DEFYING THE POLAR VORTEX

A Polar vortex-driven Arctic blast hit the country during the last few days. Not so much new here in the Midwest but when the beaches in Florida or Alabama are covered with snow it’s worth to mention it. The cold weather here led to an increase in numbers of birds that visit our feeders and bird baths. I counted the highest number of Eastern Bluebirds we ever had seen here at the same time (10) and assuming there were at least a couple more up in the trees. Of course I’m not the biggest fan of having the bird bath in the frame but it was the only way to tell the story about the large congregation we were able to enjoy. Other birds use the safety of being in a flock as well and among the bluebirds we find American Goldfinches, House Finches, Sparrows, and the occasional Cedar Waxwing.

At temperatures as low as -26ºC (-15ºF) I fill all five suet feeders for the woodpeckers and nuthatches and still, some birds have to wait in line for their turn to feed. The larger species, like the Red-bellied, or Hairy Woodpeckers dominate while they are present and the much smaller Downy Woodpeckers wait patiently until their larger cousins are done. A popular ”waiting spot” is the small oak between two of our bird feeders. A few snow flurries danced down to the ground today, adding to the story of cold winter weather while this male Downy waited for his turn to feed.

NATURE CLICKS #576 - SCARLET TANAGER

Male Scarlet Tanager

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…

WATCHING THE COMPETITION

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

We were not home this weekend and a concern was if all of our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds would be still here after our return. We have a lot of wildflowers in the front yard at the moment but this is not enough and the hummers have consumed every day almost half a gallon of sugar water (about 1.75 liters) from the feeders that hang from the porch. When we returned today I was happy to see that at least five hummingbirds showed up after I filled the feeders again. Last week we still had about a dozen of them, but the birds we see might not be the same that grew up here, since they probably started migrating to the south already.

I spent one evening on the deck with the camera last week and tried to capture some birds in flight, hovering at flowers in the front yard. As so often in wildlife photography it didn’t work out, but a few pictures of a young male perching in a maple were shot. Even if they sit down for a moment, there is a constant battle with other birds about the best feeding places going on. The picture tells the story, the hummingbird is in for a rest but watches the other competitors constantly as they try to approach ”his” feeder or the flowers around.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, Impact Quikbox Micro Softbox,     @ 600 mm, 1/800 s, f/6.3, ISO 2000

TIME WITH HUMMINGBIRDS

Adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

It’s this time of the year when we have to refill each of our three hummingbird feeders twice a day. The young Ruby-throated Hummingbirds compete heavily over the food sources with the adults. Yes, we have many flowers in our yard but this wouldn’t be enough to keep them all happy. The male adults often perch near a feeder in small trees or bushes and defend ”their” feeder vigorously against any intruder. However, they are outnumbered by the juveniles and females and so every bird has finally a chance to drink and boost their energy.

The best time to shoot the birds perched in a little maple in front of our porch is early or midmorning. No flash was required to reveal the brilliant colors of the hummingbird’s feathers.

Juvenile male buzzing and hovering near a feeder

The second photo was made the night before, when the sun was already low and behind the trees. This time I had a speed-light mounted to the camera but softened its output with a small on-camera softbox. The Nikon Nikkor 70-200, f/4 lens was used at 200 mm in order to move quickly and follow the action of the hummingbirds while they hover near the feeders. I love the buzz of their wings and for me that has to be part of the story I try to tell with a photo of a hummingbird in flight. It is possible to freeze the action of the wings with a faster flash output and a shutter speed of about 1/1600s or faster, but hummingbirds are constantly in motion and I prefer to shoot with 1/200s for the motion blur of the wings. This is maybe a little more difficult and not every click may lead to a good result.

ROUGH DAYS (BUT NOT FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER)

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker

The last few days have been pretty rough for most of the birds here in our woods. Snow and cold temperatures require a higher energy level and finding food is more difficult. As often reported before, we have quite a few bird feeders that attract the birds and help them to go through the winter. For us wildlife photographers the goal is not to make the photo while the bird is at a feeder, but we want to make the click when they use a perch and approach the feeder or a bird bath.

