Bird in a tree

[vecch2]

Its winter here in Jersey so the trees are bare, I noticed a cardinal in a tree while walking home so I grabbed my camera hoping he would still be there and he was. He was sitting still so I used the AV setting I also tried the M and TV my problem was getting the camera to focus on the bird because of all the branches, I tried switching to spot metering (which I just read about yesterday) but it didn't seem to help much. I did get a few good shots though focusing manually but that isn't always going to be an option birds don't always pose for the camera. I'm a month old at this so any help would be appreciated.

[nkg]

Well, spot metering is a way of specifying what area of the frame is used to measure light for correct exposure. And M and Av modes are two other ways of determining correct exposure.

Neither of these thing have anything to do with achieving proper focus.

Focus in trees is always tricky because the autofocus system is going to focus on branches and stuff that get in the way. Faster AF helps with this, which is one reason why experienced nature photographers tend to use expensive cameras and lenses - if the camera gets focus wrong it's quick to refocus again. Or, yes, you can focus manually.