CRAYFISH DINNER

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

This was a tricky shot of this Great Egret in the wetlands along the Mississippi River today. I navigated my car (the well known mobile blind!) carefully in a position where I hoped to have an unobstructed view at this bird. The size of the vegetation is enormous after the rain we had lately and there was a lot of grass and other wild plants swaying in the wind between the bird and me. Luck was on my side and just where I had anticipated a possible shot, the egret caught a crayfish and ate it right away.

It is quiet on the lakes and between the reeds at this time of the year in the backwaters of the mighty Mississippi River and it takes some efforts to get a bird in front of the camera. However, I enjoyed being back again after some busy weeks and nothing can beat the time spending in the Great Outdoors!

By the way, the neck of this Great Egret seems to show some impact and it makes me wonder, if the bird had a hard time with a predator or if it just is the result of a fight with another egret about the right to mate…?

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG,   @ 850 mm, 1/1250 s, f/9, ISO 400

BRAVING THE THUNDERSTORM

Great Egret, Green Island Preserve, Mississippi Valley, Eastern Iowa

When I left home for the wetlands today I knew already that a thunderstorm would cross the area this afternoon. Later we had even a tornado warning but finally the thunderstorm and rain came with moderate wind and not much lightning. During the storm very few critters are visible but nothing seemed to bother the Great Egrets. Three of them perched on some trees above the water surface in one of the lakes of the Green Island Wildlife Area. If I wanted to tell a story about the bird, braving these weather conditions, the rain had to be visible. Usually this can be done by slowing down the exposure time and with a dark background, which highlights the falling rain. The wooded banks of the Mississippi Valley are perfect for such a backdrop. The rain came finally down so hard, it wasn’t really necessary to shoot with a slow shutter speed. This photo was made at 1/640 s, ISO 800, fast enough for a sharp image at 600 mm focal length and still rendering blurred rain across the image.

CLOUDS ARE THE HELPER

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

It can be a little tricky if a Great Egret poses between the lush green of the wetlands in full sunlight. To blow out the highlights and end up wit absolutely no detail in its plumage is very easy. The white feathers of this member in the heron family do not have a lot of texture, but it is nice if the little bit of structure we can see remains intact. If a cloud moves in front of the sun the contrast in the scene can be managed much better and both, the egret and the background, receive the exposure they deserve. Watching the sky, I waited for this moment.

From a fallen tree in the water the Great Egret looks out for prey or walks slowly between reeds, arrow heads, and water lilies. At this time of the year all surrounded by duckweed. In the Green Island Wetlands their diet consists probably mainly aquatic insects, fish, or frogs.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG     @800 mm, 1/1250 s, f/9, ISO 800, aperture priority, dialed in -0.3 EV

ENDLESS APPETITE

Great Egret, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Here is another one from my last photo shoot with the Great Egrets in the Green Island Wetlands. No, this is not the same fish as in the last picture. The appetite of the egrets seems to be endless. This particular egret caught and ate four of them, all about the same size, within less than 20 minutes. This is great for us, who want to take storytelling pictures of these beautiful birds. Sure, the beautiful pose they make sometimes while standing motionless in the water is worth a click if the light supports it, but the catching or handling of their prey tells sometimes a more powerful story about their life and biology.

NATURE CLICKS #467 - SUCCESSFUL CATCH

Great Egret, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Most of the time you come across a congregation of Great Egrets at this time of the year you may see them standing in the water, almost motionless, and you may think, not that interesting, there is not much going on. But wait, they are there for a reason, means they hunt for fish. This egret caught and ate three of them within just fifteen minutes. If your slow approach to the birds was successful, they accept your presence and didn’t fly away, you just wait, watch the bird, consider the direction of the light (no shade on the face), and you will get your chance for the shot. The low water level in the Green Island Wetlands right now is ideal for the Great Egrets or Great Blue Herons and they will end the day with a full stomach.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/2000 s, f/6.3, ISO200

PERFECT WEEKEND TO PADDLE

The only people we met on the water. A couple in its best age (like us! 😊) with their grandkids in a canoe.

