OPPORTUNITY FOR PRACTICE

Of course, I had to go back to the Dubuque Regional Airport. The weather conditions were good, a little hazy but nice puffy clouds made for a more interesting background. This year I found a new spot where the airplanes came by pretty close when they taxied back to their parking area in front of the hangars. I took a little stepping stool to stand on, so the fence that surrounds the airfield was not always in the picture. The runway wasn’t too far away either but a little crop was applied for the photos of the T6’s that show starts or landings because 600 mm focal length wasn’t enough to fill the frame.

I shot the whole time in shutter priority mode with 1/125 s and set the camera to Auto ISO. To get a full circle of the prop it needs about 1/60 s but this was beyond my current handholding capabilities due to the lack of practice.

There are two reasons why going back to the airport almost every year in July is important to me. First, I enjoy watching historic prop airplanes and when they train the weekend before the AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the airshows, it’s a great opportunity to see so many of them. And second, I use it as a practice for my wildlife photography, and in particular for birds in flight. Panning with a heavy long lens is not an easy task, but doing it right is the only way to get a sharp image when a slow shutter speed is required.

I hope you enjoy the little selection in the blog today. As always, a click on the photo delivers a larger image, at least if you read this on a computer screen…😊

CARING PARENTS

Male Eastern Bluebird with food in its bill, observing the environment before entering the nearby nest box. @ 850 mm, 1/320 s, f/9, ISO 2000, photo slightly cropped.

We have quite a few stories going on here with birds building a nest or having it already and feed their young ones somewhere around the house. Not for the first time a pair of American Robins built it right on our balcony and they are very busy since a few days, stuffing food into four hungry bills that stick out of the nest.

In the backyard is a bluebird nest box but the last couple years the more aggressive House Wrens took it over and the bluebirds had no chance. Finally this season a pair of Eastern Bluebirds were able to incubate and now the parents started feeding their offspring. How many bird babies are in the nest? We don’t know yet and we do our best not to disturb the birds.

@ 600 mm, 1/400 s, f/7.1, ISO 1000, photo slightly cropped.

I placed myself with the tripod next to some bushes beside our house and wanted to blend in as much as possible. The bluebirds did not hesitate to fly with food to the nest, a sure sign they accepted my presence and didn’t see me as a danger. They land first in a nearby tree and observe the environment of the nest box before they actually enter the entrance hole. The first photo was made at such a perch and I used the 1.4 teleconverter plus a little bit of cropping in post process to keep a safe distance. No picture justifies a threat to the life and well being of an animal.

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,

INCUBATION TIME

House Wren guarding the nest

It’s breeding season for most of the birds in our woods. Many species incubate their eggs and are not seen as often as the weeks before during their mating time. We are very fortunate to have three different species sitting on eggs right here at the house. As during the last three years a pair of American Robins has built a nest on our balcony. They had originally four eggs, two didn’t make it, but two little chicks are currently fed by their parents. We avoid being on the balcony as much as possible.

The second bird is the Gray Catbird I reported about a few days ago. I discovered a nest today with two eggs. They built it between the branches of a mountain pine that grows right beside our porch. Another area we will try to avoid in order not to disturb the birds during incubation and the time after.

Last but not least, as every year a pair of House Wrens has occupied a nest box in our front yard and another female sits on eggs in another box at the back of the house. House Wrens are not monogamous and there is a good chance that the little male bird in today’s photos has something to do with the nest in the backyard as well. However, he tends and protects the bird box at the front. The wren sings his heart out, especially when the female has left the nest for a few minutes. He does that usually from a perch in the neighborhood, and not near the nest, so a possible predator will be attracted to him and not the clutch of eggs or the female while she is trying to find something to eat for herself.

I use this great photo opportunity and practice a lot with the long lens and teleconverter attached. The 850 mm focal length allows me to stay away as much as possible from the birds and still can fill the frame without cropping a single bit off.

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,

1. photo   @ 850 mm, 1/200 s, f/9, ISO 640

2. photo   @ 850 mm, 1/125 s, f/9, ISO 400

NATURE CLICKS #520 - GRAY CATBIRD

Gray Catbird, Little Maquoketa River Valley, iowa

I’m very happy that we see a pair of Gray Catbirds near the house this spring. We always had them in the area but mostly not so close and frequently. They prefer low and dense vegetation and at another property in the neighborhood, where I used to see them, trees and bushes have been removed because a new house will be built. We don’t remove the underbrush in our woods and perhaps the catbirds figured out this would be a better place to live. I think the Gray Catbird is one of the most underrated birds. Most people recognize them by their distinctive “meeow-call”, which obviously gave the bird its name. However, they are also able to perform a song as a mix of notes, squeaks, and imitations of other birds. It sounds beautiful and I recently heard it again during time of courtship display.

