NOT ”SKUNKED” AGAIN

Rough-legged Hawk, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

I have been at Green Island, the wetlands down south in the Mississippi Valley, the third time in a row during the last weekends and after getting ”skunked” twice, I came finally back with some photos on the memory card today. I know that a number of local fellow photographers and birders follow my blog and I like to report about the sightings first today.

While I was even further south in Sabula, Iowa my hopes to get some Bald Eagles in front of the lens did not came true. There was still too much ice on most parts of the Mississippi River and the eagles had no reason to be there due to the lack of open water.

At the Green Island Wetlands I found to my surprise 100+ migrating Greater White-fronted Geese. Among them was one single Snow Goose and a school of seven Trumpeter Swans had joined the party as well. This was all too far away for a decent photo, but I enjoyed watching the birds through the binoculars. The picture below is from 2019.

New photo opportunities came during the hour before sunset. While driving through the mud on the west side of the wetlands this Rough-legged Hawk seemed to take advantage of my presence. It let me come really close with the car, took off and flew to the next tree ahead. This repeated several times. Maybe the bird was hoping my movement would startle other birds or rodents along the muddy road. There was only one stop that would allow a shot without any obstruction. Of course, I took my chance!

Rough-legged Hawks breed in the tundra and taiga of North America and Eurasia. They migrate to the Central US for the winter. An area with marshes and fields, like the Green Island Wetlands and with rodent prey present, is their preferred habitat. More to come…

Migrating Greater White-fronted Geese, photo from 2019

SITTING, FLYING, SWIMMING, WALKING…

One of many Bald Eagles at the bridge across the river between Sabula, IA and Savannah, IL.

Short post today. Here are a few photos from today’s trip to different locations along the Mississippi River. 

More than fifty Trumpeter Swans shared the ice and open water at the Green Island Preserve.

Always a sure sign that spring is near, migrating Sandhill Cranes. (counted ~30 today)

Again, thousands of Greater White-fronted Geese are still around. Wave after wave flew up the Mississippi Valley and then turned west and followed the Maquoketa River. I still haven’t found out where they roost for the night.

IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR…!

Migrating Greater White-fronted Geese, Mississippi Valley, iowa

I leave it up to you to count all the Greater White-fronted Geese in the photo below. It has been a few thousands that came through the Mississippi Valley this evening within fifteen minutes around 5PM. Wave after wave flew across the Green Island Wetlands just before sunset. I don’t know where their roost for the night is this time. Other years the wetlands were used as a resting location for the night, but with a much drier location this time, the geese may have a better spot to rest. I have witnessed the spring migration of the Greater White-fronted Geese several times before, but it still sends a chill down my spine when these birds head towards their breeding grounds in the arctic regions of Canada. Nature at its best!!

GEESE AND OTHERS ON THE MOVE

Greater White-fronted Geese, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Yesterday I took another trip to the Green Island Wetlands, and boy, what a change to the weekend before. The snow is melting really fast and a few spots had finally open water. With that said, food sources become available for all kinds of birds and they indeed move in immediately. I saw seven Greater Sandhill Cranes, a big flock of Red-winged Blackbirds occupied some trees, and twice the call of a Killdeer filled the air, although I didn’t see any. But the biggest sign of spring for me were several overflights of Greater White-fronted Gees

Canada Geese

Wherever the ice had disappeared and open water was available, pairs of Canada Geese had moved in and jockeyed for the best spots. Some may travel further north but the Green Island Wetlands are a popular breeding ground for Canada Geese.

What else, of course a number of Bald Eagles. I discovered another nest location, which is the fourth one I’m aware of in this area. Other raptors can be watched, like a Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawks, and for the first time I saw a Rough-legged Hawk at Green Island.

