I WAS WAITING FOR THIS!

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

You haven’t seen much new here in the blog lately beside my ”RETROSPECT 2023” blog posts, but today I had to take the camera out on the porch for some exciting bird photography. It is still warm, way to warm for this time of the year, but late morning it started snowing. The roads still remained clear but in the trees the white stuff accumulated a little bit. After all the gray weather and rain lately, this was a delight today! It also was another chance to work with the new speed light, the Westscott FJ80 II with a dome diffuser attached. As always, shortly after the camera on tripod was in place outside the door, the birds started to return.

The still young oak tree in front of the house, becomes more and more a hub for the birds before they fly over to a feeder. This female is one of three Red-bellied Woodpeckers that have their home somewhere nearby.

Female Downy Woodpecker

I’m trying to find out how many Downy Woodpeckers we actually have here in our woods. So far I have counted 7, but since they move fast between the front and back side of the building, I’m still wondering if there is even a couple more hanging around.

Female White-breasted Nuthatch

A couple of White-breasted Nuthatches are permanent residents up on the bluffs here. This female showed up alone today but quite often we see both birds and sometimes the male is stealing seeds from the female.

I used the Westscott FJ80 II speed light in manual mode for today’s photos. With its big display it’s easy to change the settings, eben without the use of my glasses. I’m very pleased how this new tool in my bag delivers . With the diffusion dome attached you can’t even tell that a speed light was used, since there is hardly any catch light in the bird’s eyes, but the colors of the feathers are revealed gorgeously. This is most prevalent in the photo of the Red-bellied Woodpecker.

As always, I try to tell a story with the photo and today it was all about the snow. To get the trails of snow flakes it takes about 1/60 s to 1/160 s. At that shutter speed not every shot is tack sharp while using a 600 mm focal length. Nevertheless, at the end the old rule applies, if the eye of the bird is not sharp, the picture ends in the virtual trash can, no matter if the snow trails look good or not…

NATURE CLICKS #543 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

It is the best time of the year to photograph woodpeckers. The lens is aimed at a male Red-bellied Woodpecker quite often, but it takes a certain quality of light to make their red head really stand out from the rest of the image. Feathers reflect light for different purposes, like for camouflage, or of course, for attracting a mate. If the ambient light is not perfect, a hint of flash, and I mean really just a hint, throws the red color of the woodpecker’s head back right between your eyes…

NATURE CLICKS #534 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

Red-bellied Woodpecker, Mississippi River, Frenchtown County Park, near Guttenberg, Iowa

Yellow-rumped Warblers were not the only birds I had in front of the lens last weekend. This dead River Birch at the edge of the water was also part of the habitat for a Red-bellied Woodpecker. Some pieces of bark on its bill tell us that he had a busy day. The sky was clear at this time and the blue makes for some nice color contrast to the plumage of the woodpecker. We have the red-bellied here in our woods and can see them every day but including a shaggy birch as a perch in the frame makes it special for me. The image is cropped and orientation was changed because I wasn’t able to keep some parts of the dead tree that I didn’t like out of the frame. Changing position was not an option. I know, it’s a compromise…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, @ 850 mm, 1/250 s, f/9, ISO 400

NATURE CLICKS #515 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

The landscape got a fresh powder coating of snow last night and it became another gorgeous, but cold winter day with lots of sun. I spent the late morning and early afternoon behind the camera and tried to take advantage of the light conditions. This male Red-bellied Woodpecker is one of my favorite subjects at the moment. The bird was almost completely in the shadow of this tree trunk, but its head got a nice touch by the sun and the red color just intensified tremendously. Light was also bounced off the snow and onto the backside of the woodpecker, taking away a little bit of the harsh contrast we often see around noon.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Nikon FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   @ 600 mm, 1/1000 s, f/6.3, ISO 200, cropped

NATURE CLICKS #488 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Iowa

It is mating season and most obvious is it by the birds that call for a mate or try to impress the other gender. Woodpeckers are among them and as soon daylight creeps above the horizon they make their presence known by drumming against a well sounding tree trunk or branch and by ratting calls, mostly by the males. Well, they need to eat too and suet feeders are like a magnet that pulls them within the reach of a lens. Of course, a feeder is not the best place for a photo but during the time the woodpeckers approach it, there are plenty of opportunities to make a click.

