COLOR OF THE DAY

May 18, 2026

I’m sorry for not posting much lately, but as mentioned in an earlier blog post a little construction project requires all my attention and time for photography is a bit limited at the moment. However, yesterday I took a day off and had a nice shooting session on the front porch with my friend Kevin. It’s mating season for the birds and the the local species and of course the migrators that came up from Central or South America visit our feeders frequently, try to impress a mate or just display their wonderful colors. The highlight today was the first appearance this season of a male Scarlet Tanager. Kevin and I were shooting side by side and he found a different way to keep the suet feeder, the tanager was looking at, out of the frame. The chance for this photo lasted only a few seconds but I’m happy we were both able to capture the moment. The other birds I show you today showed up a little more often and it is always nice to have choices about which pictures to share. I just realized, red was the color of the day…😉

Northern Cardinal, a resident all year long

NATURE CLICKS #576 - SCARLET TANAGER

May 3, 2024

Many people get excited when they see a male Northern Cardinal with its beautiful red plumage any time of the year. There is only a small window in time when we can enjoy the Scarlet Tanager, but this bird can compete with the cardinal easily when it comes to colors. Three days ago a couple males have arrived from South America, where they spend the winter season. With their black wings the males are easily to identify. The females aren’t here yet, at least I haven't seen one so far. Their plumage is yellow and green and they look gorgeous as well.

The tanagers are not as vocal as many other birds and they show up often quietly. They seem to dive down from the higher areas in the canopy and go straight to a feeder. And that’s the habit that makes it difficult for the photographer. I made plenty of clicks of the Scarlet Tanager at our suet feeders, and those are made for my own documentary, but framing them in a tree without a feeder in the picture is not always an option. So what do I show you today? A photo from 2020! Be assured, the light was as good as it was today and if I have more luck in the next few days, I’ll post another photo of the beautiful Scarlet Tanagers…

FALL WARBLERPALOOZA, AND MORE

September 10, 2023

Philadelphia Vireo, Mines of Spain Recreation Area, Dubuque, Iowa

I haven’t been able to get out much with the camera lately but today I made up for that. The Dubuque Audubon Society had invited its members and the public for a field trip to the Mines of Spain Recreation Area in Dubuque. The ”Fall Warblerpalooza” was led by Tony Moline, who is a very active birder with very good knowledge about our feathered friends. Hence the name of the event, we were hoping to find migrating warblers in the tree tops early in the morning. We saw a few but none came in the range for the camera. But a number of other birds made it worthwhile to get out with binoculars, tripod, and camera. It was a nice field trip and while listening to Tony and other birders I learned some new things and was able to make a few clicks as well. Here is a first set of photos, maybe I post a few more during this week.

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

For the first time I saw two female Scarlet Tanagers during fall migration. We can watch them almost every year in early May in our front yard after their return from South America but have never see them in the fall. They had a feast on the fruits of a wild grapevine.

A Common Nighthawk is not easy to spot when they rest during the day. They are long-distance migrants and fly in large flocks to reach their wintering grounds in South America.

BACK FROM THE SOUTH

May 5, 2023

Male Scarlet Tanager, back from the tropical forest

As you maybe saw in my blog post from yesterday, the light before sunset was just gorgeous. Well, today it was a different story. Rain clouds moved in and made the shutter speeds dropping tremendously. The speed light was employed again but had a different purpose. While yesterday it was more used as a fill flash while shooting against the sun, today I used it mainly to get some colors back from the birds feathers. I exposed for the ambient light and sent just a ”kiss” of light with the flash to pronounce the bird’s colors.

Today the first male Scarlet Tanager showed up in our woods. They spent the winter in the tropical forests of northwestern South America and have a long journey behind them when they arrive here in the Midwest. Years ago, when I saw my first Scarlet Tanager I was amazed about the beauty of this bird and I’m still impressed when I see one.

This Baltimore Oriole has already arrived three days ago, but it wasn’t before today I heard its flutelike song. They are not migrating as far south as the tanagers. The Baltimore Oriole spends the winters in Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, or the northern tip of South America (source: allaboutbirds.org).

