LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Lesser Yellowlegs, Maskunky Marsh, Iowa

The American Avocet wasn’t the only bird at the Maskunky Marsh yesterday. A number of Lesser Yellowlegs had chosen this wetland area for a rest stop on their way to the north. They breed in the meadows and open woodland from Alaska across Canada, all the way to western Quebec. The Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs are birds we see during migration quite often. The month of May is the peak time for their appearance here in Iowa. This pair didn’t care about my presence in the ”mobile blind”, of course my car, and there was a lot of action going on in the Maskunky Marsh.

Distance was again the biggest setback for the photographer and so I cropped the photos again for a decent display here in my blog.

NATURE CLICKS #558 - AMERICAN AVOCET

American Avocet, Maskunky Marsh, Mahaska County, Iowa

Business required me to travel this week in Kansas and Missouri but unfortunately the camera stayed in the bag due to the lack of time. On my way back to eastern Iowa today I finally stopped at the Maskunky Marsh, near Oskaloosa in Mahaska County. I was there only once before, in July 2021, and it was the first time that I saw and photographed Yellow-crowned Night Herons. I knew this wouldn’t happen today but my hope to find some other shore birds came true.

This migratory single American Avocet was feeding in the shallow water of the marsh. The bird is in its breeding plumage and it was the first time that I saw an avocet in Iowa. I read about occasional sightings by other birders but we are not in its breeding range, which is further west and northwest.

The American Avocet feeds by having the bill underwater and swinging it from side to side along the bottom. This way they stir up aquatic insects.

Both photos are heavily cropped, although the first one was even shot with the TC 1.4, extending the focal length to 850 mm. There was just no way to get any closer to this bird but for an important sighting, like this avocet, I gladly crop the heck out of the image. 😉

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG

GOING FOR THE COLOR CONTRAST

American Goldfinches, Maskunky Marsh, Iowa

Shortly after arrival at Maskunky Marsh last Saturday the rain clouds opened up a little bit. When I saw these two American Goldfinches in a dead tree, and in front of a dark cloud, I knew there was a picture opportunity. The distance was too long for a real detailed image but the color contrast wrote the invitation to make a click. The sun behind me just broke through the clouds and made the finches standing out nicely in front of this wall of dark rain clouds. What followed was nothing but photos of the gorgeous Yellow-crowned Night Herons. The American Goldfinch is a year-round bird here in Iowa, but as I have mentioned many times before here in the blog and during public photo presentations, don’t forget the common species! They need our attention and protection as well.

NATURE CLICKS #506 - YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON (FIRST SIGHTING)

Yellow-crowned Night Heron with crayfish, Maskunky Marsh, Iowa

Encouraged by the reports from other birders on the IA-BIRD Google group website, I made a three hour trip to Mahaska County, in particular to Maskunky Marsh, a wetland area east of Oskaloosa, Iowa on Saturday morning. Driving down in some rain made me doubt if this was a good idea but all was good at my arrival at the marsh. Within a few minutes I saw the first Yellow-crowned Night Heron. What a beautiful bird, and it was a lifer for me! I knew from the birder website that there were several more in the area but I saw only two.

I was amazed by the amount of crayfish the Yellow-crowned Night Heron can eat. The photo’s metadata show that the bird I watched ate nine crawdads within an hour and fifteen minutes. After they pick one up in the water or mud, they chew on them until most of the legs and claws are gone, and then swallow them as a whole.

Almost all shots were made from the tripod, trying to tell the story about the heron’s feeding habits. The relative large eye and the contrast on the bird’s head seem to make obtaining focus easy, but this was not always the case. The overcast gave the water some not so pretty glare and a little heat shimmer above the water surface seemed to play a role as well. However, my autofocus was thrown off more often than I expected. Well, none of this will stop me to rave about my first sighting of the not so common Yellow-crowned Night Heron!

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