MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2024 #3 - REST ON A SANDBANK

American White Pelicans and Ring-billed Gulls, Mississippi River, Le Claire, Iowa

After a week of business travel it felt great to go out and enjoy nature and wildlife watching again. Yesterday’s trip along the Mississippi River led me all the way down to Le Claire, Iowa and up back north on the Illinois side to Savannah, followed by a short visit of the Green Island Wetlands on the Iowa side again.

Below lock & dam #14 in Le Claire these two American White Pelicans rested on a sandbank in company with a number of Ring-billed Gulls. They preened their feathers in the sun. It was quite a bit away from the shore and the 1.4x teleconverter was used to expand the focal length to 840 mm. People always debate the use of a teleconverter and claim it would degrade image quality. Except for the loss of light that hits the sensor (it becomes a f/9), I can’t confirm the loss of sharpness. The Nikon Z 600 f/6.3 works great with the TC-1.4x.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x

@ 840mm, 1/1000s, f/9, ISO 200, image slightly cropped

PANNING PRACTICE WITH GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS

Immature Great Black-backed Gull, Mississippi River, lock & dam #14, Le Claire, Iowa

Here are a couple more photos from my trip last weekend to lock & dam #14, down in Le Claire, Iowa. The goal was to practice panning with the Nikon Z6II and Sigma 150-600 lens attached. There is always a number of gulls around this area, mostly Ring-billed Gulls, but this time I found only three birds and they all seemed to be Great Black-backed Gulls. This is an uncommon species for this part of the country but I have photographed them before at this location and some other, more experienced birders than me, have documented their presence as well.

Gulls are a great subject for practice with the long lens. They fly often in circles and return over and over again during their hunt for fish, giving the photographer multiple chances to try different settings for the autofocus system and to find out what works best for a fast flying subject. It doesn’t matter how good the autofocus system on a new camera is, proper panning and handholding is still essential for a high keeper rate of sharp images. I could tell that I’m well out of shape. The keeper rate wasn’t bad but there is a lot room for improvement. The Mississippi was still covered with ice here in the Dubuque area yesterday. Once the ice breaks, which will be soon with the warm weather we have since a few days, the birds will move in and I hope my panning skills can improve with more practice down at the river…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,

1. photo   @ 600 mm, 1/2500 s, f/6.3, ISO 200

2. photo   @ 600 mm, 1/1600 s, f/6.3, ISO 200

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #4 - SIGNS OF SPRING?

American White Pelicans, Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #14, Le Claire, Iowa

In search for the first signs of spring I went down south today to lock & dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa, where Interstate 80 crosses the Mississippi. Driving on both sides of the river (Iowa and Illinois) gave me different perspectives and direction of light during this road trip. Up here in Dubuque, around lock & dam #11, everything was still covered with ice. South of lock & dam #13 in Clinton, Iowa the river had mostly open water. In the distance I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of ducks and mergansers. It will become much warmer in the next few days and the ice will break shortly, means these birds will move north as the ice is in retreat.

Lock & dam #14 in Le Claire was well known over the years for being a good spot to photograph Bald Eagles during the winter months. This has changed in the last few years, due to mild winters, some loss of perching trees, and probably busy construction and other activities in the area. 

I went there for spotting a particular species of gulls, found it, and will write about in another blog post. With the relatively new Nikon Z6II I still try to learn and find out the best way to focus on fast moving animals. Gulls are one of the best subjects to practice handholding and panning with the long lens. It was a good feeling to refresh the ‘muscle memory’ for this kind of shooting today. I could tell, I’m out of shape and need a lot more practice to regain my skills.

On the way back to the car I suddenly saw the shadows of many big birds crossing in front of me. Looking up, silently about 80+ American White Pelicans soared elegantly overhead and gave me another chance to practice with the long lens. Sign of spring? You bet!

 

INTERESTING GULL

Great Black-backed Gull, Mississippi River, lock & dam #14, LeClaire, Iowa

On my way back from a business trip I stopped briefly at lock & dam #14 after crossing the Mississippi River. The pool below #14 near LeClaire, Iowa has been often a good place for watching and photographing Bald Eagles. Unfortunately the relativ mild winters during the last couple years led to a drastic decline in the numbers of eagles that spend the cold season at this location. In addition some trees, used as a perch by the eagles, have died and had to be removed. They have been replaced by some man-made wooden structures but I have not seen any eagle using them.

I saw a couple Bald Eagles, circling high up in the sky, but none of them was within the range for a photo. As always, some Ring-billed Gulls were catching fish and among them I saw two Great Black-backed Gulls. They breed in northeastern North America at the Atlantic coast but may wander inland during the winter. To make it clear, I’m never one hundred percent sure about identification of gulls but I think this one is a Great Black-backed Gull in its first winter. However, there are similarities to a young Herring Gull and if someone can give me a second opinion I will appreciate it.

