EARLY MORNING PORTRAIT

White-tailed Deer, Little Maquoketa Valley, eastern Iowa

I have not seen any buck of a White-tailed Deer here in our woods this fall season so far, but does and fawns that were born earlier in spring love the safety of our neighborhood and stay in the area all year long.

During the early morning a single doe walked carefully through the woods behind the house today. Nothing unusual, but with the rising sun in the background I felt there was a chance to make a click.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z TC-1.4x,    @ 840mm, 1/125s, f/9, ISO 3200, image slightly cropped

TWO WAYS

Fall colors in Backbone State Park, eastern Iowa

Although it was at the same location, in Iowa’s Backbone State Park, and the shots were made only a few minutes apart, each scene required a different way to tell a story. The road through the woods crosses Fenchel Creek several times, a tributary to the Maquoketa River and very popular for trout fishing. With the jam of leaves in the foreground and the beautiful colors of the maple in the back, I had to stop and capture the arrangements of nature.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 70 mm, 1/4s, f/16, ISO 200, Polarized filter, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,

Former trout hatchery, Backbone State Park

Ten minutes earlier I stopped at a former trout hatchery that was operated until 1987. It was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1920s. The most visible remains of the hatchery are the circular ponds and this geometrical pattern triggered my desire to present the photo in black and white. No, I didn’t kill much of the fall colors, green dominates the scene, not just by the grass around the ponds, but the pines in the background hide most of the maples in the back. Well, the sky was just gray and I know a better picture can be made. A good reason to go back to the state park sometime soon…

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 27 mm, 1/8s, f/16, ISO 200, Polarized filter, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,

TAKE IT NOW

Sunset over the Little Maquoketa Valley, eastern Iowa

This photo was made three days ago here in our woods and I’m pretty sure today it wouldn’t have turned out the same way. We had two very windy days and a lot of leaves came down and opened up the canopy quite a bit more. There is a lesson I learned some time ago and it was confirmed again with this shot, take the image now, when the light seems to be right, don’t wait for another chance with maybe even better light, it wouldn’t be the same, no matter what you do.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S, GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head,

    @ 44 mm, 1/20 s, f/22, ISO 2000

IN RUGGED TERRAIN

Upper part of the Pine Creek Unit in the Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge.

It was a perfect fall day with sunshine and warm temperatures yesterday and as mentioned in my last blog post the leaves suddenly got the colors of autumn. I went out west to revisit a couple areas with unique features that make the Driftless Area standing out from most parts of the Midwest. First I hiked into the Pine Creek Unit of the Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge near Colesburg, Iowa. I had scouted this location already in early June and wrote about it here in the blog. It was recommended as a good birding location and here is a link to my earlier post: https://exnerimages.net/blog/2025/6/1/scouted-a-new-location

White-crowned Sparrow

Most birds have migrated south already but I found a few White-crowned Sparrows feeding on berries and seeds in the brushes at the edge of the woods. Nothing says more about the season than having the bird perched next to some ripe berries in a bush almost bare of its leaves.

Rugged slope in the Pine Creek Valley

This time I wanted to get a little deeper into the area. The slope down to the pine creek valley is very rugged and there are no trails at all. Be forewarned, thick and thorny underbrush make it a challenge to hike with photo equipment! However, with the turning leaves and a little bit of sunshine you will see some beauty, hardly found in any other part of Iowa.

END OF SUMMER THOUGHTS

Monarch, Mud Lake, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

Summer comes to an end slowly but surely and beside falling leaves from the trees many other indicators can tell the story about a changing season. Temperatures are still quite a bit above average but the number of flowers and butterflies is getting lower every day. I talked to some other nature friends recently and most said they have seen more Monarch butterflies this year then during the last couple years. However, the number of Monarchs have been in decline during recent decades and every trend in reverse is a sign of hope that this species may survive. I take every opportunity to make a click with the camera when I see a Monarch, hoping that this will never end.

Monarch, Mines of Spain, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

NATURE CLICKS #613 - RAPTOR WATCH 2025 - BROAD-WINGED HAWKS

Broad-winged Hawk, immature

Together with other members of the Dubuque Audubon Society I participated in the annual ”Raptor Watch” event in the Mines of Spain near Dubuque, Iowa today. I’m sorry for not posting anything lately, but other things in life required attention instead of wildlife photography last week.

Kettle of Broad-winged Hawks at the Mines of Spain, Dubuque, Iowa

It was great to be out again and have a camera strapped over my shoulder. In September large numbers of Broad-winged Hawks migrate to the northern part of South America and can bee seen in big flocks circling in kettles high up in the sky during migration. There are places in the Midwest where they have been seen by the thousands, but everybody on the small observation platform in the Mines of Spain was very happy to see several swirling kettles of 60-100 Broad-winged Hawks today.

My thanks goes to Tony Moline, a very knowledgable field guide as always, and all the other Audubon members that made this birding event a pleasant and great learning experience!

