DEFYING THE POLAR VORTEX

A Polar vortex-driven Arctic blast hit the country during the last few days. Not so much new here in the Midwest but when the beaches in Florida or Alabama are covered with snow it’s worth to mention it. The cold weather here led to an increase in numbers of birds that visit our feeders and bird baths. I counted the highest number of Eastern Bluebirds we ever had seen here at the same time (10) and assuming there were at least a couple more up in the trees. Of course I’m not the biggest fan of having the bird bath in the frame but it was the only way to tell the story about the large congregation we were able to enjoy. Other birds use the safety of being in a flock as well and among the bluebirds we find American Goldfinches, House Finches, Sparrows, and the occasional Cedar Waxwing.

At temperatures as low as -26ºC (-15ºF) I fill all five suet feeders for the woodpeckers and nuthatches and still, some birds have to wait in line for their turn to feed. The larger species, like the Red-bellied, or Hairy Woodpeckers dominate while they are present and the much smaller Downy Woodpeckers wait patiently until their larger cousins are done. A popular ”waiting spot” is the small oak between two of our bird feeders. A few snow flurries danced down to the ground today, adding to the story of cold winter weather while this male Downy waited for his turn to feed.

FUN IN THE SETTING SUN

Downy Woodpecker, Little Maquoketa Valley, Iowa

The sun came out finally this afternoon, reason enough to spent the hour before sunset behind the camera with the SIGMA 150-600 S attached. With the much warmer weather the birds seemed to visit the feeders less frequently and some patience was required at times. Most of the snow has melted away but in our front yard was still plenty enough to bounce the light upwards. With the sun sitting low above the ridge, the natural light had a nice quality and I didn’t employ a speed light for better color control this time.

Before the woodpeckers approach a suet feeder they carefully check the surrounding area from a nearby tree or shrub. This is the moment I’m mostly waiting for. Just fun in the setting sun…

I WAS WAITING FOR THIS!

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

You haven’t seen much new here in the blog lately beside my ”RETROSPECT 2023” blog posts, but today I had to take the camera out on the porch for some exciting bird photography. It is still warm, way to warm for this time of the year, but late morning it started snowing. The roads still remained clear but in the trees the white stuff accumulated a little bit. After all the gray weather and rain lately, this was a delight today! It also was another chance to work with the new speed light, the Westscott FJ80 II with a dome diffuser attached. As always, shortly after the camera on tripod was in place outside the door, the birds started to return.

The still young oak tree in front of the house, becomes more and more a hub for the birds before they fly over to a feeder. This female is one of three Red-bellied Woodpeckers that have their home somewhere nearby.

Female Downy Woodpecker

I’m trying to find out how many Downy Woodpeckers we actually have here in our woods. So far I have counted 7, but since they move fast between the front and back side of the building, I’m still wondering if there is even a couple more hanging around.

Female White-breasted Nuthatch

A couple of White-breasted Nuthatches are permanent residents up on the bluffs here. This female showed up alone today but quite often we see both birds and sometimes the male is stealing seeds from the female.

I used the Westscott FJ80 II speed light in manual mode for today’s photos. With its big display it’s easy to change the settings, eben without the use of my glasses. I’m very pleased how this new tool in my bag delivers . With the diffusion dome attached you can’t even tell that a speed light was used, since there is hardly any catch light in the bird’s eyes, but the colors of the feathers are revealed gorgeously. This is most prevalent in the photo of the Red-bellied Woodpecker.

As always, I try to tell a story with the photo and today it was all about the snow. To get the trails of snow flakes it takes about 1/60 s to 1/160 s. At that shutter speed not every shot is tack sharp while using a 600 mm focal length. Nevertheless, at the end the old rule applies, if the eye of the bird is not sharp, the picture ends in the virtual trash can, no matter if the snow trails look good or not…

NATURE CLICKS #542 - DOWNY WOODPECKER

Male Downy Woodpecker

It was not very busy around our bird feeders during the last three days. Spring is not here yet but warmer temperatures made the snow from last week melting quickly and the energy demand of the birds has obviously slowed down. This may change tonight and tomorrow. Another winter storm warning has been issued. The bird we can always count on to show up is the Downy Woodpecker. Up to nine ‘Downys’ have been here at the same time while we had the last cold snap. It is a great bird to practice bird photography, even for beginners. The contrast around their eyes makes it easy to focus and get a sharp picture in comparison to many other species. While males and females stay separate in fall and early winter, they form pairs during late winter. Both sexes take turns drumming loudly on dead limbs in the trees and that sound has started already around here.

