ALL LINED UP TODAY!


Brown Creepers, Little Maquoketa Valley, eastern Iowa

More snow this morning and a great chance to tell winter stories with our photos. To get some snow trails in the picture it was required to extend the exposure time at least to 1/160 seconds or even slower. This all worked well and it also helped to employ the Westscott FJ80 II speed light to overcome the deep gray sky and have a little bit of color bouncing back onto the camera sensor.

And then it literally got all lined up and I was able to make a photo I was hoping for since a long time, but never was convinced it would happen. I knew we have two Brown Creepers in our woods and I have seen them both at the same time before. Unfortunately never really close to each other. Either one always seemed to mind their own business. While focussing on woodpeckers that came to our suet feeders today I suddenly saw both Brown Creepers lined up on the log below a feeder cage. They normally move pretty fast up a tree but for a few seconds both birds had stopped and waited until a Red-bellied Woodpecker had left the food source.

The Brown Creeper is the tiniest bird we see here during winter time. With their fast action it’s not an easy task to have them in sharp focus. As you can imagine, this shot made my day!

Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light,    @ 840mm, 1/160s, f/9, ISO 200, image slightly cropped,

NATURE CLICKS #590 - BROWN CREEPER


Brown Creeper, Little Maquoketa Valley, Iowa

I’m very, very happy about this photo of this tiny little bird. The fast moving Brown Creeper started at the base of this oak and spiraled upwards, looking for insects in the cracks of the bark. It’s hard to follow them with the lens and their plumage is such a perfect camouflage, making it difficult to obtain a sharp focus. Here in eastern Iowa they can be found throughout the year but most of the time we see them during the cold season.

BREAKFAST AT THE MAPLE TREE


Brown Creeper, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Iowa

I have shown you the Brown Creeper before here in my blog but I still have room for improvement for my photos with this little tree climbing bird. This morning I watched him going up the big maple right in front of the house several times in a row. There must have been an abundance of good breakfast snacks for the creeper. Usually they spiral up on a tree trunk in search for little insects and then fly to the bottom of the next tree. Not so today. I watched the Brown Creeper five times going up our maple tree but it climbed always a different route. They move quite fast and it took me some time to nail down some sharp shots. It is always amazing how well they blend into their environment. The photo shows how the Brown Creeper uses its stiff tail for support while climbing. Can you tell that I love this little bird? I’m so glad we see them here in our woods.

I GOT HIM!


Brown Creeper, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Iowa ----------     

This photo was on my ‘Most Wanted List’ since a long time. I showed pictures of the Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) before here in the blog but none of them was well crafted (heavily cropped and lack of sharpness). It is not unusual to see them here in our woods but their appearance is almost unpredictable. They fly to the bottom of a tree and spiral upward very quickly while pecking for insects. The Brown Creeper uses its stiff tail for support when climbing. Their curved bill helps them to get the food out of the smallest cracks and from behind the bark. After the bird is done with one tree it hops down to the base of another tree and starts all over again. Here is some trivia, in my home country Germany lives a relative, called the ‘Gartenbaumläufer’ (Certhia brachydactyla). It looks very similar to the American species.

Male White-breasted Nuthatch

While waiting for the appearance of the Brown Creeper another tree climber showed up several times. The White-breasted Nuthatch is a regular visitor here and we can see them all year long. Beside the obvious visual differences between the creeper and the nuthatch, the White-breasted Nuthatch flies to a higher point of the tree and usually hops down the trunk. ‘Nuthatch’ is derived from its habit of placing seeds or nuts in crevices of trees and prying them open with its bill. (source: iBird Pro App)

NATURE CLICKS #318 - BROWN CREEPER


According to my field guides the Brown Creeper is supposed to be around here in eastern Iowa all year long. This photo was made in the Mines of Spain, a mostly wooded recreation area south of Dubuque, Iowa. So far I have photographed this small bird only during winters or in the early spring. And I admit, I still haven’t been able to make a tack sharp image I could be very proud of. The bird blends very well in while creeping along tree trunks, always from the bottom upwards. They are almost always in motion and it is very difficult to lock the focus on. The picture has a little motion blur too, despite a shutter speed of 1/800s and fill flash for bringing out its colors. With other words, the Brown Creeper still remains on my “most wanted” list…

NATURE CLICKS #259 - BROWN CREEPER


I feel bad for every nature, wildlife, and landscape photographer here along the Upper Mississippi River who didn’t have a chance to be out shooting today. It doesn’t get any better during winter time as it was today. About 8˚C (46ºF) felt really great after such a long period with temperatures below freezing! :-) Although it melts rapidly there was still plenty of snow on the ground today, the best and biggest light reflector on earth for any camera owner. I was out in the Green Island Wetlands along the Mississippi River today but like to show you a photo first that I made earlier this morning in our woods.

The photo is not perfect, still too far away, but better than any picture I made before of the Brown Creeper. I have seen the little guy earlier this week and since this bird is on my mental list of “needs improvement”, I spent some time this morning to work on this task. 

Following the Brown Creeper isn’t so difficult, if you know a tree where it may return frequently. Point the lens to the bottom of the tree, because they always start their search for food (insects, seeds, nuts, suet) at the bottom, and then they creep and climb up along the trunk like a woodpecker. They use their stiff tail for support while climbing (source: iBirdPro app).

I have more little stories to tell, but this has to wait until tomorrow. So please stay tuned!