GREAT BIRD WATCHING WEEKEND (PART 2)

Great Blue Heron, Green Island Preserve, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

Spending time in the wetlands along the Mississippi River is one of the things I really enjoy and last weekend wasn’t any different. I got quite a few hours of practice with the new Nikkor Z 600 f/6.3 lens and like to share a few images with you.

Some easy shots of this Great Blue Heron were made a minute earlier, as the heron still stood motionless on the dyke. When the bird finally took off I was able to pan with the lens and follow the bird for a few pics. Good panning is still a matter of practice but it is a lot easier with the much lighter Z 600 than with my good old Sigma 150-600 S.

Sandhill Cranes

I counted 87 Sandhill Cranes foraging in the field of the Green Island Bird Sanctuary. This was the highest number I have ever seen in the fall at this location. Some of the cranes performed their elaborate courtship displays, mostly served between mates to maintain their pair bond. The cranes were more than half a mile away, almost one kilometer, and some heat shimmer above the ground effected sharpness a bit. However, I was amazed how clear the lens still rendered despite the distance.

Garter Snake

This Garter Snake was stretched out on the gravel road and seemed to wait for the return of the sun from behind a cloud. Before I guided the snake back into the grass, so nobody could accidentally or intentionally drive over it, a few clicks were made. Should have gotten still a little lower but at least nothing in the background distracts from this nice Garter Snake. I have seen a few snakes lately and this gives me some hope that population may bounce back.

Sandhill Cranes, Heritage Pond, Cooler Valley, Eastern Iowa

This photo was made a day later at the Heritage Pond and marsh, not far from home. A pair of Sandhill Cranes, maybe the same as last year, had flown in from the Mississippi and started searching for food in the mud. Very little rain during the last couple months dried the pond out again but the cranes seemed to like it. They are extremely careful and most of the time one crane keeps its head up while the other one is looking for food.

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

NATURE CLICKS #529 - GARTER SNAKE

In past blog posts I have always complaint that our sightings of snakes have declined during the last ten years in this area. However, last Sunday in the Green Island Wetlands I had three encounters, two Northern Water Snakes and this beautiful Garter Snake. Some enforcement work at the dikes that cross the wetlands is going on and as a result much of the top vegetation is gone at the moment. Maybe that was the reason that I saw three snakes within a very short time.

I don’t really want commit on the exact name for this garter snake. The colors of the critter are not 100% what I found in any online guide or my books. It is probably a Common Garter Snake but I’m not sure. Any advice by an expert is highly appreciated.

I jumped out of the car to make this and a number of other pictures. The snake was aware of my presence the whole time. By slowly walking around it the sun was finally in my back for better light and less reflections. After five minutes it had enough of watching me, turned around and moved slowly away towards the water on the other side of the dike.

HEALTHY SNAKE?

Garter Snake -------

I have been possibly pointed in the right direction about my suspicion over the dramatic decline of snakes in our area by Pamela, who is also a member of the Dubuque Camera Club, today. Thank you Pamela! The cause could be snake fungal disease (SFD) and if you are interested to learn more about it, here is a useful link for you: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5095536/ . Oddly enough, Joan found a Garter Snake at the edge of our woods  yesterday, the first we saw in a long time. The snake just rested in the grass and gave me plenty of time to get the camera.

So how do we get a good image of a snake lying in the grass? I don’t know! I tried a low angle but din’t like the outcome. There was always a blade of grass that covered part of the head. I finally went for a picture from above, using the coil of the reptile and the soft evening light as my means for the story telling.

In a close-up view of the photo I can see that the skin of the snake is kinda flaky, however, not really visible in this size-reduced image of my blog. I will send a larger file to the people that do research on this disease and will either learn that this Garter Snake is healthy or help to pinpoint the spread of this fungus. This is all very concerning, knowing about what impact the Chytrid Fungus, in particular Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or “Bd”, has done to amphibians, wiping out more than one third of the world’s frog species. Just reading a lot about it today, the threat to these reptiles seems to be not less…

Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4G ED VR

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2018 #02 - ABOVE FLOOD STAGE

Garter Snake, Mississippi River, Mud Lake Park, Iowa --------

I have a hard time keeping up with my visual story telling about things that happen in nature right now around here. It is an eventful time. So, let me talk about the Mississippi River again. The river was above flood stage during the last few days but reached its high today. Some of my usual shooting locations and places where we give also our dog Cooper his exercise were under water. Yesterday I was down at Mud Lake Park and the picture below tells you how this recreation area looked like.

Mississippi River, Mud Lake Park, Iowa

Ok, so what has that to do with the photo of a beautiful Garter Snake? During the last few years the number of snakes has dramatically decreased in this area. Years ago I could make a picture of a snake every day in our backyard and found them at many other places. This is not the case anymore. I have a hard time to find any snake at all and last year I saw only a single Garter Snake, which were usually abundant. I talked to many people, like rangers from the DNR or biologists. Everybody observes the same trend but nobody has really an answer what causes the decline. I still hope it is a temporary thing but my fear grows that pesticides or other aggressive treatments of mother nature play a role. 

The high water level of the river and subsequent flooding have obviously effected the habitat of some critters and this Garter Snake was out in the open. A dangerous place since many predators, like herons, egrets, or owls may not hesitate to have them for dinner…