FIRST FIELD DAY WITH NIKON Z6II

The Eastern Bluebirds will hopefully stay here all winter long.

Today I had my first real field day with the new mirrorless Nikon Z6II camera. It started in our front yard this morning with three Eastern Bluebirds taking advantage of the water in our bird baths. But the real challenge was a trip to the Green Island Preserve, the wetlands along the Mississippi River south from here. It isn’t the season when wildlife is present in abundance but a few raptors, a bunch of American Coots, and a few sparrows gave me some good opportunities to practice with the camera and to develop some muscle memory for the shooting workflow that comes with an Electronic Viewfinder. I do not like shooting with my glasses but the EVF allows me to shoot without them. The new challenge is to keep my eye at the viewfinder after a click and evaluate the results or make changes in the settings menu just right in the viewfinder. As soon I move my head away from the eye piece and look for the brilliant screen in the back of the camera, well, I need my glasses again. It may take some time to memorize not to look at the screen, at least during wildlife photography.

All images: Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter

American Coots busy feeding on aquatic plants in the Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Beside Bald Eagles and a pair of Northern Harriers, the Red-tailed Hawk is another raptor that finds food in the wetlands during winter time.

CLOUDS, EAGLES, AND COOTS

Green Island Preserve, Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, B+W F-PRO Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC filter

At arrival in the Green Island Wetlands today I was greeted with some nice puffy clouds. Usually I approach the area with the long lens already attached to the camera, ready to use, but this was a good reason to get the wide angle lens and polarizer out of the bag. Last year’s vegetation is rotting away and pretty soon new growth will dominate the lakes, ponds, and marsh land in the Mississippi Valley. 

Immature Bald Eagle

While driving deeper into the wetlands I found a large congregation of Bald Eagles, more than 30 birds that were perched on trees or logs in the water. Seeing a few is always guaranteed but I couldn’t figure out why so many at this time of the year? Some were messing with each other but most just sat still on their perch, like this immature eagle. It had to do something with food. They mostly feed on fish and the fish population certainly didn’t grow in the wetlands since last week. So, why so many at the same place?

American Coots, Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S

And maybe here lies the answer. Large shoals of American Coots, thousands of “marsh hens” occupied the lakes within the wetlands. They kept very close together while moving in the shallow water and feeding on plant materials, aquatic invertebrates, or worms. I have seen Bald Eagles sitting in a tree and feeding on dead coots at other times before and maybe the large numbers attract more eagles than we see usually in Green Island along the Mississippi.

COOTS, DOING ME A FAVOR

American Coots, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi River, Iowa

After not making a single click in over a week for several reasons I finally went out to the Green Island Wetlands yesterday evening. The water level of the Mississippi River is still rising and also in the Green Island area it is above normal.

It was windy and many of the ducks were hiding or at least not near the shore. Every year I have seen a large fleet of American Coots at this time of the year and I always was debating with myself how to make a picture that tells the story about their presence in large numbers. Quite often the raft of coots is stretched out and it is impossible to make this kind of a photo. This time was different and they did me a great favor. While I watched them through the binoculars in the distance, the whole fleet suddenly swam towards me and didn’t stop until they all were near my “mobile blind”, the car of course.

They were feeding and goofed around like coots do. Coots are kleptoparasitic, they’ll steal their meal from other birds if they don’t feel like hunting for their own food (source: iBirdPro app). Indeed, I have seen them arguing about water plants. Maybe that’s why it is always fun to watch this raucous and quarrelsome bird.

LOW ANGLE

American Coot, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa  -----

Nothing beats the low angle you can get while shooting from a kayak, especially in an area like the Green Island Wetlands. Because the dykes and roads are much higher, the camera is always elevated above the water level while shooting from the shore. The downside is, it is more difficult to navigate to a different position if some vegetation is in the line between you and your subject.

We took the boats out again today but didn’t see nearly as many birds as last Sunday. I’m happy if I come back with at least one shot that I like and this American Coot was the star today. Coots are very good swimmers but their feet are not webbed. Their toes have lobes on the side of each segment. I knew this before but I wasn’t really aware how big their feet actually are. It’s the low angle for this photo that helps to tell the story much better, not just about their feet but also the habitat they live in.

NATURE CLICKS #378 - COMMON GALLINULE

Common Gallinule, Mississippi River, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa ----------

The Common Gallinule is often confused with the American Coot, but it is easily distinguished by the red shield-like plate above its bill. This chicken-like marsh bird has unwebbed feet but is nevertheless an excellent swimmer. They are also known under the name Common Moorhen. You may hear their loud squeaks, clucks, and screams before you even have a chance to see one. It took me several years to make my first photo of a gallinule and it wasn’t until this summer that I made a few pictures that can be shown in public without embarrassment. They spend the winter in the southern Atlantic states of the US and in South America.