Hide or Blind is used for the birds that nest on the ground or at a height of about 6 feet from the ground. Machan is used for all other birds that nest in tall trees or cliffs above 6 feet. There are no hard and fast rules about the construction of Hides and Machans. They should serve the purpose of concealing our presence/movements and serve as a shelter for our selves and our equipment.

Our hide has a removable light alluminium frame covered with a camouflaging cloth. You can use different coloured/patterned cloth for different surroundings. Our hide can tightly accommodate two persons(thin). The front of the hide has two openings with cloth flaps for our Camera and Flashes. We always use sturdy Tripods. You can tie the corners of the hide tightly with threads to the nearby branches of trees or to the rocks on the ground to avoid flapping of the cloth when wind blows. The total time to either assemble or disassemble this hide takes only 15 minutes. The disassembled hide can be accommodated in a tripod cover.

Machans are normally made with Bamboo or light wooden logs and ropes. You can also use steel slotted angle frame for small machans. The top of the machan will have a platform preferably of wood for keeping the equipment and for us to sit. This top portion is covered with cloth and branches/leaves of trees which would serve as hide. The whole structure is firmly secured to the ground and the nearby trees with ropes. The setup should be safe and secure and should not create unwanted shake while photographing. Our machans will have many steps 2 or 3 feet apart to reach the top platform. The construction of machan should be done fast so that the bird will not get disturbed. You can do the work when the parent bird/birds go for fetching the feed. Many times this setup will take one or two days.

The setup of Hide/Machan is the most important stage of bird photography which consumes most of the time. It takes a long time to make the birds get used to their new surrounding.