NATURE CLICKS #585 - TURKEY VULTURES

Turkey Vultures, Mississippi River, near lock & dam #11, Dubuque, Iowa

From early spring until it gets cold here they belong into the Mississippi Valley. Some people think of them only as ugly birds but they may have never watched really how elegant these vultures fly and soar in a thermal lift. I consider them as the environmental police along the Mississippi River. They feed on carrion and without their presence, often in large numbers, the Mississippi River would be at times very smelly.

I was eager to try out the new Nikon lens last Sunday along the river on both sides around dam #11 in Dubuque and over in Wisconsin. With the dam visible in the upper part of the photo I thought of an environmental portrait of the Turkey Vultures. Five of them rested on driftwood and the rocks of the flood wall. I could choose which bird I wanted to have in the frame and this one was among my favorites.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2023 #7 - UNHEALTHY EFFECTS

Smoke over the Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #11, Dubuque, Iowa

It’s not really a ”Mississippi River Story” only, large areas in the country are under the effect of numerous wildfires burning in Canada. It’s not unusual to have some haze in the Mississippi Valley, due to high humidity, during the summer, but since a few days we experience haze on a much different level. We can even smell the smoke at times and with an air quality index of over 200 it’s not a good time to be outside for everybody.

When I made this photo downstream from lock and dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa today a turkey vulture just landed on the reeling in the foreground. I hope it is not a bad omen that there is more to come… Right now a storm further south moves some of the unhealthy fine dust to the east, but I feel sorry for everybody who will be effected in other parts of the country.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #4 - SIGNS OF SPRING?

American White Pelicans, Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #14, Le Claire, Iowa

In search for the first signs of spring I went down south today to lock & dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa, where Interstate 80 crosses the Mississippi. Driving on both sides of the river (Iowa and Illinois) gave me different perspectives and direction of light during this road trip. Up here in Dubuque, around lock & dam #11, everything was still covered with ice. South of lock & dam #13 in Clinton, Iowa the river had mostly open water. In the distance I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of ducks and mergansers. It will become much warmer in the next few days and the ice will break shortly, means these birds will move north as the ice is in retreat.

Lock & dam #14 in Le Claire was well known over the years for being a good spot to photograph Bald Eagles during the winter months. This has changed in the last few years, due to mild winters, some loss of perching trees, and probably busy construction and other activities in the area. 

I went there for spotting a particular species of gulls, found it, and will write about in another blog post. With the relatively new Nikon Z6II I still try to learn and find out the best way to focus on fast moving animals. Gulls are one of the best subjects to practice handholding and panning with the long lens. It was a good feeling to refresh the ‘muscle memory’ for this kind of shooting today. I could tell, I’m out of shape and need a lot more practice to regain my skills.

On the way back to the car I suddenly saw the shadows of many big birds crossing in front of me. Looking up, silently about 80+ American White Pelicans soared elegantly overhead and gave me another chance to practice with the long lens. Sign of spring? You bet!

 

BALD EAGLES, LOTS OF THEM

Juvenile Bald Eagle in all its glory, probably in its 2nd or 3rd year. The bird flew by with something (little fish?) in its bill. 

Yesterday a call from my photography friend Kevin made me aware that a large number of Bald Eagles is present at lock & dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa. The Mississippi is finally frozen over almost everywhere and the eagles come south to find open water, so they can eat and hunt for fish. Below the dams is always some open water and that’s where they concentrate and strive for the best fishing spots. I estimate we saw about 40-50 Bald Eagles at and around the lock & dam in Dubuque, Iowa today. It is the highest number we have seen since quite a few years.

Adult Bald Eagle, Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #11, Dubuque, Iowa

I was excited to explore some of the new focus modes and tried to get a grip on shooting birds in flight with the new Nikon Z6II. Oh boy, the best tools can’t help you much if the handholding skills are not very well developed. I haven’t practiced panning with the long lens for quite some time, but it is an essential skill that needs practice if you want the focus lock on the fast flying subject. The focus tracking capabilities of the camera work very well, better than with any digital camera I ever owned before. If you pan very smooth and follow the subject, you can really concentrate where to position the bird in the viewfinder without loosing the focus and just decide when to press the shutter button. The new tool is great but I guess I have to practice some more and work again on my skills to have a higher keeper rate than what was produced today…

My favorite gesture of the day, the moment when the eagle went from smooth gliding into a sudden dive down.

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

RETROSPECTS 2020 - #10

Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #11, October 11, 2020

It was the beautiful colors of the leaves we had last October that were my most photographed subject last fall. One opportunity was a shooting together with other members of the Dubuque Camera Club at Eagle Point Park in Dubuque, Iowa. I’m pretty sure nobody came back with an empty memory card that day. I showed some photos from this event before but here is a picture that hasn’t been published yet. Below the park is lock & dam #11 of the Mississippi River. You can’t see the lock in the foreground but I like how the winding road leads the eye away from the dam and into the colorful hills on the Wisconsin side of the river.

FALL COLORS AND LIGHT

Hard to believe that was already a week ago. The Dubuque Camera Club had invited to a little photo walk at Eagle Point Park in Dubuque, Iowa. The park is high up on the bluffs above the Mississippi River and lock & dam #11. It is tempting to shoot only the great vista across the river, but with the low sitting afternoon sun I thought the fall details in the park deserved our attention as well. There is a small pond, built from big limestone rocks and that’s where I found the most inspiration.

It was an afternoon well spent, with good conversation and I can’t imagine that anybody who participated didn’t have fun shooting the colors and light of autumn.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2019 #16 - ICE FLOES

Lock & dam #11, Mississippi River, Dubuque, IA

Going to the same places over and over again and coming back with a photo that tells a story a little different than the last one can be a challenge. Even more true if the sky has nothing to offer, either being plain blue, hazy, or just gray.

