2026, GOOD START WITH MERGANSERS

Common Mergansers, Mississippi River, Sabula, Iowa

Before anything new is written here I like to thank all visitors and readers of my blog for their ongoing support in 2025! I know, there is a lot of great photography in the world wide web you can enjoy every day and I’m humbled that you spent some of your valuable time on my website last year. I wish all of you a peaceful and happy year 2026!

After quite a few gray days we had a little bit of sun coming out today. A good reason to check out the situation 40 miles south on Iowa’s Island City Sabula. During my visit last week I saw some good numbers of Common Mergansers on the open water of the Mississippi River, unfortunately too far away. With permission of the gentleman in the Island City Harbor Store I was able to drive my car out on one of their private dikes and use the car as a photo blind and work with the Common Mergansers. Here are some of my first wildlife pictures in 2026 I’m excited to share with you.

This is at the small entrance to the harbor. The edge of the ice was right there. The mergansers approach it in small groups and one after another dives down with a slight leap and swims under the ice into the frozen marina.

Quite often there is nothing in their bill when they appear again at the water surface but his female had caught a nice little fish. Common Mergansers can stay under water for up to 2 minutes but most of the time they dive for less than 30 seconds (source: allabout birds website).

Watching the birds closely is important if you like to catch the good moments, like when they lift out of the water and flap the wings and shake off water from their feathers.

Here is the bonus shot. This juvenile Trumpeter Swan just swam along the shore with some male mergansers in tow. The head is still gray but the rest of the plumage is already getting snowy white and shows that the bird will be considered as an adult soon. Trumpeter Swans need the open water for feeding aquatic plants and the ice on its bill is proof that this bird had foraged earlier this morning.

QUIET AND PEACEFUL

Mississippi River, Deere dike, Dubuque, Iowa

The warm weather of the last few days made the snow disappear and cleared the Mississippi River from its ice cover for the most part. Rain and a gray overcast kept probably most people at home today and so I didn’t meet a single soul during a hike on the Deere dike that stretches far out into the river. No trains moved on either side along the shores and so it was quiet and peaceful.

I guess I may have been too late for some fog banks above the water, but the overall mood across the Mississippi Valley made me searching for a picture that reflects exactly the peace in the valley I found today.

This navigation light in the river has been more than once my subject and anchor for the eye. Color was literally not present this morning and so it was an easy choice to process the photo as a black & white image. The view goes north, where all the water comes from, the bluffs on the left mark the Iowa side of the river, while the Wisconsin side on the right remains only as a gray band at the horizon.

As I’m writing this the winter comes back again with strong wind, snow, and a considerable temperature drop. Tomorrow things will be different…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200 /f4.  @ 135mm, 1/400s, f4.5, ISO 200

A LAST VISIT

Bald Eagle, Mississippi River, Sabula, Iowa

Today was probably the last time in 2025 I visited the Green Island Wetlands and ”Iowa’s Island City” Sabula at the Mississippi River. The statistics in my picture library tell me that I was 20 times in this area this year. Every season is different and each visit doesn’t lead necessarily to some good photos. Sometimes it’s overwhelming and quick decisions have to be made about where to point the lens next. Other times, like today, it takes a long time to have something in the frame that is worth to push the shutter release button on the camera.

Today it was mostly raptors that showed up since all the water bodies were frozen. I saw three Northern Harriers, a couple Red-tailed Hawks, and along the road to Sabula three American Kestrels.

The click for this Bald Eagle was made right after the bird took off from the ice and flew over to a dead tree where its mate was already waiting.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z TC-1.4x,    @ 840mm, 1/800s, f/9, ISO 3200, image cropped

WATCHING EACH OTHER

White-tailed Deer, Mississippi River, dam #9, near Harpers Ferry

A hike on top of dam #9 at the Mississippi River, which is north of Harpers Ferry, didn’t lead to any good bird photography today. Well, that doesn’t really matter, the weather was just gorgeous and being outside under a blue sky in November is priceless. Walking back to the car at the Iowa access to the dam (the lock is at the other end on the Wisconsin side) I saw a deer crossing the dam. I didn’t expect to see it again when I came closer, but here it was, standing in the grass below the dam. The beautiful looking doe lifted its head and became aware of me, but still gave me a little time to put the monopod on the ground, frame the shot, and make a few clicks. The background shows the deer’s habitat quite well but it’s also busy. I tried to minimize the impact of the busy background without loosing the story and cropped the final photo a bit on three sides.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z TC-1.4x, Benro MSDPL46C SupaDupa Monopod, Monopod Gimbal Head    @ 840mm, 1/320s, f/9, ISO 1600, image cropped

