NATURE CLICKS #564 - AMERICAN BULLFROG

American Bullfrog, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

It was a gorgeous summer day, not too hot and not too humid, and we decided to paddle our kayaks this evening for a couple hours at Mud Lake. This part of the Mississippi River backwaters is separated by a dike structure from the main channel of the river and the current in there is very slow. The best part is that you almost never come back without any wildlife sightings. Today we had a number of different birds but none was close enough for a decent photo. We also watched muskrats, beavers, and turtles. But the best posing in the light of the setting sun came from some of American Bullfrogs. I have never seen so many of these big frogs at Mud Lake. They are a great subject to practice handholding the long lens in a kayak. The bullfrogs were pretty patient and let us paddle up really close to them, even below the minimum focal distance of about 102” (2.6m), before they dived down and moved away.

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

FEBRUARY SUN, LONG SHADOWS

Mississippi River, Green Island Preserve. Eastern Iowa

February sun with already long shadows from the trees at mid afternoon, over a well known and still iced over part of the Green Island Wetlands. The photo was taken from a small boat ramp we have used many times before to launch our kayaks. This is about forty miles south from our home and that short of a distance can make quite a difference how the weather impacts the landscape. Here they didn’t get by far as much snow as we did this week and a couple degrees difference in temperature can make the snow disappear much faster.

Before the Green Island preserve was separated from the Mississippi River by dikes, this was obviously all backwaters of the big river. I have photographed from this spot before and it is one of my favorite locations in the wetlands. Always liked how the lines of this channel move the eye to the horizon and how the trees follow this line.

While approaching the place I saw the cloud in the background moving fast towards the east. I was hoping it would have been a little more to the left, in the gap between the trees, but unfortunately I was too late. I’m still happy with the photo, telling the story about gorgeous winter days here in the Driftless Region of the Upper Mississippi Valley.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2021 #7 - APPROACH BY KAYAK

Bald Eagle, Mississippi River, near Mud Lake, Iowa

Daylight becomes shorter a little bit every day but the evenings are still long enough for a paddle trip on the Mississippi River. It was a very quiet evening today on the river. Birds and other wildlife is not as present as earlier in the season but we had some good moments. Many Bald Eagles nest along the river and this one is a local in the Mud Lake area. This log, stranded on a mud bank at the main channel of the river, was obviously a good perch for the eagle. It seemed to enjoy the setting sun as much as we did, but had surely an eye on the fish that comes near the surface. While I took some time to approach the eagle slowly with the camera, Joan had moved on and was rewarded with the brief sighting of an adult and a young river otter. Otters are not uncommon but we haven’t seen one in our area for quite some time.

Green Heron, Mississippi River, Backwaters of Mud Lake, Iowa

The backwaters of Mud Lake were not as easy to paddle as the main river this evening. Lots of aquatic plants, tons of duck weed, and some algae slowed us down quite a bit. This little Green Heron fits right into this habitat. They are not as common as the Great Blue Heron and having an opportunity to aim the lens at this bird is always a great treat.

All photos: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S

GORGEOUS FEBRUARY DAY

Nikon D750, Carl Zeiss Distagon T*, 35mm / f2 ZF

I’m glad Joan, dog Cooper, and I went out on a drive along the Mississippi River yesterday. It was soooo nice to have the sun out again for a few hours. Today the sky is covered with a uniform gray overcast again, it snows a little bit, and just makes the “cabin fever” raising again…

During part of the trip we went on the Illinois side of the big river and after the kiss of the polar vortex and now temperatures still below freezing the river is covered with ice for the most part. We explored some new wetlands and discussed the possibilities we would have there during the upcoming warmer seasons. I had all my lenses in the car and decided for the one I had recently most neglected. The Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 is the only lens I own with nothing but manual focus. Most of the time I rely on autofocus for my photography. Eye sight isn’t getting better with age and I think there is nothing wrong with employing AF and the high tech we pay for if we buy a new lens or camera. However, the sharpness of the Zeiss 2/35 is fantastic but the main reason I love this lens so much is how it reproduces the colors. The snow is hard and crusty right now and I wanted to bring this out in the shot, taken at some backwaters of the Mississippi. The subtle changes of tones on the old melted and re-frozen snow in combination with the long shadows of grass in the mid afternoon sun tell hopefully the story of a gorgeous February day. Still love this lens…

NATURE CLICKS #413 - GREEN HERON

Green Heron, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

It all came together this evening after a four hour paddle tour on the Mississippi River and upstream into the Little Maquoketa River. Almost back at the sandy boat launch of Mud Lake Park I saw this Green Heron hunting for little fish at an opening in the dyke that separates the main river and the backwaters of Mud Lake.

Stretching is important, not only afer a long paddle tour...

The cousin of the Green Heron, the Great Blue Heron, is easy to find in the Mississippi Valley and I make only a click if the light has some quality or if there is an outstanding gesture or location. The Green Heron is not present in such high numbers and it is a very skittish bird. On my way out today I saw several birds, but the only reason I saw them was the fact that they took off and flew away before I even was in a range of 50 yards.