WOODPECKER “KINDERGARTEN”

Downy Woodpeckers

It’s hard to keep track about all the activities going on these days in our woods. However, we can’t overlook the feeding of the woodpeckers because it happens right in front of the house. Our smallest ones, the Downy Woodpeckers, have at least two juveniles to feed. The young male on the left gets stuffed with some peanut suet from its mother. They do not hang out here all day long but in the mornings and evenings a seed or nut snack seems to be a very welcome addition to the protein rich food of insects or caterpillars.

Hairy Woodpecker

The much bigger Hairy Woodpeckers have at least two young ones. Their offspring seems to be a little more independent already. The juveniles take mostly care for themselves but are still closely watched by the parents. They have already the same size as the adults but still move a bit clumsy when they go up or down on a tree trunk.

DOWNY / HAIRY - SIZE MATTERS

Hairy Woodpecker

They almost look alike from the distance, the Downy Woodpecker and its cousin the Hairy Woodpecker, but body size and length of their bill make it easy to distinguish one from the other species. Also their calls and vocal expressions are different. We have about seven or eight Downies here during the winter but only two of the larger Hairys. Their behavior during an approach couldn’t be more different. While I can walk up to a Downy Woodpecker feeding on a block of suet, the bird will eventually fly away when I’m within a 3 feet distance. The Hairy Woodpeckers in comparison are extremely skittish. As soon they detect a slight movement or noise, i.e. from opening the door, even 30 feet away, they will take off and fly into the trees. And that makes the photography of the larger woodpecker a much bigger challenge.

Downy Woodpecker

Both pictures were shot from an open window today. The Hairy Woodpecker flew away when I opened it, but finally returned back to “woodpecker tree #1” in the front yard after five minutes. Getting the shot of the smaller Downy was easy. They patiently wait in line when a larger woodpecker is at a feeder or they jockey with each other for the right to feed first.

The photos today give you an idea about their different body sizes. Both were shot from the same distance and are cropped to identical size. The dominant knot on the tree is the same in both pictures and helps to evaluate.

ORDINARY SITUATION, BUT THE LIGHT!

Downy Woodpecker, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Iowa

I actually thought to continue with some more photos from our recent trip through New Mexico but a few days ago I caught this picture of a Downy Woodpecker in front of the house and I like to share it with you. There is nothing special about this male woodpecker although they have a special place in my heart. The Downies are here in our woods all year long and we see about 6-7 coming to our suet feeders at the moment. The “woodpecker tree”, a dead cedar log that holds one of the feeders, is always in the front yard. So, what is so special? It is the gorgeous light of the setting sun that hits the tree and let the woodpecker stand out briefly, just moments before the night swallows the scene. I hope you don’t mind and enjoy. More from New Mexico next time, I promise…

YESTERDAY WAS WORLD WILDLIFE DAY

Downy Woodpecker

Yesterday was World Wildlife Day and everybody but me posted a nice wildlife photo on Instagram or other popular websites. I simply forgot about it 🙄. By writing this blog on my website I try to create awareness about wildlife since 2010 and maybe you can forgive me. The photo is actually from yesterday evening and this Downy Woodpecker posed nicely on the old cedar tree trunk in the last bit of sunshine. This winter we had up to six of North America’s smallest woodpeckers here and they are usually not as shy and skittish as their larger cousins. I always enjoy having them in front of the lens and the Downy is my choice to celebrate World Wildlife Day this year, even if it is belated… 😊

TOO LATE!!!

Downy Woodpecker tries to deliver some food

I took a break from posting in the blog over the weekend and to no surprise at this time of the year nature stories have piled up…

Last Saturday, and still very early Sunday morning, I saw a little head peaking out of the nest cavity in our dying maple tree. Well, I guess I took too much time drinking the morning coffee and go up on the roof over the porch with tripod and camera. Finally, about 9:30AM I stood there like a week before (see my earlier post) and aimed the lens again at the woodpecker hole. After half an hour without any activities I started wondering. Don’t the little Downy Woodpeckers need any food? Where are the parents?

After 45 minutes the male downy showed up with a big insect in its bill (2nd photo). He stuck his head into the hole but came out with the food still in the beak. After several attempts he flew away. Ten minutes later he showed up again (photo #1) and wasn’t able to deliver his nice snack either. Did the lady of the house not tell him that the offspring left the nest this morning? I hope he finally found them in another tree and was able to deliver his prey. I haven’t seen any young ones yet but keep looking out for them…

ON THE ROOF

Downy Woodpeckers

The bad thing is, the big sugar maple right in front of the house is dying, slowly but surely. Half of the canopy is already without leaves and every day another piece of bark or a branch is found in the grass below. We know we need to cut the tree down soon because there is a good chance it may fall onto the house in a storm or strong wind. It will be a sad day, no matter what.

The good thing is, the Downy Woodpeckers took the opportunity, drilled holes in one of the dead branches, and raise their offspring in the tree right now. As you can imagine, we hold the tree cutting for now.