BEAVER MOON

Moonrise over the Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

Today the full moon was at its closest point to the earth this year in its orbit, making it look up to 14% larger and also brighter than a typical full moon. In November it’s called the Beaver Supermoon.

The interesting part for the photographer was the fact that moonrise and sunset were pretty close together. At the location where I made this photo moonrise was at 4:38PM and sunset was at 4:50PM. It takes about 12-13 minutes before the moon appears over the bluffs on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River, with other words it was almost identical with sunset time. Why was that important to me? It leaves some light on the landscape, at least a little glow. I exposed for the moon in order to keep the details alive and not to blow out the highlights. The woods on the other side of the river appear at first darker, but there is enough dynamic range in the RAW file to bring back the light in the trees as the human eye sees it. In this situation there is no need to make a composite out of two shots, one for the moon and another one for the rest, it all is the result of one click.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, RRS BH-55 ball head,    @ 200mm, 1/20s, f/8, ISO100

NATURE CLICKS #614 - YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Frenchtown County Park, Guttenberg, Iowa

A bunch of Yellow-rumped Warblers spent the Sunday afternoon feeding from berries (Bittersweet?) and cleaning their feathers at the banks of the Mississippi River in Frenchtown Park near Guttenberg, Iowa. The one in the first photo must have taken a bath in the river. His feathers were wet and the bird cleaned and dried them in the sun.

I was out practicing with a new piece of equipment I got as a gift last month, a monopod with a small gimbal head. I want to use it mainly for small bird photography in locations that are difficult to access with a heavier tripod. I will report about it in a later post sometime.

The small ramp at Frenchtown County Park is hardly used for boat access anymore. I have seen Yellow-rumped Warblers there before but was surprised how many were present this time.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2025 #6 - ISLAND CITY ATTRACTIONS

Sabula, Island city in the Mississippi River

Sabula, Iowa’s only city located on an island in the Mississippi River, has two technical attractions I always like to look at. The first is their old-style water tower, which seems to be well maintained. If the sun is on the structure this tower stands out and can make for a nice reflection on the water. I have photographed it many times before but with the beautiful clouds we had during my last visit I could not resist to get the camera out again.

Sabula Railroad Bridge

The other interesting structure that connects Illinois and Iowa across the Mississippi River is the Sabula Rail Bridge, a large through truss swing bridge. This time I was there at the right time. After a few small boats had just passed, the bridge started moving and was swiveled back and ready for the next train to get over it. It only took a few minutes and my photo shows it about half way closed. The clouds again made this shot stand out for me.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2025 #5 - SUMMER AT ITS BEST

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S,   @ 1/2000 s, f/8, ISO 500

I haven’t posted another ”Mississippi River Story” since May but I like to do so at the height of the summer. The heat and very high humidity during the last weeks has been replaced by cooler temperatures, a bit of wind, nice puffy clouds at times, but we still had plenty of sunshine. All good reasons to get the kayak out for a couple paddle trips in the backwaters of the big river. The vegetation is lush and green and some flowers can still be found between the arrow heads and water lilies that grow everywhere in the Mud Lake area. The breeding season for most birds is almost over, it is a lot quieter on the water, and I had a lot less photo opportunities for wildlife. But there is always room for a surprise and a couple Great Blue Herons posed nicely within the range of the lens. I caught the first heron standing motionless in the water, like in the picture below. But the bird moved on and I missed the shot. At the second opportunity the wind pushed me almost too close to the bird but by reading its body language I knew a second ahead of time when the decisive moment would happen. This time luck was on my side.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S,   @ 1/2000 s, f/8, ISO 500

Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa,

Nikon Z6III, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 55mm, 1/320 s, f/11, ISO 100

I came back to the entrance of the marina at Mud Lake Park in the evening, hoping to get nice warm light on the puffy clouds we had all day long. Unfortunately the clouds dissolved very quickly due to the air getting drier. The blue boat came at the right time to rescue this photo. A couple minutes later the cloud show was over…

HUNTING BELOW THE DAM

Double-crested Cormorants hunt for fish often together with American White Pelicans, but they may not compete because they catch fish at a different depth in the water. However, I saw cormorants steeling fish a pelican had dropped. The pelican tried to get it back… Laughing cormorant at the end…!