Broad-winged Hawk, adult bird

PEWEE VS. PHOEBE

Eastern Wood-Pewee, Mines of Spain, Dubuque, Iowa, Sep 06, 2025

Today I came across an Eastern Wood-Pewee while making a brief visit to the Mines of Spain Recreation area. Not an unusual sighting and these little flycatchers are not difficult to spot when they perch on a branch and dive down to catch insects midair or sometimes on the ground. They often return to the same perch, a fact every photographer may like.

Two weeks ago I photographed an Eastern Phoebe, right here in our woods, and that gives me the opportunity to show you how much alike these two flycatcher species look. So how to tell them apart? Here are a few details that may help.

  • The Eastern Phoebe has a dark bill, while pewees have a yellow or orange base of their lower mandible, which is very good visible in these two photos.

  • The Eastern Phoebe pumps its tail (the pewee doesn’t). That can help identification if you see for instance the bird just as a silhouette against the sky.

  • The two wing bars are less distinct on a phoebe, while they are almost white on a pewee.

  • And last but not least, if you hear the distinctive ”pee-ah-whee” song before you even see the bird, you certainly know that an Eastern Wood-Pewee is in the neighborhood.

Eastern Phoebe, Little Maquoketa Valley, Iowa, Aug 23, 2025

TURKEYS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Wild Turkey, Little Maquoketa Valley, eastern Iowa

It’s not unusual to see Wild Turkeys around here in the Little Maquoketa Valley, but most of the time they hardly present themselves for a photo opportunity. During last week a gang of four showed up several times on an open grassy spot right here on the bluffs above the valley.

I can’t see them from our house because it is below that particular location, but after seeing them for two days in a row while driving, I prepared myself already at home. Put the camera in my lap, had the car window down, and drove up the short distance to the top of the hill very slowly. A short stop, the turkeys were present again, and a short burst of shots from the car was all what it took to get the photo of this nice looking male turkey.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x,    @840mm, 1/1000 s, f/9, ISO 800

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2025 #5 - SUMMER AT ITS BEST

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S,   @ 1/2000 s, f/8, ISO 500

I haven’t posted another ”Mississippi River Story” since May but I like to do so at the height of the summer. The heat and very high humidity during the last weeks has been replaced by cooler temperatures, a bit of wind, nice puffy clouds at times, but we still had plenty of sunshine. All good reasons to get the kayak out for a couple paddle trips in the backwaters of the big river. The vegetation is lush and green and some flowers can still be found between the arrow heads and water lilies that grow everywhere in the Mud Lake area. The breeding season for most birds is almost over, it is a lot quieter on the water, and I had a lot less photo opportunities for wildlife. But there is always room for a surprise and a couple Great Blue Herons posed nicely within the range of the lens. I caught the first heron standing motionless in the water, like in the picture below. But the bird moved on and I missed the shot. At the second opportunity the wind pushed me almost too close to the bird but by reading its body language I knew a second ahead of time when the decisive moment would happen. This time luck was on my side.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S,   @ 1/2000 s, f/8, ISO 500

Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa,

Nikon Z6III, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 55mm, 1/320 s, f/11, ISO 100

I came back to the entrance of the marina at Mud Lake Park in the evening, hoping to get nice warm light on the puffy clouds we had all day long. Unfortunately the clouds dissolved very quickly due to the air getting drier. The blue boat came at the right time to rescue this photo. A couple minutes later the cloud show was over…

BUTTERFLIES AT PEAK OF THE SUMMER

Sulphur, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

I made a trip to the Green Island Wetlands today, the first one since a few weeks. As expected not a lot of birds came close to the camera but the area had a good water level and vegetation everywhere was lush and green. I was happy to see many pollinator insects, like bumble bees and butterflies. The number of Monarch butterflies was much higher than during the last couple years, which is really a good thing since this species is in significant decline. In the very humid and hot weather we had today nobody wants to run around with a macro lens and try to get a shot of erratically moving butterflies. I thought I can tell a little bit of the story about summer at its peak by using the long lens from the shelter of an air conditioned car. I hope you enjoy!

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x

Monarch, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

SOCIAL LIFE AT THE MARTIN TOWER

Male Purple Martin returning to the nest

This is the photo I was hoping to get during my last two visits at the Purple Martin tower at Finleys Landing down by the Mississippi River. The Purple Martins are beautiful looking birds, elegant flyers, and it is very interesting to watch their social behavior. The young martins have hatched and it is such a great joy just to watch the interactions at a breeding tower.

For most of my wildlife photography I try to keep any men-made elements out of the frame, but here I make an exception, supported by a note I found on the Cornell website (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Purple_Martin/) :

Native Americans hung up empty gourds for the Purple Martin before Europeans arrived in North America. Purple Martins in eastern North America now nest almost exclusively in birdhouses.