So how about the photography? I only had a few minutes to make a picture and since I haven’t aimed the lens at birds in flight for a while, I was a little “rusty” and missed a number of shots.

BALD EAGLES IN TOWN?

A couple days ago the word was spread on the internet that a large number of Bald Eagles was at Ice Harbor in Dubuque, right behind the Mississippi River Museum. I didn’t have time to go but tried to check it out yesterday instead. Bummer, there was not a single eagle at this place or any other location where we usually may have a chance to watch Bald Eagles along the big River. Because of the warm weather there is still no ice on the river and the absence of eagles isn’t really a surprise to me. Not a big deal, in January I was at lock & dam #14 in LeClaire, Iowa and had my good share of opportunities to photograph this majestic bird again. During the last days of the year I usually clean out my library, apply missing keywords, and put the last files away into the archive. And that’s where I found this image last night.

BALD EAGLES - GESTURES, LIGHT, AND TEMPERATURE CHALLENGE

Great gesture, the moment when the eagle drops suddenly down to go for a fish ----   

The weather conditions are ideal for Bald Eagle photography at the moment. First we had a clean blue sky, which in combination with a low sun in the afternoon makes for good colors and light. And second, it was cold, and I mean really cold, and this requires the eagles to eat a lot in order to survive. If the eagles are hungry they are in permanent move in search for fish, and this gives us photographers a lot more shooting opportunities than if the temperature is just around the freezing point.

When the eagle is about to put its talons into the prey you can hear the camera shutters rattle...

As expected, about 60 miles down the river at lock & dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa the parking lot was quite full and people enjoyed watching and photographing a good number of Bald Eagles today. The cold bares some challenges and being properly dressed is absolutely essential for spending time behind the camera. I saw several people climbing out of their cars full of enthusiasm and making a fashion statement with every piece of clothes they wore, but ten minutes later they disappeared again because they were not dressed warm enough. Shooting with gloves is not my favorite thing to do but there was no way around it today without a high risk of frostbites.

The flight patterns of a juvenile Bald Eagle while hunting for fish is harder to predict, their lack of routine shows quite often.

I took many pictures of Bald Eagles already during the last thirteen years since we lived near the Upper Mississippi Valley. So why going back to the best spots over and over again with the camera? Well, just watching these majestic creatures is priceless and having hundreds of photos in the files doesn’t mean there are no new gestures or light patterns to discover, and there is always this one special picture that still needs to be made…😉

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head

2017 RETROSPECT / 1

I finally found some time tonight looking into my photo archive from 2017 for pictures that may deserve to be seen by the public and that mark some of the highlights during the last year. In January I spent quite some time along the Mississippi, which was other than right now not frozen over for the most part.

When a Bald Eagle drops out of the tree and glides towards the open water you know the hunt is on. This one flew right at me but I was able to nail the focus on its eye, which has to be sharp, no matter what. If not, the picture goes to the trash can…

This photo of an excited Herring Gull was made below lock and dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa. The direct light of the late afternoon sun helps to bring out the dynamic of the scene. I chose both photos because the quality of the light makes the story telling a breeze.

NATURE CLICKS #358 - GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL (1ST SIGTHING)

Mississippi River, L&D 314, Le Claire, Iowa ---------

Yesterday, on my way back home from Davenport, Iowa I stopped briefly at lock & dam #14 at the Mississippi River. As always, a few photographers were present and tried to make a great shot of a Bald Eagle. I was told the eagles were kinda lazy that day and just sat in the trees most of the time.

While looking for some ducks, mergansers, and pelicans I suddenly saw another photographer shooting very determined one big particular gull. He confirmed that it was a Great Black-backed Gull, a first sighting for me here in the Mississippi Valley. I had read in the IA-Bird Google group that someone had seen this species already a few days earlier and I was more than happy to add a few photos of this gull to my library. They breed in northeastern North America and Greenland but may wander inland to the Great Plains.

Plumage and colors indicate that the bird is in its 1st winter. According to all my bird guides the Great Black-backed Gull is the largest gull in the world and is very pugnacious, predatory, and opportunistic. I saw it fighting for a fish with a Common Goldeneye and that makes me believe every word I read about its feeding habits…

QUICK MEAL

Common Merganser, Mississippi River, Le Claire, Iowa ----------

It often surprises me how big of a prey some animals are able to swallow in comparison to their own body size. The first image still shows almost the whole fish in the bill of this Common Merganser. The fish is dinner size for a human adult. The second photo was shot two seconds later according to my time stamp in the picture’s metadata. Nature is always amazing!

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,

BALD EAGLE’S STORY, GOOD REASON FORE EVEN MORE AWARENESS

Living here in eastern Iowa and having Bald Eagles present all year long may dull our sense of appreciation for this majestic bird. But as real friends of nature we will probably never get tired of their presence. Not everybody is aware that this bird was almost at the brink of extinction not that long ago, but the time is luckily over when we had to make any possible shot to prove that the Bald Eagle is still among us. Instead we now can relax and focus on its sheer beauty and the stories our images may tell. Creating awareness about our natural history and heritage is what my photography is about. Seeing large numbers of eagles soaring above our heads doesn’t mean we have reached a safe heaven. There are many other critters and birds that need our attention, and your photos, yes, yours, may help to create awareness about the struggle for survival of a particular species that is confronted with shrinking habitat and / or global climate change.