I try to get better with my bird photography and have lately more often employed the 1.4x teleconverter when the distance to my subject was too far. This is my preferred method instead of cropping, but can be a challenge if light is very low. The long lens needs good support for its extended focal length of 850 mm, either a stabil tripod or proper handholding.

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,   @ 850 mm, 1/1000 s, f/9, ISO 500

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!

 

COMPROMISE

Moonrise over Green Island Wetlands, Iowa, Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter,  @ 340mm, 1/1000s, f/8, ISO1600, 4 images merged in Adobe Photoshop

Last Saturday the moonrise was less than half an hour before sunset. While I was out in the Green Island Preserve, hoping to get a glimpse on some Short-eared Owls during dusk, the almost full moon illuminated the landscape, with a little bit of light left from the sun that had just disappeared behind the horizon line minutes ago. Unfortunately no owl showed up this time. An ISO setting of 1600 would still have allowed to freeze some owl action at about 1/1000s but some luminance noise in the picture was inevitable. The trick was to shoot 4-5 subsequent pictures while handholding the long lens. Later at home, in front of the computer, the 4 pictures were merged (stacked) in Adobe Photoshop into one image. Since luminance noise is randomly distributed in each picture, it would disappear in the final photo. I liked how the vertical lines of the tree trunks at the bottom were emphasized, but overall the impression of a dreamy landscape was still left. Shooting this from a tripod is probably the better way to do, but how would I have caught a Short-eared Owl in case I had seen one? Photography is often about compromise…

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2021 #5 - A LIVELY RIVER

This Muskrat, which is a semiaquatic rodent but actually not a member of the genus Rattus, swam right at me and was in interaction with a second one.

Many people enjoy the mighty Mississippi River during the summer weekends and the main channel becomes often very busy and noisy. As the day came to an end yesterday, the most motorized boats were gone and the river fell back into silence. I finally got the kayak into the water again and paddled Mud Lake, a backwater area that is separated from the main channel by an artificial, overgrown rock dam. Mud Lake is still connected with the big river but has very little current and is a wonderful nature area, in particular during this time of the season.

Bald Eagles, pelicans, herons, gulls, and geese fly up and down the river but it’s easier to photograph them from land. I wanted to see again what’s out there in and on the water and took dog Cooper and the long lens with me for a two-hour kayak trip.

Arrowheads that grow along the shore of the dam in the shallow water show their flowers. They produce tubers down in the mud that are an important food source for at least 15 species of ducks, snapping turtles, and muskrats, hence the name “duck potatoes”.

Shortly after I left the sandy boat ramp at Mud Lake Park this Northern Water Snake crossed in front of the kayak. I have seen them before but never took a picture from the boat. They are non venomous but may bite when agitated.

Mud Lake is covered by huge rafts of water lilies and make it a beautiful green habitat. Even some parts of the channel are overgrown with them this year and paddling through the big leathery leaves can be a challenge at times.

No paddle trip without seeing turtles. Most common at Mud Lake is the Painted Turtle. This one stretches its hind leg into the sun.

The water lilies are a great playground for the Red-winged Blackbirds. They find an ideal buffet of insects on the big leaves and blossoms. This female gave me a nice display.

NATURE CLICKS #507 - BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER (AND MORE)

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

The Metadata of my picture library reveal that we have never seen a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at the height of the summer here in our woods. Occasionally I had one in late spring or very early summer in front of the lens. They move very fast up and down on the outer branches and shrubs in search for all kinds of small insects and spiders. This makes taking a sharp image that shows the whole bird a big challenge. You can’t really shoot from a tripod because it would make following the bird’s moves impossible. Changing position constantly and handholding the camera with the long lens is the best option as far as I’m concerned.

This bird is either a female or a juvenile that was born earlier this breeding season. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers can built up to seven nests during one season and have 1-2 broods. There are many reasons for nest loss or brood failure, from parasitism or mite infestation to predation.

Young House Wrens, ten hours before leaving the nest

By the way, our young House Wrens, I had posted about yesterday, Ieft the gourd with the nest this morning at sunrise. I saw the last one jumping into some house plants that we keep on the porch during the summer. Later I heard their chatter in the nearby woods. I hope they all will make it! The male House Wren is already on courtship again and tries to attract a female to one of the other nest boxes. All seasons during a year have exciting moments. The wrens leaving the nest is always one of them!

AN EVENING AT THE POND

American White Pelican, Sageville Marsh, Iowa

It was about time to get out again and hold a camera in my hand after a busy week. The goal was to look after a mostly night active critter this evening at Sageville Marsh, a small wetland area not far from home. I will not reveal yet what it was, but a photo and blog post will be postponed until probably tomorrow. The reason is the great display of an American White Pelican on my arrival at the marsh around 7PM. The gesture and long reflection of the bird on the water triggered my desire to make this click across the pond. By the way, it was the first time ever that I saw a pelican at Sageville Marsh. With an overcast during that late time of the day it is probably not an exaggeration to call it low light. I shot this in full frame mode FX with the bird in the center. In post process I finally cropped the image to about DX dimensions and took the bird out of center. I do that to get the brightest part of the lens on the subject and have still a decent arrangement in the frame. This little trick has helped me before to handhold and maintain autofocus at shutter speeds of 1/60s or even slower with the long lens.

