WINTER STORY

Red-winged Blackbirds, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

One of the stories I heard and read quite often after I moved from Europe to North America is that the return of the Red-winged Blackbird at the end of winter here in the Midwest, is a sure sign that spring is not far away. This was true for many years since I photograph wildlife in the Upper Mississippi Valley. Not so much anymore since about the last three years. I have seen Red-winged Blackbirds during all of my frequent visits in the Green Island Wetlands, even at really cold times. It seems the blackbirds stay much further north during the winter now.

Today I had quite a large flock in front of the lens. Hard to guess how many, but at least several hundred. The birds either rested in trees or went down to the ground all together, foraging between the reeds of the marshland or patches of corn fields that were left intentionally by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

I asked myself, how can this story be told with the camera? I wanted as many red wings in the frame as possible. It was also important to have some snow in the picture. The compressed view through the 600 mm lens hides the snow on the ground between the reeds, but the rocky slope of the Mississippi Valley, far in the back, delivers some white between all the birds and an open spot on the left hand side adds as well. There was enough light to shoot with exposure times between 1/1000s and 1/4000s and the best results came with the sun right from behind.

Rough-legged Hawk

The blackbirds were closely watched by a Rough-legged Hawk. During summer time on their breeding grounds in the arctic tundra they eat mostly small rodents, like lemmings and voles. The Red-winged Blackbirds didn’t hesitate to land in trees right next to the hawk. I wonder if the raptor just waited to get a hold of a slow straggler or if he hoped to catch mice that may come out of the snow covered ground for seeds or corn the birds had dropped…

NATURE CLICKS #540 - RED-TAILED HAWK

The red-tailed is probably the most common Hawk we see here in eastern Iowa. Their plumage can be highly variable. I saw this one several times today down in the Green Island Wetlands. Shortly after this shot was made the bird landed in another tree nearby and as I came closer I realized the hawk shared this tree with probably 200-300 Red-winged Blackbirds. They didn’t seem to be too concerned about its presence and the hawk knew he was too slow to get a healthy blackbird for dinner. The hope was probably to catch a bird that struggled or wasn’t able to move as quick as the rest of the flock. The temperatures were just slightly below freezing and to me it isn’t a surprise anymore to see Red-winged Blackbirds during winter time.

It’s not my best photo of a hawk. A gray overcast is always poison for a good bird image with the sky or water as a background. The gesture of the hawk came to my rescue. It was still enjoyable to be out in the wetlands today and better times for bird photography are just around the corner…

OZARK MOUNTAINS (6) - MY FAVORITE PHOTO

Blackbirds in murmuration, Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas River Valley

Not far from Petit Jean State Park, where we camped during Thanksgiving weekend, is a wetland area along the Arkansas River. It reminded me a lot of the Green Island Wetlands I enjoy so much here in the Upper Mississippi Valley. Despite a couple gray days in a row we cruised Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge three times and although it wasn’t bird watching prime time, we enjoyed looking out for wildlife very much. The key story, unfortunately not captured in a picture, was the brief sighting of an Armadillo.

One of the most impressive views we had was the display of thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds in murmuration. In Europe this behavior is known only by starlings but here this flock of blackbirds and some grackles just performed incredible.

Why is this my favorite photo of the whole trip? If you look at the lower left quarter of the image closely, you may see the white spot on the tail of a Northern Harrier. The raptor took its turns and any time it came close to the huge flock of blackbirds they took off and went into murmuration to discourage the harrier during its hunt. When the blackbirds crossed in front of the colorful tree in the background, I knew I had an image that tells the story of fall colors, bird migration, and if nothing else, about the time of the season.

As more as I dive into photography it slowly becomes evident to me that the emotional side of an image, the story it carries to the viewer, is more important than the technical aspects of a photo. I understand that someone who works for a client or tries to sell their photos to a customer have maybe to follow other rules than the pure artist or hobbyist, but story telling seems to be still the key for a satisfying image.

WORKING WITH THE LADIES

Female Red-winged Blackbird, Mill Creek Ponds, Eastern Iowa

If we want to talk about one of the most common birds here in Iowa, at least during the season without snow, it has to be the Red-winged Blackbird. They are omnipresent wherever there is open space. The males arrive a lot earlier in spring from the south than the females and everybody here knows this black bird with its striking red bar bar on the wings that gave this bird obviously its name. You may not agree, but I’m always intrigued by the beauty of the female blackbirds, in particular during breeding season.

A couple days ago I stopped at the Mill Creek Ponds in a side valley of the Mississippi River. The long time followers of my blog may remember that I have photographed breeding Trumpeter Swans many times before at this location, but to my disappointment no swans seemed to be there this year. As always, the blackbirds have their habitat between the reeds of the wetlands and around the Mill Creek Ponds. Of course plenty of male birds are there and defend their territories aggressively.

I really focussed on the female birds this time and tried to incorporate the reeds along the pond in the background. I believe photographing a common bird should include a certain quality of light, otherwise I won’t publish it. 6PM is still way before sunset, but this valley receives the last warm sunlight for the day a lot earlier. While the first photo is all about the beautiful plumage of the blackbird lady, the second one is all about the gesture.

I try to make it a habit to shoot the long lens with the 1.4 SIGMA teleconverter attached. Having 850 mm focal length on a full frame sensor camera makes it very desirable for bird photography. Shooting a lot more with this tool lately, my keeper rate went up quite a bit. I can afford to be choosy about what image to use for a blog post…😉

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

1. photo:   @ 850 mm, 1/400 s, f/9, ISO 400

2. photo:   @ 850 mm, 1/640 s, f/9, ISO 400

COULDN’T ASK FOR MORE…

Trumpeter Swans, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

The biggest difference between my last visit in the Green Island Wetlands a week ago and today was the number of Canada Geese. Many more have arrived and spread wherever there was already open water. Most of the lakes and canals have still an ice cover but with warmer temperatures ahead of us this will change quickly. The bird migration has started and during the hour before sunset I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of geese flying upstream in the Mississippi Valley. The best sign that spring is probably just around the corner was the presence of seven Red-winged Blackbirds… YEEAAH!!!

