Common Redpoll
We received more snow yesterday and snow removal took priority over photography. After a cold night the birds knew where to find food and water this morning and I decided to spent some time behind the camera and the glass of our balcony window. To make things even more awkward I put the 1.4 teleconverter onto the SIGMA 150-600, f/5-6.3 S lens. This was the first time that I used this piece of glass with the new Nikon Z6II mirrorless camera, extending the focal length to 850 mm. Let me talk about the performance first before we come to the birds. Even behind the double glass of the balcony door, the autofocus still worked fine at f/9 with the Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG. Yes, the pictures are a little soft, probably just due from behind the window glass, and it took higher ISO settings to nail the shots but it was doable.
Now, let’s talk about the birds. At this side of the house we have only a feeder with sunflower seeds hanging from the balcony. That draws in all the seed eaters, like cardinals, titmice, a couple Purple Finches, and dozens of House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, or American Goldfinches.
While shooting, testing, and looking at the results my excitement grew rapidly when I spotted a Common Redpoll. The only time we saw one before was seven years ago, right here on our balcony. They are actually an Arctic bird, breeding high up in the north of Canada. I just read that redpolls sleep in snow tunnels during a long arctic night to preserve body heat. Amazing! They migrate south for the winter but our area is even south of their usual winter range. However, I read reports about sightings here in Iowa every year. Not my best image but I know that some birders follow my website and I like to share my own bird sightings with them.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
The other bird I like to mention today is the Yellow-rumped Warbler. We still see between two and five females every day drinking at one of our bird baths, despite the very cold weather. They probably feed on the juniper berries that can be found here on top of the bluffs at he Little Maquoketa River Valley. The Yellow-rumped Warbler is capable of wintering further north than any other warbler. The photography, oh boy, I try really hard to make a picture without the bird bath in it. Do me a favor ladies, just jump onto the stone! 😉