The photographer took the ladder today and climbed onto the roof of the porch. Everything was with me, camera, long lens, tripod , gimbal head, speed light, and flash extender. Even on the roof the nest hole was still a bit higher but I found a gap between the branches to make this photo.

The Downy Woodpeckers are around here all year long and are really used to our presence. Sometimes, if I fill a feeder in the yard, they don’t fly away unless I come in a range of less than 3 feet. Both parents feed the offspring. While one is out to find food, the other one is in the nesting hole and guards it. The chance for a photo is when they have the “changing of the guard”.

Here the female downy arrives and shows the male what she had in her bill. A second later the male would leave the nest and let the female take his place. I was running out of light this evening (did I mention yet that we had another gray day with almost no sun? 😏) and the only way to shoot against the gray sky was to employ some fill flash. I left the ladder in place and maybe this weekend is another chance for some interesting moments.

1/320 s, f/6.3, ISO 400, @600 mm, +1 EV, flash -1.7 EV; with Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender;

IT HAS TO BE SPECIAL

Downy Woodpecker

With the snow now gone bird photography needs a different approach again. I could use a flash for bringing out the colors, especially on a day with an overcast or in a low light situation, like at the end of the day. I have done that many times and it works very well in a lot of situations. The Downy Woodpecker is a bird we have in our woods all year long, many photos were made over the years, and making another image has to be special. Friday evening, when the sun sent its last rays through the trees, I realized how the soft light touched the old cedar tree in the front yard and the bird resting on it. When they hold a position like this there is usually a predator around, but other birds were present, so I think the Downy Woodpecker just enjoyed this shaft of warm light as much as I did. Yeah, that’s what I mean, it has to be special…

YEAH, GESTURE, BUT THE LIGHT…?

Unpleasant weather, to say it mildly, this weekend. From rain and temperatures above freezing on Saturday to ice cold winds and snow drifts on Sunday. I shot a lot in the front and backyard studio again. This Downy Woodpecker was briefly resting in our maple tree and gave me a gesture I really like, but throwing even a little hint of flash towards a wet branch is not such a good idea. The water on the wood reflects the light source and this is not very desirable. The reflection on top of the branch reveals that the sun was kinda behind the bird, a little to the left, and without the flash, well, the picture would look probably “crappy-gray”. Not a photo for the record books but still a nice gesture of the woodpecker…

DIFFERENT TOOL

This shot wasn’t exactly intended when it was made during the very cold days we had last week. Two Downy Woodpeckers (out of actually ten!) had an argument about who can eat first at one of our suet feeders. It was made during the late afternoon, it was snowing, and light was fading away quickly. I shot at 1/50 s, nothing unusual for me even with the long lens, but that was definitely too slow for this outburst of energy between the two birds. Stories can be told in different ways and motion blur is one tool I like to explore more. I think I I like the outcome…

COMPETITION

Male Hairy Woodpecker

Four of the seven woodpecker species we find here in the woods above the Little Maquoketa River Valley are regular visitors to our bird feeders. At times with lots of snow and very cold temperatures, as we have right now, the competition over the food and feeding times is always on.

Female Northern Flicker

Size matters and if a Northern Flicker with its long bill wants to eat, everybody else has to wait in line. We count at least four different flickers.

The Hairy Woodpeckers do not visit as often as the other species and they are the most difficult ones to photograph. They are high in the ranks with their long bill and they can be very vocal. We see at least one pair and an immature bird.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

Since we live here up on the bluffs the Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been a pleasure to watch every year. They may argue with a Hairy Woodpecker about the best spots, because they are similar in size, but if a flicker wants to feed, they go back to a waiting position. We see two adults and a couple immature red-bellies, who were born last year.

Male Downy Woodpecker

The smallest one of the bunch is the Downy Woodpecker. They look very similar to a Hairy Woodpecker but they are much smaller in size. As you can imagine the downys always have to leave a suet feeder if one of the bigger birds decides to eat. They are the first ones in the morning and still feed when all the other woodpeckers are gone at dusk. Usually we see 5-6 birds at the same time around the house but a week ago, when we received the first big snow of the season, we counted 10 different Downy Woodpeckers, which is a new record this year.

WOODPECKER OFFSPRING

Young male Downy Woodpecker

We had a bit of rain the last couple days and the air finally cooled down, but I take this any time over the heat and humidity we had recently. However, no matter what kind of weather we have the birds and critters need to feed their offspring. I had some fun this evening standing on the porch behind the camera watching two young Downy Woodpeckers. Sometimes the parents still brought them a seed from the suet feeder but most of the time they tried to figure it out by themselves. They are only a little smaller than the parents but it is the clumsy behavior that reveals who has still to learn the lessons of life.

A little fill flash helped to get the exposure right and bring some colors out because the dark overcast this evening didn’t let much light come through here in the woods.