KAYAK SEASON IS OPEN

Blue-winged Teals, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

The Easter weekend started with gorgeous and warm weather today. I had some plans in mind for some photography from inside the new photo blind but decided instead to open the kayak season. We have never done it that early in a year.

Many ducks are in the Green Island Wetlands and I heard that up north in Minnesota is still  some snow and ice on the ground. The ducks don’t always wait until the photographer is close enough with the boat for a picture. These three Blue-winged Teals made an exception and showed me the bluish part of their wings during take off. I thought it was a good opener for the kayak season and it is a shot I wanted to make since a long time. More to come, please stay tuned…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,    @ 600 mm, 1/3200 s, f/6.3, ISO 1000, image cropped at the bottom

DUCK DAY

Male Northern Shoveler, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Today we left the rain finally behind us but an overcast made me scratching my head and wondering if it is worth to make another trip to the wetlands. Gray sky and bird photography do not always go well together, especially if the sky is reflected on water. I did it anyway and thought a scouting trip for shorebirds, like sandpipers, wouldn’t hurt. To answer that question first, I saw only one Greater Yellowleg and a group of unidentified sandpipers, all of them too far away for a photo.

The number of ducks has increased and the first Canada Geese were sitting on nest sites. It was fun to watch immature Bald Eagles, honing their skills for catching fish, and pelicans circling with great elegance above. I counted 14 Sandhill Cranes and some showed their elaborate courtship displays to either form mating pairs, or between mates to maintain their pair bond. With other words, it was still a great day for bird watchers.

Pair of Blue-winged Teal

It is mating season and some of the ducks don’t fly away immediately as soon they become aware of us. Other things are on their mind and while they look most beautiful right now, it is the best time of the year to capture their picture. The challenge today was to keep the sky and water with sky reflections out of the frame whenever possible. In addition the green of new grass and reeds helps to hide mud and decaying clutter from last year’s growing season. 

NATURE CLICKS #486 - BLUE-WINGED TEAL

After five or six of gray and mostly rainy days this week the sun peaked out from behind the clouds. Joan, dog Cooper, and I took a ride in the car, heading south in the Mississippi Valley. A strong blowing wind had definitely an influence on the appearance of birds around the river and wetlands in the valley. Beside the usual suspects we saw a lot more ducks than during the last couple weeks. That doesn’t mean the photo opportunities have increased at the same rate. However, we came across two pairs of Blue-winged Teals. The leading male was already outside of the frame but the other three ducks stayed close together. Colder air temperatures than during the last weekends kept heat shimmer in bay and obtaining focus across the water wasn’t so difficult.

WOOD DUCK WITH COMPANY

Male Wood Duck, Green Island Wetlands

The butt sticking out of the water in the background didn’t belong to a female Wood Duck but rather to a Blue-winged Teal. The beautiful male Wood Duck was all by himself but enjoyed the company of a few teals. Ducks of one species are quite often seen together with other duck species or even geese or coots. They seem to benefit from each other especially by watching out for predators. The Green Island Wetlands beside the Mississippi have plenty of food for all of them. While many ducks, mergansers, and geese have moved on further north, more birds have arrived in large numbers, like thousands of American Coots. Some of them will use the lakes and marshes around Green Island to raise a new generation. It’s an exciting time to be out there at this time of the year… 😊