Beside Canada Geese I watched and worked this pair of Trumpeter Swans with the camera. The light was lovely and while using the car again as my “mobile blind”, the swans acted like I wasn’t even there. It all came together in this photo. Both birds were very close together for a brief moment and their heads formed the shape of a heart. Couldn’t ask for more…

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/640 s, f/8, ISO100

THE STORY ABOUT AN “ORDINARY”

Red-winged Blackbird, Green Island Wetlands -------   

I’m still smiling about my first sighting of a Short-eared Owl yesterday and just a few days ago I finally made some pictures of a pair American Black Ducks, as the avid reader of my blog may recall. It looks like I have already a good bird watching year. But more often we come back from a trip with photos of wildlife that is native to the area, stays all year long, or shows up in large numbers for the breeding season. Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls, Mallards, and of course the Red-winged Blackbirds belong into this group here in the Mississippi Valley.

So, how can we make the photos of the ordinary creatures special? First, they have to be sharp. If we don’t nail sharpness at least on the eye of a critter we can try it again and again. The “ordinary” birds are a great subject to improve our shooting skills. Second, light and color should play a role. Nobody wants to see, not even on Facebook, a photo of a gull, sitting still on a sheet of ice that reflects the gray from an overcast sky. This rule can be broken if there is a good story telling gesture involved. Gesture is the third ingredient to make an image of a bird that everybody knows more interesting.

I hear the photo-purists saying, Andreas, why didn’t you move a little to the side to get the swaying dried up plant out of the frame? Well, I did, I moved the “mobile blind”, as I call my car, a couple feet back. It was all good, sharpness, light, and color. The only thing missing in all the other shots was the great gesture of the male Red-winged Blackbird, when he spread his wings, called, and told all competitors around, this is my territory! For my friends in Germany and those who are not familiar with blackbirds, the appearance of this species in late winter and early spring is a good indicator that the warmer season will arrive soon. They are here probably by the millions. The males claim a territory and wait for the arrival of the females. This picture may not make it into a field guide about birds but I think it tells the story about what’s going on out in the wetlands, at the Mississippi River, and along the roads here in Iowa…

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, @ 600 mm, 1/400 s, f/6.3, ISO 200

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2017 #10 - NOISE AFTER SUNSET

Deere Marsh after sunset, Mississippi River, Dubuque, Iowa

I interrupt my series of blog posts about our trip to West Virginia and Virginia for a more actual photo from right here at the Mississippi River. After a number of gray days it looked like the sun would come out this evening and so I took the dog, grabbed the photo bag, and drove down to the dyke behind the big John Deere works at the river. I got rewarded with a nice sunset but the clouds and light right after it were even more appealing.

What you don’t see, and so it is not really a part of my visual story telling, is ten thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds resting in the reeds and cattails right in front of my lens. The noise was incredible but I love to see their big gatherings during migration.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2015 #9

All images: Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4

Today’s photos are still from my visit at the Deere Marsh last Friday night and both tell a totally different story. The first one is about migration of the Red-winged blackbird. They gather by the thousands and fly south, a sure indicator that winter will approach soon.

The second photo was made only a few minutes before the first one and at a first glimpse there is not much going on in the marsh or on the Mississippi in the background. But wait, if you look down at the bottom beside the shadow of my left leg, there is Cooper’s shadow. As so often he sits and waits until I’m done clicking and fiddling with the camera. Most of the time I can concentrate on the photography or on the critters we are watching. I don’t have to worry about all the time what Cooper is doing. He waits patiently. We couldn’t ask for a better dog! 😊

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2015 #8

Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-120mm / f4

Joan, I, and the dog went out this evening for a nice long walk into the Deere Marsh, a wetland area between the Mississippi River and the big John Deere factory north of Dubuque, Iowa. We had a fresh and clear day with a few puffy clouds in the sky, but unfortunately they all had disappeared before the evening.

Joan likes to shoot wildflowers and plants and this area had still plenty to offer for her. I just brought my favorite “walk around” lens, the Nikkor 24 - 120 / f4, and was hoping to chase some good light.

We had what I call a “dirty sunset”, a little hazy and not too pretty, nothing really special about it. But after the sun disappeared behind the ridge of the Mississippi Valley things started to unfold. Hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds were flying above us towards a grove with tall trees, located on a small island in the river. They obviously spend the night there after feeding on insects and seeds during the day between the water lilies and arrow heads that grow in the backwaters of the river. I would not have made any picture of the sunset because I didn’t have a middle-ground with an interesting silhouette, but the blackbirds took care for that and became the story telling element in this photo.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2015 #7

Yesterday evening Joan was finally able to join Cooper and me for a paddle tour on the Mississippi River and the backwaters of the adjacent Mud Lake area. There is not a single day or night as the one before and I really don’t get tired paddling the same area and looking for the light, wildlife , or what else nature presents.

A juvenile Red-winged Blackbird is not the most attractive bird in the world but if “killer light” hits the little guy between the reeds of the backwaters I can’t resist to make the click. Wildlife photography with natural light as pure as it gets...

I have met the guy on the left before in the Mud Lake area. I believe he runs a business that provides stand up board paddling during the summer. Well, I don’t think it is the worst job in the world… 😊