MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2024 #4 - PEACEFUL SUNSET

Sunset in the valley, Mississippi River, Abel-Essman Island, Guttenberg, Iowa

I really rushed down the hill into the Mississippi Valley, hoping to reach the outlook before the shadow of the bluffs would cover the island, on my way home last night. Just as I pulled into the parking lot beside the road the shadows already crept up on the west side of the island. When I jumped out of the car with the camera in hand a small airplane just took off from the landing strip between the buildings on Abel-Essman Island. Too bad, I missed that rare opportunity but I’m happy with this peaceful sunset scene in the river valley.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 49 mm, 1/500 s, f/10, ISO 200

THE BONUS - A RED-TAILED HAWK

Red-tailed Hawk at Julien Dubuque Monument, Mines of Spain, Dubuque, Iowa

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head.   @ 600mm, 1/640s, f6.3, ISO800, image slightly cropped

This morning the Dubuque Audubon Society had invited for another birding event into the Mines of Spain State Recreation Area. Our guide Tony Moline, a very experienced birder, helped the group to find warblers, vireos, and other migrating birds and study them in the early morning sun. Most activities required binoculars for watching and identification but the distance for a decent photo was often too big. Nevertheless, it was very interesting to see at least a few of the migrators. I just read that tonight 426.7 Million birds are predicted to move south in the United States. A very impressive number!

Just before everybody was ready to say goodbye shortly after 10am we were treated with a bonus. This Red-tailed Hawk suddenly landed in a tree just in front of the group and on eye level with us. The camera was on tripod and pointed already in that direction and all what I had to do was to adjust quickly the exposure compensation for the existing light and lay down the hammer on the shutter release button. The bird gave us about one minute for that very enjoyable moment.

Thank you Tony for being such a good guide again and for sharing your knowledge with us!

THE JINX IS BROKEN!! (FINALLY)

Male Belted Kingfisher, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wildlife Preserve, Iowa

Long time readers know that I always called this beautiful bird ”the bastard”, due to the fact that I have been on the chase for a decent picture of a Belted Kingfisher since a long time. They are very skittish and often fly away before you even have a chance to aim the lens at them. During a short trip to the Green Island wetlands yesterday afternoon I finally had this male kingfisher even twice in front of my lens. First it was placed on one of the bowls that are provided as nesting places for Canada Geese. They are placed in the water, getting closer was not an option, but at least I made some sharp images.

A little bit later I saw the same bird sitting on a branch just beside the gravel road and this time the kingfisher didn’t fly away, even when I moved slowly right next to the tree with the car. There is still room for improvement since the light was a little too harsh for my taste but I think I should stop calling him ”the bastard” after the jinx is broken now…

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

NATURE CLICKS #582 - BROWN-SPOTTED YELLOW-WING

The Mississippi River is still flooding and the water level is about the same as last weekend. With many frequently visited nature areas here in eastern Iowa still under water I decided to go over to the Illinois side of the river for some bird photography and drove down south to the old Savanna Army Depot, now home to the Lost Mound Unit of the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Most of this area sits a little higher and is not effected by the flood. The Lost Mound Unit has the highest (70ft / 21.3m) and longest (7.5 miles / 12 km) sand dune along the Mississippi River in Illinois.

I saw a number of different woodpeckers but the light sucked and I didn’t even bother to aim the glass towards their locations. While looking with binoculars at the trees that grow on the sand dune and also in the opposite direction across the sand prairie, this dragonfly caught my attention. I haven’t seen a Brown-spotted Yellow-Wing for a while and being me, I could not pass this opportunity without making a few clicks with the camera. With the macro lens at home on the shelf, <sigh>, I tried my luck with the Sigma 150-600. It was clear that the image needed a crop since I wasn’t able to get much closer, but hey, it’s better than coming home without a picture…😉

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

THE LONELY GUY

Greater Sandhill Crane, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

During yesterday’s trip to the Green Island Preserve I found only one Sandhill Crane. This is not really a surprise, we are stopover territory and most cranes breed further north and have probably moved on already. We do have some breeding pairs here in eastern Iowa but this bird had obviously no mate yet, maybe it is still a bit too young. Since I saw a Sandhill Crane already two month earlier in the same area I wonder if this is the same bird and it may have some impairment. I haven’t figured out that yet since I can’t be there every day to keep track.

Photographically it was the same approach as in yesterday’s image. The 1.4x teleconverter was employed and the camera was set to DX mode, delivering the same angle of view as a 1275 mm lens. I cropped the picture a little bit on the left and right hand side to keep more of the muddy mess around the bird out of the frame.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, @850 mm (1275 mm DX mode), 1/2500 s, f/9, ISO0800

UNTIL THE LIGHT WAS GONE

Greater Yellowleg, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

The weather this week was not very pleasant, with temperatures around the freezing point, rain, even a little bit of snow, and almost no sun in the sky.This changed finally today and I could realize my plans going for some wildlife shooting to the Green Island Wetlands in the Mississippi Valley this evening. All the clouds disappeared and the best thing was that the air stayed relatively cool, means it was clear and the often feared heat shimmer above the surface of the wetland didn’t occur. With other words, great shooting conditions.

