SUMMER AIN’T OVER YET

Giant Swallowtail

It is hard to believe that this photo was created already 40 days ago, when the purple cone flowers were in their prime and a food source for some Giant Swallowtails. Time is flying. Overall it wasn’t a good year for butterflies. It seemed we had not as many as other years. My biggest concern is about the Monarch butterflies. I saw only a single one in our yard all summer long and very few at other places I visit frequently. Most cone flowers have dried-up already and the seeds are eaten by American Goldfinches. Some of the trees loose their leaves already but summer isn’t over yet and the remaining butterflies find stilll other flowers with nectar in them.

LATE SUMMER DAY, PLANS CHANGED

Pied-billed Grebe, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi River, Iowa -----    

Yesterday I went out to capture actually some fall pictures, since the leaves started turning here, but despite the ongoing duck hunting season I saw a lot of bird activities in the Green Island Wetlands. I couldn’t let this go and kept the long lens on the D750 the whole time. No, not any “exotic” birds but the usual residents did their best to impress me in the wonderful light and warm weather of what I would still call a late summer day. Well, the leaves can wait…😉

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens

It is not so difficult to make a photo of the Pied-billed Grebe while they swim on the water between their dives for food. The pied-billed is not as shy as many ducks and over the years I have been able to succeed many times with the Pied-billed Grebe in the viewfinder. So why pointing the lens again and again at this cute little grebe? For me it is the logical next step in order to become better with my photography. The biology of birds can be very complex and there is always a gesture or pattern in behavior that is worth to be documented or bares its own beauty if captured in great light and when the moment is right.