AHH, THAT LIGHT AGAIN…

Red-bellied Woodpecker

I love these mornings with really crisp light and already a warm touch as we have them only in spring around here. The sun gets “filtered” by the still bare branches on our east side. It’s a good time to have the camera ready to shoot. Many birds are in mating mood and their feathers look at their best.

This male Red-bellied Woodpecker is a frequent visitor. It doesn’t happen very often that he uses one of the honeysuckle bushes as a landing spot. Most of the time the smaller birds perch in it before they carefully approach a bird bath or feeder. A couple days ago it all came together, I knew at the moment when I made the first click that I had a picture I would like.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, @ 600mm, f/6.3, 1/500s, ISO200,

SHOOTING FROM A BLIND

Male House Finch

I was invited this evening by my photography friend Kevin for some photo shooting behind his house on the south side of Dubuque, Iowa. He had set up a tent that served as a blind at the edge of his woods and minutes after we entered it, and had the tripods in place, our shutters were rattling. This is a great location with an abundance of birds. We had wonderful natural light (no flash needed today), and shooting with Kevin is always a great pleasure.

Male Red-bellied Woodpecker

I only have used my car as a mobile blind so far and shooting out of a tent blind was a first for me. The advantage is, you can get really close to our feathered friends. The downside is the partly loss of peripheral vision due to the tent walls and roof over the head. Not a big deal today. We had at least 14 species of birds on site and I was able to capture nine of them during our one and a half hour photo shoot.

American Goldfinch

Kevin chose the location for the blind very wisely in regards of the incoming light and had prepared the “backyard studio” with good perch facilities for the birds. A couple feeders were placed in a way that we were able to keep them easily out of the frame. Some big trees are in the background and allow to aim the lens at woodpeckers or nuthatches that crack a seed in a gap of the bark.

A pair of House Finches

No, it is no myth, our front or backyards can be some of the best places for wildlife photography. With relatively little efforts a lot can be accomplished within a short period of time, a fact that should be considered by everybody who tries to shave off time during a busy week. Special thanks to Kevin again for this opportunity today!

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

REVEALING THE RED BELLY

This week flew by fast and I only have been out one evening with the camera. It was warm during the last few days and the snow, the “giant reflector”, melted down quite a bit. I still like to show another photo I made last Sunday in crisp winter light. This female Red-bellied Woodpecker is one of our regulars. She was born in 2016, at least I believe it is still the same bird we see here.

This was actually my favorite shot from last Sunday. Not just because of the great light but I also like the gesture of the woodpecker and the fact that you can see the orange-red belly, that obviously played a role when the Red-bellied woodpecker received its name. Most of the time we can’t see it in our pictures because the woodpeckers hang on to a tree trunk and the belly is hidden.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender, @600 mm, 1/640 s, f/6.3, ISO 200, image cropped

 

WINTER AND ITS LIGHT

Red-bellied Woodpecker -----------    

I was determined to get the camera on a tripod and practice some bird photography this weekend, but got a little frustrated on Saturday because a gray overcast and dull light just didn’t lead to any satisfying results. Of course, pilot errors played a role in the game as well… 😏

This was different today. We got some snow overnight and the sky cleared finally this morning. I call this ideal conditions and have written here in the blog before how the reflecting light from the snow can help with exposure and story telling.

The male Red-bellied Woodpecker is pretty, no matter what, but throwing a hint of bundled light through the MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender ( http://www.exnerimages.net/blog/2017/3/30/gear-talk-magmod-magbeam-wildlife-kit ) makes the red on his head just popping. I shot this with 1/160 s, more than fast enough for a sharp image and slow enough to make the falling snow part of the story telling in this image.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The year ends with very cold temperatures and snow on the ground, ideal conditions for some bird photography in the backyard today. This young female Red-bellied Woodpecker posed nicely on the trunk of this gnarly Ironwood (American Hop Hornbeam).

Female Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dec 31, 2017, near Durango, Iowa

The weeks before Christmas the weather has been relatively warm and to our surprise we had a female Yellow-rumped Warbler at our bird bath and below the suet feeders. The northern edge of their winter range is normally several hundred miles south from here, but another birder told me that is not totally unusual to see a few here in eastern Iowa if the winter is mild. I was awed when the warbler still came to the bird bath and feeders today despite the fact that the temperature was at -18ºC (0º F) and with a solid snow cover on the ground.

