MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #4 - SIGNS OF SPRING?

February 26, 2022

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!

MORE TESTING, AND A COUPLE NOT SO COMMON BIRDS

January 16, 2022

We received more snow yesterday and snow removal took priority over photography. After a cold night the birds knew where to find food and water this morning and I decided to spent some time behind the camera and the glass of our balcony window. To make things even more awkward I put the 1.4 teleconverter onto the SIGMA 150-600, f/5-6.3 S lens. This was the first time that I used this piece of glass with the new Nikon Z6II mirrorless camera, extending the focal length to 850 mm. Let me talk about the performance first before we come to the birds. Even behind the double glass of the balcony door, the autofocus still worked fine at f/9 with the Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG. Yes, the pictures are a little soft, probably just due from behind the window glass, and it took higher ISO settings to nail the shots but it was doable.

Now, let’s talk about the birds. At this side of the house we have only a feeder with sunflower seeds hanging from the balcony. That draws in all the seed eaters, like cardinals, titmice, a couple Purple Finches, and dozens of House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, or American Goldfinches.

While shooting, testing, and looking at the results my excitement grew rapidly when I spotted a Common Redpoll. The only time we saw one before was seven years ago, right here on our balcony. They are actually an Arctic bird, breeding high up in the north of Canada. I just read that redpolls sleep in snow tunnels during a long arctic night to preserve body heat. Amazing! They migrate south for the winter but our area is even south of their usual winter range. However, I read reports about sightings here in Iowa every year. Not my best image but I know that some birders follow my website and I like to share my own bird sightings with them.

The other bird I like to mention today is the Yellow-rumped Warbler. We still see between two and five females every day drinking at one of our bird baths, despite the very cold weather. They probably feed on the juniper berries that can be found here on top of the bluffs at he Little Maquoketa River Valley. The Yellow-rumped Warbler is capable of wintering further north than any other warbler. The photography, oh boy, I try really hard to make a picture without the bird bath in it. Do me a favor ladies, just jump onto the stone! 😉

BALD EAGLES, LOTS OF THEM

January 7, 2022

Juvenile Bald Eagle in all its glory, probably in its 2nd or 3rd year. The bird flew by with something (little fish?) in its bill.

Yesterday a call from my photography friend Kevin made me aware that a large number of Bald Eagles is present at lock & dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa. The Mississippi is finally frozen over almost everywhere and the eagles come south to find open water, so they can eat and hunt for fish. Below the dams is always some open water and that’s where they concentrate and strive for the best fishing spots. I estimate we saw about 40-50 Bald Eagles at and around the lock & dam in Dubuque, Iowa today. It is the highest number we have seen since quite a few years.

Adult Bald Eagle, Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #11, Dubuque, Iowa

I was excited to explore some of the new focus modes and tried to get a grip on shooting birds in flight with the new Nikon Z6II. Oh boy, the best tools can’t help you much if the handholding skills are not very well developed. I haven’t practiced panning with the long lens for quite some time, but it is an essential skill that needs practice if you want the focus lock on the fast flying subject. The focus tracking capabilities of the camera work very well, better than with any digital camera I ever owned before. If you pan very smooth and follow the subject, you can really concentrate where to position the bird in the viewfinder without loosing the focus and just decide when to press the shutter button. The new tool is great but I guess I have to practice some more and work again on my skills to have a higher keeper rate than what was produced today…

My favorite gesture of the day, the moment when the eagle went from smooth gliding into a sudden dive down.

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

HOLIDAYS WITH BIRDS

December 26, 2021

I trust you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday weekend and the photographers among you had a chance to aim their lenses at something interesting or learn and play with a new piece of equipment that you found under the Christmas tree.

As mentioned in the last blog post, it was our first Christmas without snow here but the mild weather was perfect for a hike yesterday and for some shooting with the long lens in the front yard today. Seventeen bird species used the stand that holds the perches, bird feeders, and a bird bath this morning and I used their presence to make myself more familiar with the new Nikon Z6II mirrorless camera. One goal was to customize some of the camera buttons to my preference, so I can operate and change settings at the camera on tripod with the right hand only and without taking my eye from the viewfinder. The left hand can remain on top of the lens barrel, helping minimize vibrations during the shooting process.

The American Goldfinch is in its winter plumage but still very pretty. This picture is a composite, actually showing the same bird. I had this idea when I saw both photos side by side on the screen.

The American Robins stay here for the juniper berries on the red cedars that grow on the rocky bluffs of our valley. They use the bird baths frequently and the best chance for a click is right before they jump down to the water from a higher perch.

The Eastern Bluebirds is another consumer of the juniper berries. Today we had three males and one female here.

The third bird that prefers berries during the winter time is the Cedar Waxwing. They sometimes “wait in line” when other, bigger birds occupy the water source.

Today I saw the first Purple Finch during this winter. They spend the summer up in northern Minnesota and Canada and we usually see them only during the cold season. The appearance of this female is a clear message that some real winter weather may lie ahead of us.

All photos: Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head

FIRST FIELD DAY WITH NIKON Z6II

December 19, 2021

The Eastern Bluebirds will hopefully stay here all winter long.

Today I had my first real field day with the new mirrorless Nikon Z6II camera. It started in our front yard this morning with three Eastern Bluebirds taking advantage of the water in our bird baths. But the real challenge was a trip to the Green Island Preserve, the wetlands along the Mississippi River south from here. It isn’t the season when wildlife is present in abundance but a few raptors, a bunch of American Coots, and a few sparrows gave me some good opportunities to practice with the camera and to develop some muscle memory for the shooting workflow that comes with an Electronic Viewfinder. I do not like shooting with my glasses but the EVF allows me to shoot without them. The new challenge is to keep my eye at the viewfinder after a click and evaluate the results or make changes in the settings menu just right in the viewfinder. As soon I move my head away from the eye piece and look for the brilliant screen in the back of the camera, well, I need my glasses again. It may take some time to memorize not to look at the screen, at least during wildlife photography.