Getting close enough to a particular bird is always the biggest challenge for any photographer. If you finally have your bird in the viewfinder and you just can’t get it sharp, despite you do everything right, you probably deal with heat shimmer. The warm air above the remaining cold snow and ice creates this inferior mirage that prevents a sharp image. A problem that can’t be ignored, especially when working with a long lens. Sometimes it is better just to watch and enjoy the moment…

RETROSPECTS 2020 - #3

Greater White-fronted Geese, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Early March is a great time to watch thousands of Greater White-fronted and Snow Geese migrating to their arctic breeding grounds. The Green Island Wetlands are a place for rest during their journey. The hour before sunset is the time to be there for this great nature event. Often the low sitting sun throws some warm light to the underside of the birds. Predicting the path of the geese and good panning technique with the long lens are key for getting a sharp image. The bonus that night was an almost full moon. Having a Greater White-fronted Goose right in its center put a big smile on my face…

PASSING BY

Greater White-fronted Geese

Not a full moon but pretty close. I made this picture yesterday at 600 mm focal length. Most of the Greater White-fronted Geese managed to fly around but finally I found a few that would pass in front of the moon. The trick is to predict the path the geese would take and track them by panning with the lens. If you pre-focus on the moon and just wait until a bird flies by, the geese would be most likely just blurry. The warm light on the birds creates a nice color contrast to the cool background and leaves no doubt about when this shot was taken.

GEESE MIGRATION

I was afraid I would miss the migration of the Greater White-fronted Geese while I was out of town this week. Luckily they were present in the wetlands this evening and during the last hour before sunset thousands flew through the Mississippi Valley and finally away from the river. Unfortunately they didn’t land in the fields that border the Green Island Wetlands like last year, when the fields were mostly flooded.

I chose a position on the west side of the bird sanctuary, with the sun in my back, but wasn’t close enough for the majority of the geese. The waxing moon had good visibility and my hope was to make some pictures with geese flying in front of it. Well the photo above was the closest I got for this goal. With the moon as an anchor point and a thin wave of Greater White-fronted Geese flying away from it, negative space fills most of the frame. Not a bad thing in my books…

Greater White-fronted Geese, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands

Still a long way to go. Their breeding ground is in Alaska and far-northern Canada.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

Greater White-fronted Geese, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa, March 2019

When the year comes to an end I like to browse through my picture library and recall the good moments I was able to capture over the last twelve months. What did I learn, what did I miss? Sometimes I find a decent photo that didn’t draw my attention right after it was taken or shots get deleted because with hindsight I find that they are not that great.

One evening in mid March I was finally able to watch thousands of Greater White-fronted Geese flying in for the night in the Green Island Wetlands at the Mississippi River. They were on the way to their breeding grounds up in northern Canada. Before they landed the birds circled around and with the setting sun in my back, gave me the chance to make some clicks. Other years I missed this spectacle because I wasn’t there at the right time. I love moments like that, when things in nature come together, not just for a good photo but for a lasting memory.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,   at 600 mm, 1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO200

EXCITING DAY IN THE VALLEY

Greater White-fronted Geese, Mississippi River, Green Island, Iowa

Hey, we are back from a trip to Germany but the photos made on the old continent have to wait. I’m glad to see that most of the snow is gone here in eastern Iowa, although flooding effects people in many areas. I couldn’t wait to get out today and see the state of bird migration in the Mississippi Valley. It was a gorgeous Saturday and I spent eight hours in the Green Island Wetlands and the island town of Sabula in the Mississippi River. Great bird watching, and yes, many clicks were made this afternoon!

Thousands of Greater White-fronted and Canada Geese rested in the flooded fields around the little town of Green Island on their way up north. Among them were only five Snow Geese. The best moment of the day came just a couple minutes before the sun finally disappeared behind a dark cloud at the horizon. Something flushed the Greater White-fronted Geese and many of them took off and circled in the sky for a while before they returned to their overnight roosts. It was very exciting when the loud sounds of their calls filled the air. Gosh, I wanted to make this kind of image since a long time. Can you tell I’m a happy camper today? 😊

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S

THE PICTURES FOR OURSELVES

Greater White-fronted Geese, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Over the years I have tried to grow as a photographer and have developed some standards for myself about what goes into the trash can immediately, what stays in the library for documentary reasons, but is never seen by the public eye, and what can be printed as big as the pixel count allows. Of course, the aim is always the latter but it doesn’t always work out that way.

