SPRING ENCOUNTERS

Cedar Waxwing

After quite a bit of traveling lately it feels good to sit on the porch in the morning with a cup of coffee on the table and spend some time behind the camera. We had some really warm days in February already but this was the first weekend that felt really like spring, with lots of sunshine and very warm temperatures. During the last couple of weeks, after our return from Oregon, several migrating birds have arrived, some earlier than usually. Among them are Eastern Phoebes, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Chipping Sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, and this morning the first House Wren inspected our nest boxes. At the other hand, a couple species are still present that normally leave our woods and move further north as soon the temperatures are above freezing, like Dark-eyed Juncos and Purple Finches. A trend we have seen already during the last three years and that makes me wonder if we experience a change in migrating behavior due to much warmer winters. I make notes every spring since 2007 beside recording first sightings of the season with the camera.

The most colorful bird I had in front of the lens today was this Cedar Waxwing. They are supposed to be here all year long but we don’t see them very often during the cold season. Their appetite for cedar berries during the winter gave them obviously their name. Since we have red cedars here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa Valley, the waxwing’s appearance is not really a surprise.

TWO BEAUTIES

Female Eastern Bluebird

The day started with some snow removal. Fresh snow means the birds will come to our feeders and bird baths in larger numbers. It was nice to see a couple Eastern Bluebirds among them this morning. They are not here for the sunflower seeds. The bluebirds depend on berries during winter and the juniper berries of the Eastern Cedar trees, that cover the rocky bluffs here at the Little Maquoketa Valley, are probably their primary food source. A reason why we see the Eastern Bluebirds only at the heated bird baths that we provide. Beside drinking they sit there sometimes for several minutes and obviously warm up a little bit when it is cold.

Male Eastern Bluebird

To open the glass door to the balcony and stick the lens out into the open for making a click is not always an option. Some birds may not come to the feeders, like the cardinals, but most importantly the warm air that mixes with the cold air outside will create a heat shimmer and make getting a sharp focus almost impossible.

I take the lens shade off the SIGMA 150-600 and keep the front element of the lens as close as possible to the glass of the door. This is of course no optical glass and some blur may occur. The Dehaze-slider in Adobe Lightroom becomes very helpful for solving this problem and removing the extra blur on the bird. Lightroom’s new masking functions allow to keep the blur on the background and make the bird even stand out a bit more. All what I can say is, shooting through the glass of a window or door has never been so easy…

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

NATURE CLICKS #511 - CEDAR WAXWING

Cedar Waxwing, Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter,  @ 600mm, 1/800s, f/6.3, ISO800, DX crop

I shot this photo yesterday morning, just before I went on my hopefully last business trip for this year. There is only one big reason why a few Cedar Waxwings show up at our heated bird baths during this time of the year. We must have a good crop of juniper berries on the red cedar trees here on top of the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River Valley. Most of the time the waxwings are in company with a number of American Robins. Both bird species love to eat the berries and between feeding frenzies they drink a lot of water. Last winter we haven’t seen a single Cedar Waxwing here, because there was obviously not enough juniper berries available. It is so good to see this beautiful bird back again!

I’m very impressed how good the new Nikon Z6II deals with luminance noise from shooting with higher ISO settings. With my older cameras I would not stretch the ISO settings up to 800 in my bird photography. I always found the necessary noise reduction in post process would remove way too much detail in the bird’s feathers. With the Z6II it becomes a totally different game. It allows shooting in low light, as we had yesterday morning, and a sharp image with all details still intact becomes more likely under these conditions. Another reason I wanted the Z6II. 😊

ANOTHER WINTER MORNING

The skies had cleared yesterday morning and the air was crisp and clear. The snow still sticked to the trees on the ridge above our house. The branches of the little red cedar in the foreground were bent under the load of snow and the morning sun made for a nice contrast. Winter can be nice around here…

Nikon D750, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4G ED VR,  @70mm, 1/400s, f/8, ISO100

NOW HERE AGAIN, CEDAR WAXWINGS

A few days ago I posted a photo of a Cedar Waxwing in the rain, shot up north at Lake Superior in Ontario, Canada. Today we had many of them around here in our woods. This is not the first time that we see them in the fall, mostly in company with large numbers of American Robins.

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

It is probably the berries of the Red Cedars (Juniperus virginiana) that may attract them to hang around here at this time of the year. During the summer we have seen them mostly along the shore of lakes or rivers we paddled with our kayaks. Beside the food from the trees the waxwings take advantage of the water we provide at four different places. With so many other birds around at the moment it is less dangerous to stick the head in the bowl and drink. If a predator shows up there will be plenty of warnings for them.