Composite Bird in Flight Camera Setup

I've been asked how I was able to take the shots I used to create the composite bird in flight photos. Below are two photos showing my setup. The actual shots were taken with my 7D but the 70-200 was already mounted on Donna's T2i so I used it for these photos

Basic Setup

This is the basic setup. The camera is mounted on the tripod. You can see the birdhouse in the background. I prefocused the camera on the roof and then switched it to manual focus mode. Sitting in the hotshoe is the receiver for the remote shutter release.

Remote Shutter Release

The remote shutter release I use is theHahnel HLHW433C80 UHF Wireless Pro RF Remote Conrol for All Canon Dslrs. It has outstanding range. I've actually tested it to 300+ feet and it worked like a champ. It also works with all Canon DSLRs. Once the remote is installed and turned on and the camera positioned where I wanted it to be I then sat back on the porch and waited for the birds to return to their birdhouse. We have been watching the birds closely to make sure we aren't causing them any stress with us being out in the yard and having the cameras pointed at their birdhouse. So far things have gone very well. The birds don't appear to be stressed and pretty much ignore us and the camera gear.

What I would do is when I'd see a bird approaching the birdhouse I'd start clicking off shots. Make sure you set the camera up for high speed continuous shooting mode. This type of photography is truly spray and pray :).