With other words, we enjoy wildlife that has adapted to men-made nesting places since a long time. The towers hold 18 chambers for a Purple Martin nest and at Finleys Landing it looked like almost all were taken. These towers with their plastic gourds may look not very pretty, but the practicality for maintenance (cleaning after the breeding saison) and doing research studies (counting eggs, etc.) is proven. Well, most importantly the Purple Martins must like them and it is so exciting to see how quick the birds accepted the relative new tower at this location.

The nestlings peak out of the box but after the female on the left departed for catching more food, the male on the right pushed them back into the box with his head, I guess using his parent authority…

It seemed like some of the juveniles had already left the nest but this is a matter of interpretation. The juvenile Purple Martins look almost identical to the females that tend them. I’m not sure if this is a jealous female or a young one begging for food. Its clumsy behavior made me believe the latter.

Purple Martins are supposed to be monogamous but that doesn’t mean they can’t be jealous. The male in the center had a happy life until another male didn’t like it, flew in and used its bill vigorously to end the affair. It took less than two seconds and I shot this scene in high-speed shutter release mode with about 14 frames per second. Everybody left the scene uninjured… (June 28th, 2025)

DIFFERENT PREY

Great Egret, Upper Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

The Great Egrets in the Green Island Wetlands have no problems to find and catch food at this time of the year. The metamorphosis from a tadpole to a frog was not yet completed for the prey the egret had in its bill, but I can see the legs of the frog already in a different photo of this shooting sequence.

Tadpoles or frogs were not the only items the Great Egrets had on their menu this afternoon. Another one caught a young Northern Pike and gobbled it down into its throat within a few seconds. The interesting thing to observe was the behavior of the egret after it had the fish in its beak. The Great Egret was smart enough to know that it can loose the pike during the attempt to swallow it and the bird just jumped onto the shore where it could pick up the fish again if the prey was accidentally dropped.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x

NATURE CLICKS #607 - EASTERN MEADOW VOLE

Eastern Meadow Vole, Mud Lake Park, Mississippi River, Eastern Iowa

They look like a mini beaver without a flat tail with their thick fur, but this one was just the size of my fist. They are pretty common but still not seen very often by many people.

I was actually out for a certain bird species in the Mud Lake area along the Mississippi River but didn’t get the shots I had in mind. While walking on a new trail through an area of prairie vegetation that has been planted by the Dubuque County Conservation Board only a few years ago, I discovered this Meadow Vole. It didn’t seem to be bothered by me at all and continued chewing on fresh grass stems while I just walked by. The photo could have been made with any of my lenses but I had only the Nikkor Z600 , f/6.3 with me during this little exploration hike. For a picture like this the minimum focal distance of this lens of about 4 meters can become a disadvantage. It’s not difficult to get a sharp image, but I had to step back and at the end had to crop the photo to get you this intimate environmental portrait of this small critter.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2025 #3 - OPENING THE SEASON

After taking many pictures of Greater Yellowlegs during this spring season I finally found a Lesser Yellowleg within the reach of the lens.

Today we used the nice weather with mild temperatures and sun and opened the paddle season. The kayaks were launched on the Mississippi River in the backwaters of Mud Lake, only a few minutes away from home. What was supposed to be a short trip became an all afternoon journey with lots of wildlife encounters. I have written here before how much I love to shoot from the kayak because of the ability to have the lens real low above the water, much better than driving by car on top of a dyke. Beside the usual suspects, like egrets, herons, geese, ducks, pelicans, and muskrats, we watched three different sandpiper species, a number of eagles, and even heard the Sandhill Cranes in the reeds.

All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S

Many Painted Turtles had climbed on driftwood logs and used the sun to warm up after a long winter season.

This adult Bald Eagle had just eaten something, probably a fish, and didn’t seem to be bothered by me drifting by with my kayak. Six or seven other eagles were nearby, maybe hoping to pick up some leftovers.

If this Solitary Sandpiper plans still to reach the breeding grounds in the northland regions of Canada, it better gets on its way for the rest of the long distance. They spend the winters from central Mexico to South America.

NATURE CLICKS #602 - WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW

White-crowned Sparrow, Ophir Beach, Oregon, Apr 11, 2025

White-crowned Sparrows are not seen very often here in the Little Maquoketa Valley in eastern Iowa. They spend the winter in the states south of here and have their breeding grounds high up in Canada and Alaska. With other words, we are migration territory. The photo below was shot a couple days ago and the bird spent a few minutes on a small tree in our yard. During our recent trip to Oregon we saw White-crowned Sparrows in abundance. At the coast they are present year-round.

At both occasions I tried to make an environmental portrait. Giving the picture a sense of place or season is my preferred way to photograph wildlife. Including the ocean and the surf in the background let us know that the sparrow was perched right behind the beach. The second photo is totally different. The bird was hiding in a dense tree with lots of little branches and that could be anywhere. No chance to have such a clean background as on Ophir Beach. But the buds had just opened and small leaves showed their fresh green, telling the story about spring migration of the White-crowned Sparrow.

Both photos: Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x, @840 mm

White-crowned Sparrow, Little Maquoketa, Valley, eastern Iowa, May 1, 2025