A week ago I stopped briefly at the lock & dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa. The commercial barge traffic is of course closed for the season. A photo with the closed miter gate in the foreground and the ice slowly drifting down the Mississippi would have told this story, but something was missing. When the man in his bright overall crossed the lock on top of the miter gate, I knew immediately I had a better shot. The person gives the eye something to hang onto and to return to after the rest of the image is explored.

Mississippi River, John Deere Marsh, Dubuque, IA

The second photo is from today. It was taken at the end of the dyke at John Deere Marsh, just about three mile upstream of lock & dam #11. The dyke reaches deep into the Mississippi River, all the way to the main channel, and during the barge traffic season you can watch the boats coming by very close. Compared to last week not much has changed. Ice still floats down the river, gets jammed at some places, and breaks loose again. The sky was again nothing but boring. Without any boats there is really not much that would give a photo across the water much scale, except for this marker. The story is the same in both pictures (river not frozen over yet, floes coming down the river, no snow on the ground…) and the marker on its little island is just my anchor point.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4

2017 RETROSPECT / 7

American White Pelicans -----

The collective fishing efforts of the American White Pelicans at the Mississippi River are a subject I come back to photograph every summer and working with these majestic birds in great light is always rewarding. Their gentle movements seem to be very coordinated and sometimes it feels like they follow a choreography in their efforts to catch as much fish out of the river as possible. The photo leaves room for interpretation. Is the pelican in the back the one who guides the efforts? Or is it just a novice who needs still to learn how to catch fish? Who knows, but the gestures of this pod of pelicans tell the story about some serious fishing efforts just below lock & dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa. The best time for quality light at this location is between mid and late afternoon, but don’t even bother if the sky is gray. Your picture may tell a different story if the blue of the sky is not reflected from the muddy waters of the big river...

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, @ 600m, 1/1600s, F/8, ISO100

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2017 #9 - DUCKLINGS

Mallards can be found everywhere along the Mississippi and usually I point my lens at them only if there is an extraordinary light situation. While working with the pelicans a few days ago I couldn’t resist to make some clicks when this female duck with her offspring swam by in the choppy water just in front of me. Young birds are always fun to watch.

I had the camera up on the tripod. This was ok for the pelicans, who were a little further away than the ducklings, but for this shot I should have lowered the camera closer to the water surface.

1/800 s, f/6.3, ISO 100, @600 mm, image slightly cropped, Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head

LITTLE FISH - BIG FISH

Do you see the tiny little fish in the pelican’s beak dancing and saying good bye to the world? Maybe not, especially if you read this blog on a cell phone. But it is there and in full size of the original image I can even see its eyes.

Do you see the really big fish in this pelican’s beak? No, I can’t see it either but the gesture and the big bulge in its throat pouch leave no doubt that this guy just swallowed a big catch.

Both images tell the story about another fishing frenzy of the American White Pelicans down at the mighty Mississippi. Each of the them in a slightly different way.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2017 #8 - PELICANS

American White Pelicans, Mississippi River, Lock & dam #11, Dubuque, Iowa ------    

Earlier this week I noticed a squadron of American White Pelicans near the dam on the Mississippi in Dubuque, Iowa. I found them today at the same place, next to the down stream gate of the lock. This is a location with good photo opportunities and I have been there many times before during other years. The pelicans prefer this place for their fishing and feeding. The best time is mostly the late afternoon, when the sun is still above the rocky bluffs but already low enough for some awesome warm light. At my arrival at the river we still had some overcast and I used a hint of flash to bring out the orange of the pelican’s bills. Later the sun came out and other than that, it’s all about gesture and making sure the concrete wall of the lock on the left hand side is not in the frame…

This was the moment of “game over” for the pelicans. The gate had opened and a barge was moved out of the lock. The guy on the left seems to say, we need another plan…! 😉

ROOM FOR INTERPRETATION

No opportunity for new pictures this week because of business commitments in Omaha, Nebraska. Instead I like to show you another photo from the shooting at dam #11 in the Mississippi last Sunday. The two birds look intimate with each other although there is a sense of competition about the best fish in the air. The eye of the pelican is taxing and carefully watching while the cormorant seems to ignore the bigger bird. I like when a photo tells a story sometimes that leaves room for interpretation. It is one thing what we may see and another one what the birds really have in mind.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2016 #10 - FOOD ENVY

Two American White Pelicans and about a dozen Double-crested Cormorants seemed to go along with each other very well below dam #11 in the Mississippi River. Both species fished peacefully side by side, the pelicans using their big bill and the cormorants diving for the fish. There wasn’t any problem until one of the cormorants got a pretty good size fish out of the water.

One of the pelicans was obviously struck by food envy and suddenly attacked the cormorant pretty aggressive. Looking at the image a little closer on my screen at home I realized that the pelican had the poor cormorant in its bill and obviously tried to bite him. I’m very happy to catch this moment. As you can see the cormorant got away with its prey…

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, Better Beamer flash extender

The photos were made on the Wisconsin side of the river, right below the dam between Dubuque, Iowa and the state of Wisconsin. Usually it is not a good place to shoot in this direction during the afternoon hours because the sun is just across the river. We had some heavy overcast and that muted the sunlight quite a bit. To overcome the gray from above and reflected off the water fill flash was used to reveal the colors of the birds.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2016 - #5

American White Pelicans - Mississippi River, Dubuque, Iowa, lock & dam #11

This photo is almost a week old and all what I can say is that my work duties kept me on the road, in the air, in hotels and printing shops, and finally from using my camera lately. American White Pelicans are among my favorite birds and if a shaft of light creates some magic on the Mississippi River, I can’t help but have to make the click.