NATURE CLICKS #522 - BROWN SNAKE (STORERIA DEKAYI)

Brown Snake, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Heritage Trail

It was getting dark when we returned to the car from a little walk with our dog Cooper this evening. We had chosen a quiet section of the Heritage Trail for our hike, a little bit up in the valley, to keep the dog away from any firecracker noise that is part of the celebrations for Independence Day. Most dogs do not like this kind of noise…

Joan discovered this small Brown Snake on the trail. They are a nonvenomous species and prefer woodlands like we have them here in eastern Iowa. Years ago we had no problems finding this and other species in our woods but during the last few years we hardly see any. I wanted to document this not so common find and cranked up the ISO to 2500 and still shot only with a shutter speed of 1/30s. This is when vibration reduction in camera or lens becomes a useful feature. It helped that the snake went into a defensive pose while we took a few pictures. We kept the stress to a minimum and guided the critter off the trail with a stick. Luckily nobody came at the time of dusk anymore, but a bicycle accidentally driving over it wasn’t a good perspective for this beautiful Brown Snake…

WINTER IN THE VALLEY

Little Maquoketa River Valley, Eastern Iowa

Last Sunday we used the Heritage Trail for a hike into the Little Maquoketa River Valley, not far from home. A couple miles from our starting point the steep limestone rocks bordering the valley give way to a more open slope. The Sundown Mountain Resort, with lifts and snowmaking equipment, is only a quarter mile to the right of this image. During the summer cattle graze in this part of the valley and in the woods along the trail we can find good spots for bird watching.

Sun and wind had eroded the hillside quite a bit already and I should have visited the valley a week earlier when we still had more snow on the ground. I liked how a snow mobile trail crossed the slope on the other side of the river and how the long shadows of the trees fall on the hills. This is by no means a perfect landscape photo, but it gives me some ideas what can be done with more snow on the ground and in the trees. The forecast says we still have plenty of cold weather ahead this month but I’m not so sure about a good snowfall followed by a sunny evening with some clouds. I may have to wait until next winter saison…

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 70 mm, 1/400 s, f/13, ISO 100

NATURE CLICKS #489 - NORTH AMERICAN BEAVER

North American Beaver, Sageville Marsh, Iowa

Here is a photo of the animal I was after last night at Sageville Marsh, the American Beaver. The lodge is next to an observation deck beside the Heritage Trail that cuts through our valley and it is easy to see for everybody. But during the day there isn’t much going on, the beavers are mostly asleep. After sunset is the time to be there if you like to watch these large rodents. This one came out of the lodge about 7:15PM. The photo was made right at the lodge and there are a lot of branches and sticks that can obstruct the view. The tripod was left in the car because I wanted to be more agile and able to move around with the camera fast. I talked about a low light situation yesterday already but at this time of the year we have a chance to make a few clicks in the remaining daylight.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/60 s, f/6.3, ISO640

ON THE OLD RAILROAD PATH

Heritage Trail, old railroad path near Durango, Iowa

Another picture from yesterday’s walk on the Heritage Trail in the Little Maquoketa River Valley. The photo from my last blog post was made way in the back behind the couple on bicycles, on the bridge that crosses the river. In the old days when the railroads were built they tried to keep the tracks as straight as possible and blasted away some of the rocks and bluffs that were shaped by the river a long time ago. These hollows make some nice and shady spots on the trail that have a micro climate and can be interesting for finding plants, birds, and critters.

As mentioned in my last blog post, I tried out a new GND filter and even in a situation like this it helps to manage the high dynamic range of the scene.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, Breakthrough 2-stop X4 GND filter

NATURE CLICKS #397 - RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET

Actually I had a different story to tell for today’s blog post, which had to do with the snow that we have on the ground again. My plan was changed immediately when I had this little guy in front of the lens this evening. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is one of the tiniest and prettiest birds we can sometimes see here during spring migration. Our dog Cooper and I enjoyed a hike down in our valley on the Heritage Trail along the Little Maquoketa River. The trail follows an old railroad track and at several places it has steep rock walls on both sides. The kinglet did not sit still for even a second and was vigorously searching for little insects in every crack, cave, and cavity between the mossy rocks.

I shot the lens wide open at 200 mm, f/4. Several tack sharp “butt shots” proved the fast focus of the lens but it was quite a challenge to get the eye in the picture because the Ruby-crowned Kinglet faced the wall most of the time. So why did I try to shoot the “little feather ball” from behind or at least from the side? The second picture, the only real front view I had, may tell the story about today’s weather conditions better but it doesn’t say “ruby-crowned” at all.

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

SOME STILL LOOK GOOD

We had a mild and lovely evening today and I was glad to have the camera with me during a walk with the dog down on the Heritage Trail in the Little Maquoketa River Valley. Most wildflowers have passed their prime around here as we are approaching fall but some still look good for a picture if the light hits them just right.

I’m testing a new polarizing filter (see info below) in anticipation of our vacation in October, which will hopefully lead to some good autumn photos. The B+W replaces an older 77mm Promaster filter that I never embraced 100% in regards of image quality and design. I have good experience with the 58mm B+W that I use since many years on the Carl Zeiss Distagon T*, 35mm / f2 ZF lens and I hope the 77 mm delivers the same good results.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, B+W F-PRO Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC filter,  @ 22mm, 1/250s, f/4, ISO100

WHEN THE FOG LIFTS

Here is another photo from my brief shoot yesterday morning at the Heritage Pond Dubuque. The ice in the foreground covers actually another small pond just north of the parking lot and next to the Heritage Trail. As the fog started lifting and the sun came through, all the gray seemed to disappear. Within a couple minutes the colors came to life, telling the story about that the days of winter may be already numbered. The hawk, sitting high up in the tree, wasn’t planned but became part of the story.

The ice on the pond doesn’t really reflect how warm it was here during the last few days. I saw 23ºC (73ºF) today on the thermometer and we are still in February. However, there is a “blizzard watch” for parts of Iowa in the forecast for tomorrow and things can still change back to ‘real’ winter quickly…

EARLY SNOW

I don’t remember that we ever got so much snow in November within a day since Joan and I live here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa Valley. It sure looked pretty in the morning and even later, just before sunset when these photos were made, there was still some snow in the trees.

The farmer who works the small fields along the Little Maquoketa River, was a little late with the harvest of his corn this year. I saw the combine and tractors with trailers Friday morning getting the job done. Well, it was obviously not too late and the people that “plowed” the fields with their snow mobiles just a day later must have thought the same. I know, the sun in this picture is a little “burned out” but I wanted this picture for today’s story. I can promise you it will not end up in my portfolio… 😉!

Down in the valley the Heritage Trail, follows the highway to Dubuque, Iowa. The snowmobilers were obviously very happy about the early start of the winter season and used the trail heavily. The photographer found his pleasure in the light of the evening...