The question I tried to answer last Sunday was, where is a good place to shoot some photos of birds that tell a story about the season, about being in mid August when most birds have almost finished the breeding season? It is hot, it is humid, and some areas are just not pleasant to be there. The answer I came up with was, go to the the most humid place you can find. Ok, I’m a little bit kidding here, but I ended up down at the Mississippi River at dam #11 and believe me, the humidity was awful. But why going there? The next generation of birds in the big river has to learn how to feed and hunt for fish and watching this, there is no better place than the turbulent waters below the Dubuque dam.

Juvenile American White Pelican, Mississippi River, dam #11, O’Leary Lake, Wisconsin. I love how the translucency of the bill pouch stood out. Only two juveniles hunted for fish side by side but the rest of the squadron took a break over on the Iowa side of the river.

Well, the tip for other local photography friends is, go over to the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River to O’Leary Lake and recreation area next to the dam. Dubuque on the Iowa side has the lock that elevates the boats and barges up and down, which is very interesting to watch, but you are too far away from the foaming waters of the dam and way above water level at this location for any shooting position. At the Wisconsin side of the river you can sit on a rock and watch American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants of all ages fish and hunt at high speed. The action there is fast and furious and both of the photos I show you today tell a story of successful fishing.

If you may not like the final outcome, at least you had a great day of practice that may lead you in the future to your next great picture. As I mention often, it is important for us photographers to create awareness with our photos about the nature that surrounds us and needs our outmost attention for protection.

SOCIAL LIFE AT THE MARTIN TOWER

Male Purple Martin returning to the nest

This is the photo I was hoping to get during my last two visits at the Purple Martin tower at Finleys Landing down by the Mississippi River. The Purple Martins are beautiful looking birds, elegant flyers, and it is very interesting to watch their social behavior. The young martins have hatched and it is such a great joy just to watch the interactions at a breeding tower.

For most of my wildlife photography I try to keep any men-made elements out of the frame, but here I make an exception, supported by a note I found on the Cornell website (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Purple_Martin/) :

Native Americans hung up empty gourds for the Purple Martin before Europeans arrived in North America. Purple Martins in eastern North America now nest almost exclusively in birdhouses.

With other words, we enjoy wildlife that has adapted to men-made nesting places since a long time. The towers hold 18 chambers for a Purple Martin nest and at Finleys Landing it looked like almost all were taken. These towers with their plastic gourds may look not very pretty, but the practicality for maintenance (cleaning after the breeding saison) and doing research studies (counting eggs, etc.) is proven. Well, most importantly the Purple Martins must like them and it is so exciting to see how quick the birds accepted the relative new tower at this location.

The nestlings peak out of the box but after the female on the left departed for catching more food, the male on the right pushed them back into the box with his head, I guess using his parent authority…

It seemed like some of the juveniles had already left the nest but this is a matter of interpretation. The juvenile Purple Martins look almost identical to the females that tend them. I’m not sure if this is a jealous female or a young one begging for food. Its clumsy behavior made me believe the latter.

Purple Martins are supposed to be monogamous but that doesn’t mean they can’t be jealous. The male in the center had a happy life until another male didn’t like it, flew in and used its bill vigorously to end the affair. It took less than two seconds and I shot this scene in high-speed shutter release mode with about 14 frames per second. Everybody left the scene uninjured… (June 28th, 2025)

BUSY PURPLE MARTINS

Male Purple Martin, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

I still have a few photos from our recent trip to Minnesota but today I like to share some actual pictures that were made yesterday. I had received an information about the current breeding activities of the Purple Martins (Thank you Mike!) and went down to Mud Lake at the Mississippi River. Three days ago both breeding towers had more than 75 eggs and almost 30 nestlings had hatched already. The parents were very busy to feed and to guard each nesting chamber. I believe each tower holds 18 chambers.

