Exposing for high contrast subjects?

[Ryewolf]

Just wondering how you go about exposing for high contrast birds that are black/white?

I always have trouble with them, black-headed gulls, Shellducks, Avocets etc etc Either the darks are too dark or the whites blown. I know it's easier to recover details from dark areas more than whites in PP, but what about catching it in camera?

Sorry if it's been asked before, for landscapes I'd think of bracketed shots and a HDR merge, but that's not going to work with birds/sunjects that are moving about - or would it???

[ChrisLumix]

Yes, you could try HDR or Intelligent Dynamic to get the maximum  detail in blacks and white, but even so, getting the right balance "in camera" could still be tricky. I would bite the bullet and accept you need PP - which means either shooting RAW, or underexpose using a low ISO, then push the shadows afterwards.

It really comes down to how much dynamic range your camera has.

[JamWheel]

When I shoot birds I tend to do so in Manual mode, I meter off something relatively that the same light is falling on (grass seems to work reasonably well) and then make slight adjustments over or under depending on the bird. Just remember to re-meter reasonably often. 

[colinb]

Shooting in raw is always advised in these situations, enabling you to pull back detail in the whites and lift the shadows. You could also copy/duplicate the raw file then as Chris suggests convert to HDR.