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, October 2017

Usually I would end the year with a few “Retrospect” blog posts about my photographic highlights during the year, but some last-minute business trip between Christmas and now kept me from doing it. Maybe I find the time in January… However, I like to thank everybody for stopping here, for your emails and messages with opinions, critique, and advice. I appreciate all of them and would be happy to see you back in 2018!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WOODPECKER COMPETITION

Red-headed Woodpecker ------

There is enough food for everybody available but today the woodpeckers acted like there was no tomorrow. It seems the “new kid on the block”, the Red-headed Woodpecker who hangs around here since a few days, wants to establish a dominance over all his cousins.

Hairy Woodpecker

Two Hairy Woodpeckers are permanent residents on our bluffs here and usually nobody messes with their long and sharp bill. They are about the same size as the red-headed but even they went out of its way.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

Four Red-bellied Woodpeckers are part of the gang and can be very expressive and vocal if they dislike something. However, especially the younger birds, like this female, have been chased today by the red-headed “bully”.

Downy Woodpecker

The seven or eight Downy Woodpeckers are the cool girls and boys in our woods. They are much smaller in size and wouldn’t have any chance in a fight with their cousins. They stay away from the chase and come only to our feeders when the bigger guys need a break.

WOODPECKER TREE NO. 1

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker ---    

The tree in our front yard that I call “Woodpecker Tree No. 1” is probably one of the ugliest trees we have. But it is of big importance for our woodpeckers, if they want to approach the suet feeder that is not far from it. Before they enter the feeder, most of the time they land on this tree and hop down step by step, making sure no predator is nearby. The tree is also used to make clear who is next in line. There is a hierarchy between the different species and ages of the birds. The Red-bellied Woodpecker is able to scare the Northern Flickers away, even if some of them are larger. The much smaller Downy Woodpeckers always leave and wait patiently when one of the larger birds, like the Northern Flickers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, or Hairy Woodpeckers come to the tree.

Downy Woodpecker

Both photos are from last weekend after we had some fresh snow on the ground. This helps a lot with light quantity. In addition I use flash fill, not as my main light source but to make the colors more vibrant and to improve mostly the quality of the light. I’m still testing a new flash extender that made it into my bag a few weeks ago and I will write about this piece of gear here in the blog shortly. “Woodpecker Tree No. 1” has been always a good place to make tests with new gear. I know the location and most importantly can compare my results with older photos that were shot under similar circumstances.

GREAT LIGHT BUT STILL ADDING SOME MORE

Red-bellied Woodpecker -----------

Winter is back here in eastern Iowa since a couple days. Time to put the best reflector nature provides for us to work. Yep, I’m talking about the fresh snow on the ground. The quality of light becomes very good for bird photography as soon a little sun hits the snow. The reflection from underneath the bird, even if they sit a little higher in a tree, makes the big difference to any other time of the year. In addition I’m testing a new flash extender that made it into my bag of tools. I’m not ready to talk about it today but might be soon. My flash extender of choice was the Better Beamer for many years (click HERE to see how it looks like). So why throwing more light at the subject if the overall conditions are sufficient? “Tree hugging” birds like this young male Red-bellied Woodpecker like to stay quite often on the shady side of the tree. I still can expose halfway correctly but a little hint of flash (and I mean a little hint) will reveal the beauty of all the colors in its feathers.

This is the tree I call “Woodpecker-Tree #1” in our front yard. A suet feeder is nearby and this tree is quite often the starting point for the birds approaching this feeder. The Red-bellied Woodpecker seemed to be in some competition today about the best spot with another woodpecker, a Northern Flicker. As you can see, it was all about display. Catching the colors and gesture was important to me to tell the story with my photo.

NATURE CLICKS #323 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

Male Red-bellied Woodpecker

The woodpeckers around here are very active at this time of the year, especially the male Yellow-shafted Northern Flickers try already to get the females attention. The Red-bellied-Woodpeckers have still a little time. Their breeding season starts in early May. Its common name is somewhat misleading, as the most prominent red part of its plumage is on the head.