NATURE CLICKS #468 - SCARLET TANAGER

October 7, 2020

Male in its non-breeding plumage during fall migration

Since five days we have an unusual visitor at the suet feeder next to my home office window. This male Scarlet Tanager waits patiently until no woodpecker or other bird is present and takes his turn for a meal. Usually early in May we see up to a dozen tanagers after they arrive from South America. I have posted photos and have written about these beautiful birds every spring but we have never seen one during fall migration. At this time of the year the males have already traded their red feathers for green-yellow. We know that some Scarlet Tanagers breed in our woods, but they spend most of the time high up in the canopy and are hardly seen near the ground during the summer. Now we wonder if this is a bird that was here for the last few months or if he is just on his journey through to the forests in South America.

The photo was made through the admittedly not very clean window next to my desk with the Nikkor 70-200, f/4 at 175 mm. As almost always I shot in Aperture priority mode and to compensate for the bright background the exposure compensation was set to +1.66. The “Dehaze-slider” in Lightroom took care for the haze and blur effect from the window glass.

NATURE CLICKS #454 - SCARLET TANAGER

May 18, 2020

Male and female Scarlet Tanagers are some of the prettiest visitors we have here at this time of the year. The tanagers like this oak in front of the house as a landing place before they approach the suet feeder. The frost at night a few days ago has damaged some of the fresh leaves on this young oak but the tree recovers quickly. With the cold weather we had lately these neotropical migrants come in very frequently. Later during the summer they spend most of their time in the canopy of the forest and forage for insects. That’s when we hardly see them anymore.

“ARRIVAL WEEKEND”

May 3, 2020

Have a look at today’s photos. It was “arrival weekend” for many birds in our woods here on top of the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa River, Iowa. If you try to write a blog about nature and photography and can’t decide what pictures to post, I tell you, it’s a nice problem to have. 😊 As always, click on the photo for a larger view and black background.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird ♂️ . Some females arrived as well. — Ruby-throated Hummingbird ♂️ . Some females arrived as well.

House Wren ♂️, The first male arrived April, 25th and sings his heart out every morning and during the day. Today I saw a female inspecting one of our nest boxes. Maybe this guy gets lucky, but there are other males around and she can be choosy…

Scarlet Tanager ♂️, Not very many people will see a Scarlet Tanager. They don’t make a lot of noise. This one arrived this morning, a second one followed this evening. We are waiting now to see the first female…

TODAY WAS THE DAY…

May 3, 2019

…we are always looking forward to every spring. Finally four more bird species arrived from the south. About three days later than usual we had “first of the year” sightings of male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, two male Baltimore Orioles, a male Scarlet Tanager, and a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. After the snow last weekend I expected a delay in their arrival time and being away almost the whole week, I’m happy they waited for my return from a business trip. I had the camera out on the porch this evening and at least the oriole and the tanager gave me a chance to take their picture.

We had a slight overcast that sucked up a little bit of the light but at the other hand made it soft overall. The MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender came out of the photo bag and was the essential tool for making the colors of the bird’s feathers pop.

Nikon D750, 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, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender

DESPERATE TANAGERS

May 12, 2018

We had two very cold and wet days and I feel bad for the birds that just arrived here a week ago. The Scarlet Tanager spends the winter in the tropical forest of northwestern South America. During the last years we always had a pair or two here during the summer but it is a very secretive bird and we usually see it only in May or June. I don’t know if it is the cold weather only, but right now we see up to six male and three female tanagers in the “front and back yard studio”. They use our suet feeders or eat from the oranges we put out for the orioles very frequently and this gives me a lot opportunities to make a click while they are waiting for their turn in our trees and bushes. We can only imagine how hard it is for the birds after such a long journey to replenish their energy and the cold temperatures (yesterday it was 46ºF / 8ºC) are not helpful for sure.

The brilliant colors of both sexes make it very inviting to take their pictures. The dark overcast we had most of the time requires shooting with relatively long exposure and not every click leads to a sharp photo. Wind and the movement of the birds play a role as well. I shoot the SIGMA 150-600 wide open at f/6.3, 600 mm, and ISO set between 200 and 400 at the most. The exposure time was mostly between 1/60s and 1/200s but there were a few shots as far down as 1/25s.

BACK FROM SOUTH AMERICA

May 13, 2017

The male Scarlet Tanager, with its red plumage and black wings, was already here since a few days and was yesterday joined by a female. They spent the winter in northwestern South American tropical forests. The Scarlet Tanagers feed on insects, fruits, berries, and buds, but eat readily from the suet feeders that we fill for the woodpeckers after the long journey from their winter range.

