many rural areas of the country.

His photos record the changes of nature and workers in daily life. In it, there are a series of photos about the motherly love of birds that move many people.

Photographer Quoc Dan said that it is a blessing to be able to find a nesting bird. Protecting and keeping the nest is an indescribable joy for the photographer.

Normally, it takes 7-15 days for a hatched bird’s nest to come out (learn to fly).

“To date, I cannot remember how many nests have been captured. But every time I shoot the scene where the mother bird feeds her baby, I have many emotions, from the thrill of how to take a good photo, to feeling moved by the affection of the mother bird and the baby bird.

The most touching scene is the scene where the mother and father return to feed the baby birds. Then I went to the toilet. The mother and father birds use their beaks to pick up the droppings of their children and throw them out of the nest,” said photographer Quoc Dan.

Artist Quoc Dan also said that expressing the mother’s affection for the baby bird made many people learn: “I personally think the affection of the father and mother for the baby bird cannot be overstated. verbal. I feel more deeply in birds than in humans. The father and mother birds are very shy when their chicks have not yet hatched. However, after the baby bird is born, any animal that approaches will be protected by the mother and father.

Photographer Quoc Dan also shared that many times he had to “cry” in disappointment when he brought the camera out to take pictures, the baby bird’s nest had “disappeared” after many weeks of pursuit. Baby birds’ nests can be captured by humans or other predators, or they can be destroyed by natural disasters.

“Many times, I missed the nests of birds that I had hunted for weeks and months, since the new parents returned to build their nests. A bird born to adulthood has to go through many stages, the parent bird cannot anticipate risks in life.

There are bird nests under the lotus leaves which are very sturdy and last until the baby bird is born for 7 days. Suddenly, a heavy rain, the water in the lotus pond rose, flooded the bird’s nest. I was really sorry then. Or sometimes when I see children catching birds, I think of my childhood as well. At that time, I felt very sorry and regretful,” said Quoc Dan.

Most recently, a bird’s nest was pursued by him for more than 10 days, taking photos since the birds laid eggs, incubated and hatched for nearly a week in Kim Lien commune (Nam Dan district). The bird’s nest has 3 young and the mother bird takes care of the baby every day. But then, the bird’s nest was scattered, making him very sad.

“In the afternoon, I just removed the machine, installed the tube to prepare to press, when I saw the leaves in the fiber nest up. Suddenly I thought that the bird’s nest had been eaten by something or taken away by children. When approaching the bird’s nest, not seeing 3 young birds anymore, I feel lost, sad indescribable.

This is the bird’s nest, I hope to take a good picture, watching the baby bird grow day by day, hour by hour from when it is still red to adulthood. I just wanted to see the bird grow up, spread branches and fly away, but I did not expect to receive a sad ending…”, said photographer Pham Quoc Dan emotionally.

Pictures of mother and father birds taking care of their young through the lens of photographer Quoc Dan:

Quoc Huy
Photo: NVCC