I don’t know why this heron accepted my presence in the boat so well, but it did. I had our dog Cooper in the cockpit but he stayed calm and quiet as usual. When approaching a bird or critter I usually give the kayak a push with the paddle before I grab the camera and just hope for the best. The current in the river at this location pushed me away from the bird several times and I had to paddle again for another chance to make a few clicks. This heron must have known that I waited for this moment since several years. As I said, it all came together, oh boy, I wished I could say this a lot more often…😉

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2016 #11 - FALL COLORS

Mississippi River overlook near Guttenberg, Iowa ----------

My business commitments required a trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin today and driving the “Great River Road” along the Mississippi towards Minnesota is probably my favorite drive from Dubuque, Iowa. Last weekend Joan and I where just up in this most beautiful part of Iowa again for another camping trip. We had great weather, still warm and sunny, but I didn’t bring home many pictures that told the colorful story of fall.

Four days can make a big difference here at this time of the year. We had a lot of rain in the last days and many of the leaves in our valley came down. Most importantly those leaves still hanging from the trees got finally a real color change. On my way back this evening I stopped at several places at the big river to look again for migrating birds and took the time to capture the essence of autumn. We had a heavy overcast and even some rain sprinkles today but the range of light was reduced to 3-4 f-stops, which to me means “great light” for revealing the warm colors without glare. 

All images: Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-120mm / f4

The water level of the Mississippi raised again after all the rain of the last couple days. Many islands and parts of the backwaters are submerged in water. I have seen this fallen tree sticking in nothing but mud before and would have never thought of getting the camera out of the bag. Well, it is impossible for me to just walk by if nature reveals its beauty in such artful way. I know, some may see only a dead tree sticking in the muddy waters of the Mississippi…

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2015 #6

It has been a while since I have posted under the headline of “RIVER STORIES”, but hey, here is another one…

While leaving the marina at Mud Lake Park with the kayak again this evening, and just after I turned into the main channel of the big river, I saw one of the Bald Eagle adults that call this area home. You can’t have a better start, despite the gray overcast...

The water lilies are in full bloom at the moment and other flowers grow in abundance along the levies and islands in the Mississippi.

No Foster’s Terns today but these adult and juvenile Ring-billed Gulls posed nicely for a shot.

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

This flower is called Marsh Mallow (hibiscus militaris). They can grow up to 7 feet tall. I have never seen them before, although we paddled this area many times during the last few years.

DEEP IN THE BACKWATERS

Gorgeous weather yesterday and I used it for another long paddle tour. I explored parts of the Green Island Wetlands that I have never seen before. It is always amazing to see how many species this ecosystem can support. There is wildlife in abundance and even if someone doesn’t care for photography at all, you can’t escape the magic of this landscape.

It needs some navigation skills because it is easy to take the wrong turn or miss a passage between all the water arms and little islands. The advantage of using a kayak becomes obvious when you paddle through very shallow parts deep into the backwaters where no other watercraft can go without getting stuck.

Cooper, our little dog who shared the boat with me, and myself enjoyed the solitude. We didn’t meet another human or boat the whole afternoon. Yes, it takes some efforts to get out there and keep the equipment dry and clean, but at the latest, when we paddled slowly below a dead tree where a big Bald Eagle sat on a branch, I knew this was where I wanted to be…

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

TELLING THE WEATHER STORY

We have this typical End-of-May-weather, with the occasional thunderstorm and quick changes between sun and rain. An open area is better suited to tell the story about it than our woods here in the Little Maquoketa Valley. The Deere Marsh, located between the big John Deere factory and the Mississippi River, just north of Dubuque, Iowa , is a place that gives a sense of the marshy backwaters and leaves enough open space to let the clouds tell the story. The Little Maquoketa River actually helped to shape this landscape. It joins the Mississippi just behind the bushes on the right in this picture.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES CONTINUE STILL IN 2015

The only positive thing about day light saving time in my books is that it allows to shoot photos an hour longer between leaving the office and complete dark. My folks over in Germany have another two weeks before they have to set the clock an hour ahead of real time. Even if I don’t like the whole thing, I take advantage of it and spent more time outside in the evening.

Our snow melts away very rapidly and I enjoy to see the changes at the Mississippi River. At Mud Lake, our closest access point to the river, the ice had still covered up everything today, but the color of snow and ice got a lot darker. A sure sign that we will see open water soon. This island, illuminated by the setting sun, separates the main channel of the Mississippi from the backwaters, the actual Mud Lake. It provides habitat for many species, including Sandhill Cranes, muskrats, blackbirds, snakes, and turtles. I already look forward to go round it with the kayak again this summer

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

There is a small passage between the river and Mud Lake that has always some open water, due to a strong current. I know, I just posted some pictures of a muskrat but I couldn’t resist to make the click when I saw this young critter in nice light chewing on aquatic plant material.

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

I promised you to give you an update if I have news from the Great Horned Owl. Nothing new yet, mother owl still sits on the nest and watches every step me and our little dog Cooper do in the distance. I have been there several times recently and everything seems to be fine. We can’t be far away from the appearance of one or more owlets. I have seen the owl on the nest 26 days ago for the first time this season and with a gestation period between 28 and 35 days we might be pretty close.