Female with her latest catch at the martin house

I have plenty of pictures with martins sitting at the entrance of a nest box but I really wanted some shots with a bird in flight, approaching the nest or just hovering in front of it.

However, the second image shows a female with a dragon fly in its bill and waiting in front of the entrance hole of her nest. It took about four minutes before she turned around and entered the box to feed the offspring.

Female Purple Martin

If you are not familiar with the habits and biology of our largest swallow, you can find a lot of information about these birds on the websites of the CornellLab or the Purple Martin Conservation Association.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Purple_Martin/

https://www.purplemartin.org

The Purple Martin is a very interesting bird and it is fun to watch how they catch all their food in flight and get their drinks by scooping water from the surface of the river or pond with their lower bill.

NATURE CLICKS #607 - EASTERN MEADOW VOLE

Eastern Meadow Vole, Mud Lake Park, Mississippi River, Eastern Iowa

They look like a mini beaver without a flat tail with their thick fur, but this one was just the size of my fist. They are pretty common but still not seen very often by many people.

I was actually out for a certain bird species in the Mud Lake area along the Mississippi River but didn’t get the shots I had in mind. While walking on a new trail through an area of prairie vegetation that has been planted by the Dubuque County Conservation Board only a few years ago, I discovered this Meadow Vole. It didn’t seem to be bothered by me at all and continued chewing on fresh grass stems while I just walked by. The photo could have been made with any of my lenses but I had only the Nikkor Z600 , f/6.3 with me during this little exploration hike. For a picture like this the minimum focal distance of this lens of about 4 meters can become a disadvantage. It’s not difficult to get a sharp image, but I had to step back and at the end had to crop the photo to get you this intimate environmental portrait of this small critter.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2025 #4 - ON THE RIVER AGAIN

Spotted Sandpiper, Mississippi River, Mud Lake area

Yesterday morning I paddled into the main channel of the big river, following a Spotted Sandpiper that never seemed to stand still for a moment. The wind added some dynamic to the fast flowing water. I didn’t expect that the vegetation and probably some algae along the shore had such an impact on the colors reflected from the surface of the river, giving it a warm touch. Of course, I take that for a photo that is a little different…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S,    @ 600mm, 1/1250s, f/9, ISO 1000, image slightly cropped

RISKY PLEASURE

We made another paddle trip by kayak in the Mud Lake area on the Mississippi River yesterday evening. The water level of the big river was a little bit higher than two days earlier and as a result I saw only one sandpiper. But there is always something to find in this ever changing ecosystem of the Upper Mississippi Valley. Before we even saw them we heard the incredible noise from dozens of American Toads that had started their mating  time.

Having probably only one thing in mind some of the frogs didn’t pay the attention to their environment they should have. While I still tried to find the best position with my kayak, two Northern Water Snakes took advantage of the frogs desire for some pleasure and their drive to mate and snatched them off from the driftwood logs in the mud. One snake disappeared immediately in the water and made it to land quickly. The other one slipped over the log quickly and all what I got in my picture is the head of the snake and the legs of the toad sticking out of its mouth.

Well, this didn’t stop all the other males to continue to attract the females with their loud high-pitched trill. They produce their characteristic calls by using a combination of their lungs, vocal cords, and a vocal sac to amplify the sound.

Good time, good times!

All photos: Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S

NATURE CLICKS #604 - A SECRETIVE RAIL, THE SORA

Sora, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

Shooting from a kayak leads to perspectives that are otherwise hard to obtain. I have photographed the very secretive Soras before from land and it seems they always disappear behind some reeds or bushes when you have them in the viewfinder. It can drive you crazy. However, the Sora is the most widespread and abundant rail in North America. While they search for food and move along the shore it is often hard to follow them. Being on the seaside in a boat makes it a lot more visible where they might go next and allows to predict a good opportunity for a shot a little bit ahead of time.

Soras rake often floating vegetation in the water with their feet or use their bill to move plant material and find insects, mollusks, snails, seeds or aquatic invertebrates. Yesterday I found three of these very beautiful rails in the backwaters of Mud Lake. The one in the picture below took actually a bath and frolicked in the shallow water for several minutes. What a show!