I saw lots of ducks, mostly Wood Ducks and Northern Shovelers, of course Canada Geese, Bald Eagles, the local Northern Harrier, and a small number of Tree Swallows. But the most exciting encounter were three Greater Yellowlegs. These migrating sandpipers were feeding in the shallow water at Green Island but they were quite a bit away. By attaching the 1.4x Teleconverter to the lens my focal length went up to 850 mm. This seemed still not close enough and I set the camera to ”crop mode”, which uses a smaller part of the sensor only, but gave me the equivalent of 1275 mm focal length. I thought without heat shimmer, as often present at this time of the year above the water surface, I can try it and had indeed quite a few sharp images.

Before driving back home I headed to the gravel road on the westside of the wetlands and found another Greater Yellowleg foraging in the water that covered the field below after the rain. The sun was setting behind me and the bird still searched for food and flew away only after all direct light was gone.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, @850 mm (1275 mm DX mode), 1/1250 s, f/9, ISO800

NATURE CLICKS #570 - TRUMPETER SWANS

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

This afternoon we saw at least 40-50 white dots, far away and deep in the wetlands at Green Island and assumed that a large congregation of Trumpeter Swans was there. This all got confirmed during the hour before sunset when family after family crossed the marches and lakes and flew towards the setting sun. We don’t know where they spend the night but it was nice to watch groups between two and eight swans flying towards us and overhead. Since it is such a big bird it’s not so difficult to track them in flight and practice panning technique with the long lens on camera.

BALD EAGLES IN ABUNDANCE AND AN EARLY RETURN

Bald Eagle, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Yesterday I received a message from a friend that the water was open down at the Sabula - Savannah bridge that crosses the Mississippi River and both sides of the road that leads to the bridge were filled with eagles. As wildlife photographers we have to take the opportunities when they occur and as the ice on the river disappears, many eagles quickly move upstream. I went down south this morning and the first chance came already while driving slowly through the Green Island Wetlands. There is a big solitary cottonwood tree next to one of the dikes and this adult Bald Eagle just posed nicely against a blue sky and the unavoidable clutter of small branches. This tree has served many times as a perch for eagles and other raptors over the years but it is in bad shape and might be gone sometime soon. I moved with the camera so the white head of the bird was in front of one of the bigger branches.

Bald Eagle, Mississippi River, Sabula-Savannah Bridge, Iowa side

Down near the Sabula - Savannah Bridge were still dozens of Bald Eagles. The downside is you can’t stop and park your car along the road that connects the Sabula island with the actual bridge, except for a small pull-out right at the bridge. I was lucky, one eagle had perched within the reach of my lens and this time against a clean background. Later I had some other opportunities but this was my favorite shot.

Sandhill Crane among Trumpeter Swans, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa, February 11, 2024

Hours later, on my way back home, I made another round through the Green Island Wetlands and had an interesting discovery. The ice where nine Trumpeter Swans rested earlier had melted and they were foraging in the shallow water of a flooded field. Among them was a solitary Sandhill Crane, searching for food as well. It moved with the swans and seemed to take advantage of whatever was stirred up while they swam slowly across the water.

At home I checked my digital photo library, going back to 2007, and can confirm, February 11th is the earliest I ever saw a Sandhill Crane here in eastern Iowa. Seeing them in March is not uncommon but this early was my first time. Other birders may have made a different experience and I like to hear from you about your observations in this area.

NOT ”SKUNKED” AGAIN

Rough-legged Hawk, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

I have been at Green Island, the wetlands down south in the Mississippi Valley, the third time in a row during the last weekends and after getting ”skunked” twice, I came finally back with some photos on the memory card today. I know that a number of local fellow photographers and birders follow my blog and I like to report about the sightings first today.

While I was even further south in Sabula, Iowa my hopes to get some Bald Eagles in front of the lens did not came true. There was still too much ice on most parts of the Mississippi River and the eagles had no reason to be there due to the lack of open water.

At the Green Island Wetlands I found to my surprise 100+ migrating Greater White-fronted Geese. Among them was one single Snow Goose and a school of seven Trumpeter Swans had joined the party as well. This was all too far away for a decent photo, but I enjoyed watching the birds through the binoculars. The picture below is from 2019.

New photo opportunities came during the hour before sunset. While driving through the mud on the west side of the wetlands this Rough-legged Hawk seemed to take advantage of my presence. It let me come really close with the car, took off and flew to the next tree ahead. This repeated several times. Maybe the bird was hoping my movement would startle other birds or rodents along the muddy road. There was only one stop that would allow a shot without any obstruction. Of course, I took my chance!

