UNDER THE CANOPY

Female American Goldfinch, Walnut Woods State Park, Iowa

This is a late post from last weekend. We spent a relaxing holiday weekend in and around Des Moines, Iowa with friends. Not much photography this time but I had a chance to explore briefly Walnut Woods State Park, a nice wooded area along the Raccoon River in West Des Moines. There was a blind for watching birds but I placed my tripod outside of the building and practiced for a while shooting under the canopy of the trees, challenged by constantly changing light conditions.

Gray Catbird, Walnut Woods State Park, Iowa

To maintain some consistence I employed the Nikon SB800 speed light with a little dome diffuser to pull out some shadows and get better results for the colors of the birds feathers. As always, the speed light was mounted with a flash bracket above the long lens, which allows for better direction of the light and prevents unwanted reflections in a bird’s eye.

We saw mostly the same bird species that we have here in our woods and so I looked just for the best ”posers” among them. Nothing spectacular, just pure shooting fun!

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light,

CATBIRD STORIES, LAST UPDATE

Ready to leave the nest

I promised you another bird story but that still has to wait. Here is instead the last picture of our young Gray Catbirds from 7:37AM this morning. All four left the nest today and now we can hear their cat-like “mew” call from the surrounding bushes and trees. Catbirds leave the nest after about 11-13 days. They will be fed by both parents for approximately 12 more days after their departure.

CATBIRD STORIES

Last photo from this morning first. The four Gray Catbird nestlings were still doing well this morning. A peaceful bunch!!

For the first time ever a pair of Gray Catbirds, a species in the Mimidae family, has built a nest next to our house, in a mountain pine right beside our porch. Catbirds prefer dense tangles of shrubs, or small trees. The dense jungle of long needles in a a mugo pine seemed to be the right fit for this pair building their nest . I was on a business trip last week when the young catbirds hatched, but have used my camera ever since my return to document every day in their young life. The adult birds are very tolerant but nevertheless I use utmost caution when I make an image of the nest and its habitants. As always, the safety of the birds comes first. I limit my time shooting through the branches to a few seconds and use a long lens whenever possible to make an image. For photos like used in this little story, I do not hesitate to crop the picture, just to keep a safe distance and the birds unexcited about my presence while documenting their life.

May 30, 2022, two eggs were already in the nest, two more would follow within the next days.

The incubation of the eggs is done by the female but both parents feed the young buggers in the nest. The adults are relatively quiet during this time and their unique “mew” call, just like a cat, is heard more muted. They can do other songs as well, and if you are really interested the following link will give you a lot more details about this bird species and the calls they perform. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Catbird/overview

June 18, 2022, Joan discovered them a day before my arrival back home. The young birds are brooded by the female for the first few days.

Friends and followers of my blog, I’m sorry for a long break here, but my work assignments didn’t allow for spending time in front of the computer. I tried at least to be behind the camera whenever I had a chance. I’m always grateful that you take the time to look at my photography and give me your input about it, or the nature of my subjects!!

Beside the exciting moments in life of our Gray Catbirds another story was unfolding… Please stay tuned if you enjoy nature and/or photography as part of your life…!!!

June 19, 2022, The four young catbirds sleep for most of the day and keep their eyes closed. Yawning is the photographers moment!

June 20, 2022, An adult approaching carefully the nest with two snacks in its beak, a caterpillar and another bug. Good times…!!!

INCUBATION TIME

House Wren guarding the nest

It’s breeding season for most of the birds in our woods. Many species incubate their eggs and are not seen as often as the weeks before during their mating time. We are very fortunate to have three different species sitting on eggs right here at the house. As during the last three years a pair of American Robins has built a nest on our balcony. They had originally four eggs, two didn’t make it, but two little chicks are currently fed by their parents. We avoid being on the balcony as much as possible.

The second bird is the Gray Catbird I reported about a few days ago. I discovered a nest today with two eggs. They built it between the branches of a mountain pine that grows right beside our porch. Another area we will try to avoid in order not to disturb the birds during incubation and the time after.