1/400 s, f/6.3, ISO 200, @600 mm, -1/3 EV, flash -4 EV;

with 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;

SPRING BIRDS UPDATE

May 3, 2017

The Male House Wrens sing and try to attract the females since April 21, 2017. Today a female wren inspected both floors at one of the nest boxes, and the male was probably praising how good of a place that would be for raising a family.

I like to photograph small birds any time of the year but spring is probably the most rewarding time. Most birds look at their best because it’s also mating season and during that time some species don’t care so much about the presence of a photographer because their mind is of course somewhere else. I love the light that we have when the first leaves just come out here in our woods. Yes, the sun can be powerful and make it harsh sometime but I love how crisp things appear under the spring sun.

Today new bird arrivals can be reported. We saw the first hummingbird at one of our feeders. The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, males and females, are here since yesterday, and a male Scarlet Tanager was present today for the first time this season as well.

Chipping Sparrow, arrived already April, 21, 2017

So, what about the young Great Horned down at the Mississippi River? I was there Monday night during a rain shower and the nest was empty. It took me just about five minutes to find the owlet, now called a “branchling”, in a tall tree next to the nest. Other birders and photographers had sent me updates and photos today (thank you Linda and Kevin!). I will try to locate the owl tomorrow again, but with the leaves growing rapidly it’s going to be a challenge as always during an owls branch hopping stage.

Female Purple Finch, has still not left for their summer grounds up in northern Minnesota and Canada.

SCARLET TANAGER AND THE AMBIENT LIGHT

July 7, 2016

The Scarlet Tanager is a very secretive bird but sometimes the males show up at our suet feeders for a brief moment. Usually they also disappear very quickly again after getting a few peanuts. It is not so difficult to make any feeder pictures but it takes a lot more to make the click while they are in the trees around our house. The thick and lush canopy of our trees here swallows up a lot of light and locking in the focus can be a challenge. As always in these kind of situations I use the speed light only for flash fill, for boosting the colors and not as my main source of light. This means to shoot with slow shutter speeds (1/60s for this photo). The ambient light plays a big role for the environmental portraits I’m aiming for in my wildlife photography and using the full power of the flash light would just not deliver the results I’m looking for. Not having every single feather of the bird tack-sharp is the small price I have no problem to pay in this matter.

THE LOUD AND THE SECRETIVE

May 16, 2016

I promised you a few days ago I would show some more pictures of birds that have arrived here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa Valley. The Baltimore Orioles start singing beautifully already early in the morning but when they approach our bird feeders they chatter mostly loud. Both, females and males, love to eat from the halves of oranges we put out for them and also drink from our hummingbird feeders to gain strength after their long migration. Later in the summer, during the breeding process, they hardly show up again near the feeders. Their nests are usually high up in the taller trees and their diet consists of caterpillars, moths, beetles, ants, bugs, and aphids.

The Scarlet Tanager is a lot more secretive. It is not easy to make a photo away from the suet feeder, because most of the time they fly in very quiet and land right on the feeder. After their short meals they fly away immediately.

WAITING FOR THE TANAGER

May 14, 2015

I have good news and bad news today. The good news is that I finally was able to make some photos of the female Scarlet Tanager during the last couple days. The bad news is that I didn’t like any of the pictures taken in the trees or bushes around, mostly because of light quality or sharpness. With other words, I show you my best two shots made at a suet feeder. I know, this doesn’t really say wildlife but I hope I get some better pictures during the next couple days.

The male Scarlet Tanager did a better job and landed a few times on my bird perch before it entered the feeder. I know, I showed a photo of the male a few days ago here in the blog, but both, the male and female Scarlet Tanager are too pretty for keeping these pictures in the drawer…

NATURE CLICKS #271 - SCARLET TANAGER

May 8, 2015

One of the best treats we get in the spring here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River Valley is watching the Scarlet Tanager. This beautiful bird spends the winters in northwestern South American tropical forests. Yesterday I spotted the first male of the season and today I was able to make this photo of the tanager in our big maple. They usually feed on insects, fruits, berries, and buds high up in the trees but come to the ground occasionally. They built the nest on a horizontal branch 20 - 30 feet above the ground. I will keep my eyes open for a female Scarlet Tanager during the next days. They are green-yellow colored and not so easy to spot between the fresh leaves on the trees.