NATURE CLICKS #357 - COMMON GOLDENEYE

Male Common Goldeneye, Mississippi River, Le Claire, Iowa

It wasn’t just the great light that got me excited, but also the fact that several Common Goldeneyes were among the waterfowl that competed for fish near the downstream exit of lock #14 at the Mississippi River last Saturday. This duck was on my “most wanted list” for a long time. Not that I have not seen them before, but I never got close enough for a decent photo. So this is really the first time that I’m able to show a photo of this beautiful duck here in the blog. Their breeding grounds are up in most of Canada while they spent the winter in much of the United States.

Female Common Goldeneye, Mississippi River, Le Claire, Iowa

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2017 #3 - BALD EAGLES

Mississippi River, Le Claire, Iowa, Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head ---------------

The long-time followers of my blog knew probably immediately where I have been today after looking at this photo. Yes, a trip 90 miles south to lock & dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa was overdue and the weather conditions were perfect today to shoot at this location along the Mississippi River. The river is not frozen over but there were always some Bald Eagles around, even if they could fish at many other places along the river.

I have been a little “rusty” for shooting birds in flight but I got a good share of photos with Bald Eagles soaring over the water and catching fish. However, my favorite photo of eagles today is the one above with this couple, shot at the moment of take off from a dead tree. While many photographers never point their lens at anything different than a Bald Eagle while they are at L&D 14, I used half of the time today to go for some other birds that were present, and that are usually a lot more difficult to get in front of the camera. But this is for another blog post. So please stay tuned…

YOUNG EAGLE'S CATCH

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, gimbal head

On my way home from a good customer of mine in Davenport, Iowa I stopped at lock and dam #14 in LeClaire, Iowa, the same place I have reported from many times before about Bald Eagles. There were by far not so many photographers as last Saturday (see my blog post about the last visit by clicking HERE).

The light was kinda mediocre but I want more practice with the new SIGMA 150-600 Sports lens. During the short time I was at the Mississippi River I just tried to explore the capabilities of this lens , even under not the best light conditions.

I show you what I think was the most interesting picture that made it onto my memory card today. This immature Bald Eagle caught the fish out of the water and headed straight to a tree . Younger eagles are not always successful in their fishing efforts but this one knew it hit the jackpot. The claws holding the fish became my subject, but the photo would have ended up in the trash can, if the eye of the bird would not have been visible or even just been blurry.

3 PICS, 3 WAYS OF TRYING TO GET A PLEASING COMPOSITION

Beside the story telling in my wildlife photography I like to make photos that are esthetically pleasing. I admit, not every picture that tells a story complies with this criteria. At the other hand, not every photo that is a piece of art tells a story about the critter or the environment it lives in. I guess there is an in between and a demand for either side.

Get it right in camera and be done with it is a high bar that I like to jump but this is quite often easier said than done. Here are three pictures from yesterday’s shooting at the Mississippi. Each was made with a pleasing composition in mind but the outcome required more or less correction.

Focussing on just one Canada Goose and panning with the lens led to this shot. No crop, the bird’s position in the frame tells the story of a direct overflight, and the light reflected from the snow on the ground make for a pleasing picture in my books. I wished it would be always that way 😊.

More geese flying by at the same location. The light is again just great. I tried to capture the typical V-shape of the formation and integrated it as a triangle in my composition. Everything worked out good, except for the fact that one goose was cut by the edge of the photo on the left hand side. There was no remedy for that beside removing the bird in question. I didn’t get it right in camera obviously but this small correction made me keep the image.

Over the years I made thousands of photos with a Bald Eagle in flight and I keep still several hundred in my photo library. So, why another one? The shape of the cloud in the background and the way the eagle holds its wings at that moment make it an esthetically pleasing photo for me. Well, but I missed the composition completely by having the eagle dead center. I would not have a problem with that if the eagle would fill most of the frame, but here the cloud is an important part of the photo. It just didn’t look right to me. A small crop on the right and at the bottom came to my rescue. Again, not right in camera, but the photo is much better balanced after the correction in post process.

PANNING WITH THE MERGANSERS

Just a short post today. Here is another photo from my tour along the Mississippi. These Common Mergansers were in food competition with the pelicans at lock & dam #14 (see my last post). They were on a constant move about the best positions and fishing grounds. I prefer to handhold my camera and long lens while watching out for Bald Eagles and it works for the mergansers as well. It allows me to pan with the lens even at a short distance and panning is the only way to get the head of the bird sharp. The image was made at 500 mm, 1/350s, f/8, ISO 200.