Rough-legged Hawks breed in the tundra and taiga of North America and Eurasia. They migrate to the Central US for the winter. An area with marshes and fields, like the Green Island Wetlands and with rodent prey present, is their preferred habitat. More to come…

Migrating Greater White-fronted Geese, photo from 2019

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2024 #1 - JANUARY, ALREADY UNUSUAL

Mississippi River, Bellevue, Iowa

Of course, I will continue publishing photos right from here, the Upper Mississippi Valley, and will try to tell the story about this beautiful place with my images again in 2024! I will hopefully let you participate how seasonal changes at the big river may appear and how climate change effects the nature I try to photograph. I’m much aware, I may end up with photos that are sometimes totally different than during the last twenty years, taken at the same time of the season.

It is tempting to let the shoreline cut through the image right in the middle of the photo and make it an artsy-fartsy image, mirroring the landscape, but it was more important to me to make it a photo of the day and as I really saw it.

So here we are, January 6, 2024, and the main channel of the Mississippi River is completely free of ice. There is a little snow dust in the woods, but that’s about it for winter so far! Well, we now have a snow storm in the forecast for early next week but, maybe I can now finally put the swimming trunks away…😉

However, it makes me happy if you follow again the MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES in my blog and as always, let me know your thoughts about any photo you see. Your opinions are highly appreciated!

NATURE CLICKS #568 - RED-TAILED HAWK

Red-tailed Hawk, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

It was already the second time this year that I visited the Green Island Wetlands. In comparison to New Year’s Day last Monday, when almost nothing was frozen over, we saw a thin layer of ice on most of the lakes and canals today. As gray as the sky was again it didn’t make sense to point the lens at any birds in flight. However, there is a number of raptors that try to make a living between the fields and wetland areas and getting a shot with a background other than just plain gray sky was at least worth a try.

As always, some local Bald Eagles perched near open water and I saw a winter guest, a Rough-legged Hawk, in one of the dead trees. North America’s smallest falcon, the American Kestrel was present but this fierce little raptor didn’t let me come close enough for a photo. Flocks of American Tree Sparrows were feeding on seeds along the dykes in the wetlands and I wonder if the kestrel was preying on them or if he just looked for little rodents.

This Red-tailed Hawk was perched in one of the big cottonwood trees near the road and had some patience with my presence. The bird holds on to the branch with just one claw while the other one peeks out between the feathers from underneath its belly. I moved in a position with as little sky as possible in the picture but a bit of snow in the tree. Is it a perfect shot? No, but I came back with a photo from my trip and that’s all what mattered under the gray sky today.

RETROSPECTS 2023 - #5

American White Pelican, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa, April 2023

I opened the paddle season much earlier than other years and put the kayak in the water at the Green Island Wetlands already in early April. While paddling between the islands I discovered a small flock of American White Pelicans. All seven birds had the keel developed on top of their bills, a feature they only show during their breeding season between February and June. It was a narrow spot and I had no chance to paddle much around them. They let me come very close but eventually took off and flew to a different place in the wetlands.

BETWEEN SEASONS

Grass in morning light, Mines of Spain Recreation Area, Dubuque, Iowa

During yesterday’s field trip and bird watching event with the Audubon Society there was a brief moment when the light reminded us that we are between seasons. The seeds of this grass are ready to fall out and the golden light in the early morning made them stand out against the background. I made a quick lens change to the Z 24-70 mm. It wasn’t possible to keep all sky out of the frame but I toned the background down a little bit in post process to keep the eye away from the brighter spots and make them less distracting.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 65 mm, 1/800 s, f/8, ISO 400

LOW WATER, STILL WILDLIFE

Greater Sandhill Cranes, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

I didn’t expect much today during a trip to the Green Island Wetland area down south. It was the first day with some moderate temperatures after a very hot week in many parts of the US and the world. The water in the wetlands is extremely low but to my surprise I was still able to watch some wildlife, including Sandhill Cranes, a Pileated Woodpecker, two Red-headed Woodpeckers, Trumpeter Swans, Great Blue Herons, some ducks, frogs, and a snake. From a photography point of view only two of the seventeen Sandhill Cranes feeding in the wetlands were close enough but I like to share this image with you.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2023 #7 - UNHEALTHY EFFECTS

Smoke over the Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #11, Dubuque, Iowa

It’s not really a ”Mississippi River Story” only, large areas in the country are under the effect of numerous wildfires burning in Canada. It’s not unusual to have some haze in the Mississippi Valley, due to high humidity, during the summer, but since a few days we experience haze on a much different level. We can even smell the smoke at times and with an air quality index of over 200 it’s not a good time to be outside for everybody.

When I made this photo downstream from lock and dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa today a turkey vulture just landed on the reeling in the foreground. I hope it is not a bad omen that there is more to come… Right now a storm further south moves some of the unhealthy fine dust to the east, but I feel sorry for everybody who will be effected in other parts of the country.