I haven’t heard anybody complaining about the weather this weekend 😉. Moderate temperatures and lots of sun made it the perfect time to go on the water again and enjoy the Great Outdoors. Sun high in the sky creates contrast and that was pretty much the only thing that needed attention for making a few clicks while traveling by kayak.

Great Egret, Mississippi River, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa. They usually keep their distance but this one felt obviously safe while perching high up in a dead tree.

In my last blog post I published an image of a Map Turtle. The more common one here is the Painted Turtle. I loved what water and reflections do to make the photo of a very common critter a little more special…

MEMORABLE MOMENTS 2019 (2)

Competitive moves

Most nature photos can easily live without any additional words. This one definitely could. I still like to call it ”Competitive Moves”. The month of May is usually the time with lots of new wildlife photos for me. Many birds arrive in the Upper Mississippi Valley for breeding and feeding their offspring during the summer. The Great Egrets find plenty of food in the wetlands and watching their mating approach and competitive behavior is always a great pleasure. These egrets were part of a large congregation and getting close to them with my “mobile blind” was a real treat. Oh yes, another memorable moment this year.

SEPARATION

Great Egret, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Last night I watched a congregation of about 45-50 Great Egrets in the Green Island Wetlands. Today I do what I normally wouldn’t do, I post a picture that doesn’t meet my own criteria for being published, but I like to show you why a good wildlife observation may not lead automatically to a great image. The egrets were standing pretty close together. There was a lot of interactions between the birds and plenty of great gestures could be captured with the camera. The problem was the terrain, the sticks and stalks from last year’s vegetation that made it difficult to predict a shot and most important, to separate a bird from all the clutter on the ground. The picture below gives you an idea what I mean. There is not a clear subject, even if the incoming egret and the one on the left, who reacts to the arrival of another food competitor, are sharp. There is too much distraction in the picture and even cropping of the image would not have helped much to make this more than a documentary shot.

Believe me, I take these pictures anyway because they are my diary for future reference and for my own memories. It was clear that it needs separation, maybe not necessarily from other birds, but definitely from the clutter of old vegetation. and that’s why the photo above is my favorite of yesterday’s shooting in the wetlands.

EGRET ON A HUNT

Great Eagret, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Yesterday I spent the last two hours before sunset in the Green Island Wetlands. The water level in the Mississippi River has dropped a little bit but many areas are still flooded. The sun came finally out and it was a good evening for wildlife observations and photography. The first Greater Yellowleg has arrived and was searching for food in one of the muddy fields that are part of the area. I saw the first pairs of Wood Ducks and numerous female Red-winged Blackbirds have joined the males , who were already present since several weeks.

But the star of this evening was the first and only Great Egret I watched this season so far. First I saw him standing almost motionless for several minutes between some flooded small trees along the dyke. After a while the bird started moving its neck forth and back and stirred the water with its feet. It was clear, the egret was hunting for a fish. It had his head turned to the east, means the setting sun lit just the back of the head. I made a few clicks anyway. Suddenly the bird turned around, now facing the sun, and moved a few feet to an area where not so many branches were obstructing the view. And than it happened very fast. The clouds opened up a little more and at that moment the egret caught a fish. The metadata of my pictures reveal, from the moment he got it out of the water until the fish was going down its throat only 9 seconds had elapsed. A piece of weed was hanging over his head. Happy egret and happy photographer!

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm/f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @600 mm , 1/500 s, f/6.3, ISO200

LAST SUMMER VISIT IN THE GREEN ISLAND WETLANDS

Killdeer

I have been at least once every month during the summer in the Green Island Wetlands, next to the Mississippi River, and today was probably my last summer visit. Other events lie ahead of us this month and before we know it will be duck hunting season. Although part of the wetlands are a preserve, the access to these parts is limited and already today the dyke that has often the best photo locations was closed for cars. Sure, I don’t shy away from hiking, even with tripod and heavy camera and lens combination on my shoulder, but water fowl, egrets, or herons will most likely fly away before someone even comes close. The “mobile blind” is the best way to go, with other words, stay in your dam car if you like the make a photo that makes halfway sense ;-)

It was obviously a productive season. I saw quite a few juvenile Wood Ducks and dozens of Killdeer tried to find food in areas with short vegetation, like the parking lots of the wetlands.