Last but not least, as every year a pair of House Wrens has occupied a nest box in our front yard and another female sits on eggs in another box at the back of the house. House Wrens are not monogamous and there is a good chance that the little male bird in today’s photos has something to do with the nest in the backyard as well. However, he tends and protects the bird box at the front. The wren sings his heart out, especially when the female has left the nest for a few minutes. He does that usually from a perch in the neighborhood, and not near the nest, so a possible predator will be attracted to him and not the clutch of eggs or the female while she is trying to find something to eat for herself.

I use this great photo opportunity and practice a lot with the long lens and teleconverter attached. The 850 mm focal length allows me to stay away as much as possible from the birds and still can fill the frame without cropping a single bit off.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,

1. photo   @ 850 mm, 1/200 s, f/9, ISO 640

2. photo   @ 850 mm, 1/125 s, f/9, ISO 400

NATURE CLICKS #520 - GRAY CATBIRD

Gray Catbird, Little Maquoketa River Valley, iowa

I’m very happy that we see a pair of Gray Catbirds near the house this spring. We always had them in the area but mostly not so close and frequently. They prefer low and dense vegetation and at another property in the neighborhood, where I used to see them, trees and bushes have been removed because a new house will be built. We don’t remove the underbrush in our woods and perhaps the catbirds figured out this would be a better place to live. I think the Gray Catbird is one of the most underrated birds. Most people recognize them by their distinctive “meeow-call”, which obviously gave the bird its name. However, they are also able to perform a song as a mix of notes, squeaks, and imitations of other birds. It sounds beautiful and I recently heard it again during time of courtship display.

I try to get better with my bird photography and have lately more often employed the 1.4x teleconverter when the distance to my subject was too far. This is my preferred method instead of cropping, but can be a challenge if light is very low. The long lens needs good support for its extended focal length of 850 mm, either a stabil tripod or proper handholding.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   @ 850 mm, 1/1000 s, f/9, ISO 500

A CATBIRD AT APPLE RIVER CANYON

Gray Catbird, Apple River Canyon, Illinois

I admit, we have neglected one part of the TriState-Area (Iowa / Wisconsin / Illinois) more than the two others. After more than fifteen years of living here, Joan and I finally made it to Apple River Canyon State Park in the northwest corner of Illinois today. People were fishing for trout in the river at the bottom of the canyon, a sure sign that water quality is decent, and several short hiking trails allow to explore the canyon and enjoy birds and wildflowers.

At the end of a hike we sat down in our camping chairs right at the banks of the Apple River. Our dog Cooper took a short bath and we enjoyed just watching a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers bringing food to their offspring in a dead tree on the other side of the river. As we were about to leave and go home, this Gray Catbird hopped along the river banks and tried to catch some insects by jumping up into the ferns that hung down. 

I had the Nikon D750 with the Sigma 150-600 in my lap and realized after a test shot that the exposure is around 1/40-1/50s at ISO 400. Optical stabilization of the lens (Sigma calls it OS) helped to make this image. It is not tack sharp, not even close, but I love the light and the gesture of the catbird as it looks for insects and gets ready for the next jump up into the ferns.

The canyon? Well, I thought I will wait for a landscape picture until another time. Light was really harsh in the canyon and I’m sure this was not our last visit.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/50 s, f/6.3, ISO400

NATURE CLICKS #278 - GRAY CATBIRD

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

This is not my first blog post about the Gray Catbird but I still have not made many photos of this species. It prefers low and dense vegetation and if there wouldn’t be its distinctive meeow-call we probably would hardly recognize its presence. Staying always on paved roads or trails is limiting the range of wildlife that we can get in front of the lens. Knowing a little bit about the biology and the preferred habitat of a bird or critter is already halfway of making the click. Sure, we get lucky sometimes in the middle of the road, but going into the woods or into thick brushes and underwoods may lead you to the picture you were waiting for since a long time.