Alright, today I make an exception from the rule, because I like to show you how things are done for the woodpeckers. This male yellow-shafted Northern Flicker uses the horizontal branch of this dead cedar to perch on while feeding at a suet feeder. I figured out they do not like to hang on the cage or hold on to the tree trunk as much as other species do. The small Downy Woodpecker for instance holds on to the cage quite often. The larger Hairy or Red-bellied Woodpeckers seem to prefer the tree trunk and often feed from below, while supporting their body with the tail. Each bird species have their own way to approach the food source.

American Robin

Since a few years every winter we have a number of American Robins here. They are not coming for our bird feeders but the juniper berries of the red cedars around here are their food source. However, they like to visit a bird bath for drinking and sometimes even take a bath. Before they fly in the robins perch in a tree nearby. While maybe four or five at a time gather around the water, others sit in the trees and watch for predators until it is their turn for a drink.

Blue Jay

Blue Jays are more aggressive towards other birds. They make their presence known with noisy calls and they often scare other birds away from a feeder when they think it’s time to eat. The Blue Jays go for everything, sunflower seeds, crushed corn on the ground, or pick even at a suet feeder. Snow on the ground is the best time to photograph this intelligent bird with its blue, black, and white plumage.

Male Northern Cardinal

We are lucky to have a large number of Northern Cardinals flocked together here during the winter. During their breeding time in the summer they move around in pairs. The male cardinals defend their breeding territory fiercely against other males. Cardinals almost always perch on a low branch or in a shrub before they approach a bird feeder. Placing a perch near the feeder can be key to make the click with the camera.

NATURE CLICKS #538 - SHARP-SHINNED HAWK

Sharp-shinned Hawk, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Iowa

Life isn’t always easy for the birds that come to our feeders and heated water bowls near the house. Yes, they have food and water but it also attracts predators, like this Sharp-shinned Hawk. When most of the birds suddenly hide in panic in nearby bushes and the woodpeckers freeze motionless on a tree trunk, it is a sure sign that a hawk is somewhere in the trees or is gliding through the woods.

Today the sound of a little bird hitting a window made me aware that something was going on outside. The hawk was perched just above some of the bird feeders. I believe it is a female “Sharpie”. The bird was fifteen minutes in that tree and gave me plenty of time to change the lens on my camera, open the window, and start shooting before she took off. Who knows, this might be my last “Nature clicks” blog post for 2022, but nature is always full of surprises and we have still seven days left this year…

BATTLE IN FULL SWING

Immature male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

It took me over an hour this evening to get this particular image I had in mind, a shot from the front side of one of our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Getting a sharp image from the side is a lot more predictable when they hover at a hummingbird feeder. I’m sitting only about ten feet away from the feeder, barely just above the minimum focus distance at 2.6 m of the SIGMA 150-600 S lens. The depth of focus is very shallow, just about 5 mm with the lens wide open at f/6.3. The hummingbirds are so darn fast and even if they hover for a second, the lens does not always obtain a sharp focus fast enough.

The stress level of our hummers has increased lately. We have probably about a dozen of them around here. Not that they only battle vigorously among each other for the best feeder, because we all know they like to “own” a feeder with this delicious sugar solution in it. No, here in our front yard they also have to fight off at least four different species of wasps that also like the sweet content of a hummingbird feeder. I can tell, the hummingbirds have a certain respect for the wasps. The young immature male in the photo above uses this little branch, I mounted just above one of the feeders, as his “guarding perch”. While the competition mostly buzzes above him and his eyes follow every move, he just got distracted by a larger wasp below him when the click was made. Unfortunately I didn’t have the wasp in my shot but the gesture of the tiny bird is priceless.

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.

AT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

I came back from a short trip to the post office today when I found one of our bird feeders unscrewed from its hook on the balcony deck and laying on the ground below. I thought I must have not tightened the screw enough and it became loose while one of our numerous Gray Squirrels had occupied the feeder. I picked it up, put it back to its place, and went on with business. Later in the afternoon Joan’s call, ‘raccoon in the tree’, made me running for the camera.

Indeed, a raccoon had climbed the elm tree that grows next to the balcony deck. It tried to hide behind the tree trunk and it became clear who the thief of bird seeds really was. Making a good click wasn’t so easy. First, I had problems finding a gap between the branches and still having some decent light available, and second, the raccoon tried to “play possum”, pretending to sleep or feigning death. The critter was hiding its face and even closed the eyes, like people sometimes do when they don’t want their picture taken. But raccoons are curious too and so I waited patiently until this guy tried to check me out again and peeked from behind the tree. Raccoons are smart animals and this one has probably unscrewed a bird feeder not for the first time to get it on the ground for an easy meal…

NATURE CLICKS #468 - SCARLET TANAGER

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.

3 BIRDS, 3 THOUGHTS

Northern Cardinal

I have three photos and three little stories or thoughts for you today. It all accumulated during this week as much as the snow did here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River Valley.

All three pictures were made in the ‘backyard studio’, which means around the house. I did a “mini class” on bird photography with speed light during our “flash workshop” at the last meeting of the Dubuque Camera Club. However, no flash was used to boost colors this time because the giant reflector, called ‘snow’, took over this function. I was really happy to see some great results on social media of other photographers who applied some of the ideas I taught to their own photography (John Leicht, you are on the right track!).

This Northern Cardinal is part of the gang, joining us every morning and evening. Not a great gesture, but look at the shaft of light that hits this fellow during sunset time…

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker (hybrid?)

I have photographed this guy before. Usually male Yellow-shafted Northern Flickers have a  deep black mustache but this must be a hybrid between a red-shafted (hence the red mustache) and the yellow shafted Northern Flicker (hence the yellow undertail). Not really uncommon, but the line where both races overlap is usually much further west. Any thoughts from other birders about this topic are more than welcome.

American Robin

When I moved to this country almost 15 years ago and started to learn about the birds of North America I quite often heard, the American Robin migrates and we don’t see them here in this part of the Midwest during the winter. The reappearance in March, or even April, was celebrated as a sure sign of spring by many people. I thought this was true for a long time, but during the last 4-5 years I have always seen American Robins during the winter. This season, now with temperatures way below 0ºF (-16ºC), the robins still come to the water sources we provide. A bird will show up only at feeders if either food, water, and/or exceptional safety are nearby. In case of the robins, they don’t eat really any of the food we provide. Ones in a great while I see an American Robin feeding on a suet feeder that we have out there for the woodpeckers. What draws them in is the abundance of juniper berries from the Red Cedars that grow on the limestone bluffs above the valley here. I guess this kind of food must make them very thirsty…. I refilled both of our bird baths with more than a gallon of water (2x 3.87 liters) today. Sure, part of it is the low humidity, letting the water evaporate more quickly, but it is amazing how much liquid these birds can consume within a short period of time.

GUESS WHO IS STILL HERE!

Yellow-rumped Warbler, near Durango, Iowa ----------

In December 2017 I reported that we had a Yellow-rumped Warbler still coming to the bird bath and feeders despite temperatures way below freezing (http://www.exnerimages.net/blog/2017/12/31/happy-new-year). Guess what, the female warbler is still here and I saw her today eating from a suet feeder and hanging around for a little bit.

NATURE CLICKS #346 - RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH

Since yesterday we have a Red-breasted Nuthatch around here. They spent the summer up north in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada. Although I spent several hours this weekend to get a shot with the bird away from a bird feeder, I did not succeed. The Nuthatch flies in pretty straight right up to a feeder with sunflower seeds, picks up a seed, and flies off into the woods. Its cousin, the White-breasted Nuthatch, who is a permanent resident here in eastern Iowa, goes usually first to a tree trunk and makes sure the feeder area is safe before it gets to the food source. This makes it much easier to get a picture. The red-breasted is smaller and very easy to identify because of the black eyestripe and of course color. I hope the nuthatch stays for a few more days and I still can get a shot with the bird on a tree trunk or branch. My records show that the last time I saw one in our woods was in May 2013. I guess it’s time for a new photo… 😊

ON THEIR WAY

Immature Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Shortly after my return from Orlando yesterday I checked the traffic at our hummingbird feeders. Well, there was no traffic at all. Every year the last hummingbirds come through by the end of September and it will take until about May 1st next year before we see the first ones again. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird spends the winter in southern Mexico and even further south. Fall migration starts as early as mid-July and there is almost a complete exchange daily at the feeders and in the gardens. With few exceptions, during migration all the birds seen at feeders one day are gone the next. It needs a great deal of energy for this long flight and besides nectar eating small insects is crucial for their diet.

Today’s photo was already made September 19th, the last time I had a chance to point my lens at these tiny birds in our garden.

THE LOUD AND THE SECRETIVE

Female Baltimore Oriole

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.

Male Baltimore Oriole

Female Scarlet Tanager

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.

Male Scarlet Tanager