I made a lot of clicks last night in the Green Island Wetlands and in my post from yesterday I showed a couple photos that tell together the story of this evening. And if I want to print them, I don’t have to think twice. Well, my favorite picture is nevertheless the one I show you today. It lacks sharpness and it is heavily cropped (down to 55%), to make it work. So, what’s the point? It’s the gesture of the geese in front of that superb cloud that tells the story about bird migration and the great light last night in just a single image. Usually I keep this kind of picture (heavily cropped) for myself, but I know that some other photographers who follow my blog, try to answer the same question (Where do I stand with my image quality?). Let’s keep our favorite photos, even if the technical side is not perfect. It’s the emotional part that makes us happy!

MIGRATING GEESE, STILL COMING THROUGH

Snow Geese, Mississippi River, near New Albin, Iowa

This is a late photo from our trip along the Mississippi River last weekend. I was traveling this week and had planned to post this on Monday already, but made the “beginners mistake” of leaving my card reader at home. A good reminder to pay more attention while packing the photo gear for a trip…

We saw several hundred White-fronted Geese near the boat landing in New Albin, just south of the Minnesota border. Among them were about a dozen Snow Geese, feeding in the marsh land that surrounds the road to the main channel of the river. I have watched these species since several weeks along the Mississippi and was surprised to see still so many of them. I thought they were all gone already and they would be way further north on their journey to the arctic region of North America. A look on the migration map reveals that especially the Greater White-fronted Goose travels from as far south as Mexico.

Greater White-fronted Geese

I shot most of the pictures from my car, using the DX-crop mode, equivalent to a 900 mm focal length. Another photographer told me that a little earlier they were so close that he had to zoom out to 150 mm focal length. I wished I was that lucky…

NATURE CLICKS #363 - SNOW GEESE

Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

I had an incredible good time the last two evenings in the Green Island Wetlands. Yes, I went there three times this week. Spring migration is just an exciting time! The only problem I have now is to decide what pictures to show here in the blog 😉. Yesterday much of the air space was taken by hundreds of Greater White-fronted Geese but they all were gone today. Still present was a string of about 30 Snow Geese. They seemed to rest always far away from me, but tonight I had a chance to aim my lens at them after they took off and flew towards the setting sun. Among the mostly light morphs were a few dark morph Snow Geese.

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens

THREE GOOSE SPECIES

Green Island Wetlands, Greater White-fronted Geese, Snow Geese, Ross's Geese (far right)

A relatively warm Easter weekend lies behind us. I hope you had a great holiday, although the sun wasn’t out much here in eastern Iowa. On Saturday I introduced the Green Island Wetlands to part of the family. Well, the seven months old twins probably didn’t care too much about where we went…😉

My excitement went up when we saw a flock of Greater White-fronted Geese. My guess was about 400-500. They have still a long way to go before they reach their breeding grounds in northern Canada. With them were also about 50 Snow Geese, the largest number I have seen so far in the Green Island Wetlands. Looking closer at my pictures at home I found out that at least two blue-morph Ross’s Geese were among as well. This was a first sighting for me! If a more experienced birder than me has some other ideas about my identification efforts, I always appreciate your help and suggestions!

An overcast isn’t really helpful if you like to reveal the colors of birds in a photo but it definitely helped with this shot. This would have been a very high contrast scene if the sun was out, but with the overcast it allowed to show some detail in all of the different species, without tweaking much of the photo in post process.

NATURE CLICKS #260 - GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE

One of the birds I was hoping to see again last Friday in the Green Island Wetlands during their migration is the Greater White-fronted Goose. Their breeding grounds are in Alaska, far-northern Canada, and Greenland. And I was not disappointed. Several hundred geese, if not more, rested on the wet fields and near the ponds and puddles left from the snow melt. The Greater White-fronted Geese migrate often in large flocks during the night and I saw many of them taking off during the hour before sunset

All images: Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

I have been closer to the birds than last year but still not close enough to make an image where the bird fills the frame. It just wonderful to see them and hear their distinctive laughing flight call during the short period of time, when they migrate north and rest here along the Mississippi River.