Great Egret

The Great Egret is the easiest to spot but not every bird stays in place when a car gets relatively close. There was very little direct sun today, which is ideal for shooting these beautiful egrets while they stand in the water and hunt for fish, frogs, or aquatic insects.

Great Blue Heron

One of the easiest birds to photograph here in the Mississippi Valley is the Great Blue Heron. I think it is the perfect subject for someone who just starts with wildlife photography. Not that they all stay in place if you come close, but their large eye makes it easy to focus on. Even more important, the pattern on their chest provides great contrast for locking on the focus sensor. The eye has to be sharp or the picture goes to the trash can. Remember, the chest and the eye are almost in the same focal plane. If you can’t focus on the eye, use the chest to get a sharp image of the bird.

BACK IN BOLSA CHICA

Great Egret, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, California --------  

Last Sunday, after four years of absence, I was again in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, a wetland area near Huntington Beach in Southern California. This was my fourth time since 2010 and I never came back disappointed. It is a great place for bird watching and photography.

My strategy has been always to arrive on location before sunrise and to leave after the sun disappeared behind the horizon line of the Pacific Ocean. I took a lunch break for some much craved fresh seafood in the early afternoon, when the light is usually not at its best in Southern California, but returned for the warm light in the late afternoon.

I talked with a lot of people in the preserve, other photographers, bird watchers, or locals that were in for a walk along the shore of the laguna. Everybody was extremely friendly and helpful with hints where to find some particular birds. I was told we are kind of between seasons in Bolsa Chica. While some winter residents have already arrived, many are not there yet. However, I had a great time last Sunday in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Some of the birds we never or hardly ever see here in Iowa and as a result I have at least one species on my memory card that I saw and photographed for the first time. I’ll talk about this in one of my future blog posts.

The Great Egret is a bird that we see here along the Mississippi River during the summer. It was the gesture of this bird, while on the hunt for a fish, that made me choose this image for today’s blog post.

STATE OF THE SEASON

Great Blue Heron

Todays photos are not so much about the birds, even if they are still the subject of the image, but more about the ‘environmental’ part, the part that tells the actual story in both photos. The Great Blue Heron and the Great Egret, just “do their thing”, standing or wading in the water, and looking for fish that could be the next meal. So what’s the story?

Great Egret

We can see the humongous size of the water lily leaves, that normally float on the water surface. We may notice the muddy slope behind the Great Blue Heron and all the duck weed that covers the water. And these little details tell the actual story, the story about life in the wetlands during late summer, after a period of time without rain, with low water levels, and after every plant has surpassed the peak of their beauty... No groundbreaking news, just an invitation to go out and find the beauty of mother nature during this labor day weekend, even if it is hot and muggy... ;-)

DEEP IN THE BACKWATERS

Gorgeous weather yesterday and I used it for another long paddle tour. I explored parts of the Green Island Wetlands that I have never seen before. It is always amazing to see how many species this ecosystem can support. There is wildlife in abundance and even if someone doesn’t care for photography at all, you can’t escape the magic of this landscape.

It needs some navigation skills because it is easy to take the wrong turn or miss a passage between all the water arms and little islands. The advantage of using a kayak becomes obvious when you paddle through very shallow parts deep into the backwaters where no other watercraft can go without getting stuck.

Cooper, our little dog who shared the boat with me, and myself enjoyed the solitude. We didn’t meet another human or boat the whole afternoon. Yes, it takes some efforts to get out there and keep the equipment dry and clean, but at the latest, when we paddled slowly below a dead tree where a big Bald Eagle sat on a branch, I knew this was where I wanted to be…

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM