CARING BLUEBIRDS

Most of the time the parents call from different locations, either in nearby trees or from the top of the nest box. When both of them sat at this branch, it was only a question what bird to focus on. The female with an insect in its bill was the right choice.

The young Eastern Bluebirds in the nest box at my photography friend Kevin were almost ready to leave three days ago. I’m thankful that he called me and I still had a chance to take some pictures of the parent birds while they tried to lure the offspring out of the nest. Luckily they left not before the next day. It was a great setup with a small branch carefully placed not far from the nest box. Both parents waited sometimes several minutes with some food in their bill and quietly called the four nestlings.

The colorful male bluebird calls and lures with a little grub.

I used the 1.4 teleconverter, extending the focal length to 850 mm and allowing me to keep a safe distance to the nest. We did this last year at a different location in Kevin’s yard with the blue sky as a background. This year the green background of vegetation works actually much better for bluebirds and as a result I had a very high keeper rate. Thank you Kevin for arranging a great photo opportunity again!

The female is not as colorful but obviously found the bigger piece of food for the nestlings, a good size grasshopper.

All images: 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,

FRONT AND BACK

Bobolink, Dubuque, Iowa

Usually we call it a failure when we just get a shot of the backside of a bird but sometimes there is an exception from the rule…

Habitat loss is the main reason why we don’t get the Bobolink more often in front of the camera and when I have a chance I try to make a few clicks. They are one of the few songbirds that go through two complete molts each year. After breeding they change to a more camouflaged plumage.

As you can see, this male is still in full display. When they show you the front side, it is not easy to get a sharp picture from a distance. Most of the time I use the eye or the chest as my focal point, but here both are pitch-black and there is no contrast to lock focus on.

Well, here is the butt shot! Isn’t this angel-shaped pattern of a white rump and white wing patches interesting? And it is much easier to make that photo! The sensor in the camera just wants to stay on that black and white contrast…😉

LAST SUMMER VISIT IN THE GREEN ISLAND WETLANDS

Killdeer

I have been at least once every month during the summer in the Green Island Wetlands, next to the Mississippi River, and today was probably my last summer visit. Other events lie ahead of us this month and before we know it will be duck hunting season. Although part of the wetlands are a preserve, the access to these parts is limited and already today the dyke that has often the best photo locations was closed for cars. Sure, I don’t shy away from hiking, even with tripod and heavy camera and lens combination on my shoulder, but water fowl, egrets, or herons will most likely fly away before someone even comes close. The “mobile blind” is the best way to go, with other words, stay in your dam car if you like the make a photo that makes halfway sense ;-)

It was obviously a productive season. I saw quite a few juvenile Wood Ducks and dozens of Killdeer tried to find food in areas with short vegetation, like the parking lots of the wetlands.

Great Egret

The Great Egret is the easiest to spot but not every bird stays in place when a car gets relatively close. There was very little direct sun today, which is ideal for shooting these beautiful egrets while they stand in the water and hunt for fish, frogs, or aquatic insects.

Great Blue Heron

One of the easiest birds to photograph here in the Mississippi Valley is the Great Blue Heron. I think it is the perfect subject for someone who just starts with wildlife photography. Not that they all stay in place if you come close, but their large eye makes it easy to focus on. Even more important, the pattern on their chest provides great contrast for locking on the focus sensor. The eye has to be sharp or the picture goes to the trash can. Remember, the chest and the eye are almost in the same focal plane. If you can’t focus on the eye, use the chest to get a sharp image of the bird.

GEAR TALK: FIRMWARE UPDATE AND LENS OPTIMIZATION

White-breasted Nuthatch, Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S ———

I made an overdue update of the firmware for the SIGMA 150-600 Sports lens today. Thanks to the USB dock and optimization software from SIGMA I can customize the lens to my shooting preferences and create two presets for autofocus and optical stabilization (aka vibration reduction), or even correct the focal point if necessary (although I never had to correct the focal point yet). This sounds complicated but is very easy to do. After the presets are created on your computer screen and transmitted to the lens you can choose either customized setting by just flipping a switch on the lens barrel or you can leave it off. For example, I can switch from a more dynamic autofocus and optical lens stabilization that I use quite often during bird photography, where fast movements of the subject are most likely, to a smoother focus and stabilization behavior with slightly better accuracy.

In order to test my new presets I just stepped outside and looked for a bird. The White-breasted Nuthatches are permanent residents here all year long, they are just fun to watch, and seem to be the perfect subject for such a test. It looks like the nuthatch was sitting on this branch forever but this was just a couple seconds that the bird remained in this pose. Their movements are usually fast and erratic, and it is a challenge to get them in focus while handholding the camera with the relatively heavy SIGMA 150-600 Sports lens attached. I liked the focus behavior of the lens before, but after reviewing the first few images, made with new firmware and refined custom settings, I could already tell that the focus speed and accuracy, as well as image stabilization were even better. Don’t take me wrong, I still believe that proper hand holding and constant practice with such a heavy lens are the basics for a sharp image, but it is nice to have confidence about the technical side of the gear. If my photos are out of focus I can only blame the pilot…