NATURE CLICKS #597 - THE FASTEST

Peregrine Falcon, Mississippi Valley, Bellevue State Park, Iowa

I read that the 17 nest sites of Peregrin Falcons were observed in Iowa and 36 young falcons hatched and were raised last year. As many birds of prey the peregrine was affected by DDT and other biocides in the 1950s and remained an endangered species in Iowa until 2010. The Peregrin Falcon is the fastest bird on record and may reach speeds of 320 km/h, about 200 miles per hour, as it drops towards its prey.

One of the nest boxes is attached to a rock wall in the Mississippi Valley, just south of Bellevue, IA and next to highway 52. Any time I drive by on my way to the Green Island Wetlands I raise my head and have a look if I see any activities at this time of the year. A couple days ago both adult falcons were present, one in the nest box and the other one higher above in a tree. A good reason to stop and take the camera out. Sure, this is not a perfect wildlife photo and I hope to have another chance sometime in April.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x.   @840mm, image cropped

LIFE AT THE POND

Green Frog, Mississippi Valley, Bellevue State Park, Iowa

We made a trip to different nature locations this afternoon. One of them was the butterfly garden in Bellevue State Park, a place we haven’t visited in a while. It wasn’t really a surprise that we saw very few butterflies, a trend that we see also around the house this year. But there are of course other things to look for. Joan has always an eye on the botanical side and found several flowers and plants she didn’t have in her picture library previously.

I focussed on a small pond that is surrounded by the butterfly garden. It is the only place in Iowa I found Green Frogs (Rama clanitans) in the past so far and luckily there was still a number of this species in the pond. They are easy to identify with their small irregular brown spots on the back and side. In Iowa Green Frogs are often brown when fully grown according to the DNR brochure (The Salamanders and Frogs of Iowa, by J.L. Christiansen and R.M. Bailey). Green Frogs can be found in the eastern half of the state in scattered populations and the pond in Bellevue State Park seems to be one of them.

The water was a little low and the short banks of the pond are kinda steep. With other words, I had to shoot from slightly above and not from a very low angle as it is sometimes possible, for instance from a kayak.

Northern Bluet Damselfly

Frogs were not the only animals that life in or near this habitat. I saw different species of dragonflies and damselflies but only the smallest of them, the beautiful Northern Bluet Damselfly, perched on a stem of grass once in a while and posed for a photo.

All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm