LIFE AT THE POND

Green Frog, Mississippi Valley, Bellevue State Park, Iowa

We made a trip to different nature locations this afternoon. One of them was the butterfly garden in Bellevue State Park, a place we haven’t visited in a while. It wasn’t really a surprise that we saw very few butterflies, a trend that we see also around the house this year. But there are of course other things to look for. Joan has always an eye on the botanical side and found several flowers and plants she didn’t have in her picture library previously.

I focussed on a small pond that is surrounded by the butterfly garden. It is the only place in Iowa I found Green Frogs (Rama clanitans) in the past so far and luckily there was still a number of this species in the pond. They are easy to identify with their small irregular brown spots on the back and side. In Iowa Green Frogs are often brown when fully grown according to the DNR brochure (The Salamanders and Frogs of Iowa, by J.L. Christiansen and R.M. Bailey). Green Frogs can be found in the eastern half of the state in scattered populations and the pond in Bellevue State Park seems to be one of them.

The water was a little low and the short banks of the pond are kinda steep. With other words, I had to shoot from slightly above and not from a very low angle as it is sometimes possible, for instance from a kayak.

Northern Bluet Damselfly

Frogs were not the only animals that life in or near this habitat. I saw different species of dragonflies and damselflies but only the smallest of them, the beautiful Northern Bluet Damselfly, perched on a stem of grass once in a while and posed for a photo.

All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2018 #03 - 4 PICS OUT OF THE KAYAK

Green Frog, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

The last three evenings were used to paddle the Mississippi River and its backwaters, but only yesterday I took the camera with me. Aiming for wildlife during the last two hours with daylight and shooting from the low level in the boat have been often a key for success.

The mix of duck weed, algae, and aquatic plants that have reached the surface is a great habitat for many species. Don’t worry, this is usually just near the shore, the main channel in the backwaters of Mud Lake is clear and easy to paddle. This Green Frog blends right in and the reflection of its eye in an open spot of the water made me choose this image for today’s blog post.

Young Barn Swallow, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

A new generation of swallows is learning how to catch insects in flight. I have seen all five species we can find along the big river but this young Barn Swallow posed perfectly on top of a water lily.

Painted Turtle,  Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

Painted Turtles enjoy the sun as much as we do, but most of the time they slide into the water as soon they detect some movement. This one seemed to know that I was not a thread in my kayak and stayed on this piece of drift wood until I was only five feet away.

Eastern Kingbird,  Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

The young Eastern Kingbirds were hunting for insects right at the boat ramp. Even if I’m not always in favor of a backlit situation, I still prefer this shot over the ones I took while I left the boat launch.

Sure, I could make an image of all these critters from shore, but shooting out of the kayak delivers most of the time a perspective that is almost impossible to obtain by standing on land, much higher above the water level.

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