NATURE CLICKS #460 - WARBLING VIREO

Warbling Vireo, Mississippi River, Finley’s Landing, Iowa

Go out without your longest lens and you'll come back short. I forgot who quoted that in one of the books I own, but this became exactly true today. It seems I make it a habit to take dog Cooper during my lunch break and spend a few minutes at one of the boat landings or marinas along the Mississippi River. Today it was a short trip to Finley’s Landing, a public access with beach, little marina, a campsite, and a boat ramp. A small creek meets the mighty Mississippi and there is always a chance to watch some birds. 

A number of harsh “eeaahh” calls made me looking up into the canopy of the trees and pretty soon a Warbling Vireo was discovered. Now back to the long lens, which of course was left at home. 200 mm at the long end of the 70-200, f/4 was simply not enough for this photo, not even in auto crop mode (Nikon’s DX mode). Additional crop in post allows to have a picture that is ok for a blog post like this or for other social media. A real one to one print will reveal the flaw, because too much detail gets lost.

The Warbling Vireo is not uncommon during the summer but it is not a bird we see even every other day. They prefer deciduous woodlands, often along streams, and spend the winter in the tropics. I should go back and try it again, but this time with 400mm more focal length…😉

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4…@ 200mm, 1/1600s, f/5, ISO400, cropped

AUTUMN IN MINNESOTA #14 - WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS IN LOW LIGHT

White-tailed Deer, Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota

I have never been a friend of shooting wildlife with an ISO setting above 250-320. But when you walk out into nature early in the morning or during a day with low light due to overcast, you have to rethink your ideas. The higher the ISO, the lower the resolving power, the more noise in the image, and the lower the dynamic range. But at the other hand, a sharp photo with a higher ISO setting is still better than capturing a blurry picture because shutter speed is too slow as a result of having the ISO settings in the basement. This is in particular true if a very long focal length is employed while handholding the camera. There is a limit where Vibration Reduction or Optical Stabilization, as SIGMA calls it in their lenses, may help you to get a sharp image. The well-disposed viewer of a photo on the web, in a blog post, on Instagram, or any other social site may not see much of a difference, but the real quality bar for a good photograph is the ultimate print.

The photo of this White-tailed Deer, up in Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota was shot at ISO 800. To make it clear, it wasn’t a difficult shot. As I wrote here in the blog before, the deer near a campground are not tame, but they are used to people and don’t run away as soon they see a human. Staying in or near a campground is a safety strategy that at least works during the camping season. Their predators, like wolves, avoid these places.

I have shot handheld at 500-600 mm focal length, 1/60 s, ISO 200 or even lower, but I also have deleted a lot of pictures with this kind of settings. Practice is always the key to success for sharp photos but sometimes a higher ISO can save your butt.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   at 490 mm, 1/320s, f/6.3, ISO800

BACK IN THE GREEN ISLAND WETLANDS

I had a little break from writing here in the blog during the last two weeks. Some other projects had priority this time.

My records show that I haven’t been in the Green Island Wetlands along the Mississippi for almost three months. Some gravel roads in the wetlands are closed during the duck hunting season and I avoid the area during this time anyway. Well, today it was time to go back and see what’s out there. I was greeted by these two Trumpeter Swans, who flew across the water. They possibly joined another large group of swans that I saw later in a remote part of the area. It was too far away to count them exactly but 50 is probably not exaggerated. I hope we can see them sometime this winter at a closer distance.

The photo is not tack sharp. The Trumpeter Swans approached suddenly and very fast and I wasn’t able to get out of the car so quickly. The picture was taken from the car window and that makes it difficult to perform proper panning technique with the long SIGMA 150-600 S lens on camera.

This photo was a lot easier to make. The pair of Canada Geese posed nicely in the soft light of this afternoon. I waited patiently until the geese were very close together but did not overlap with their heads or necks. Canada Geese usually mate for life but they are gregarious and during the winter they gather and feed often in large flocks. There were larger numbers on the fields and grassland that borders the wetland on the west side. This part is actually a bird refuge and sometimes I wonder if the birds can actually read the signs…😉

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

NATURE CLICKS #434 - TIGER SWALLOWTAILS

Male Tiger Swallowtail, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Iowa

It has been a good year so far with the butterfly population in our woods here on top of the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River Valley. We see a nice variety and overall numbers are better than during some other years. The stars of the bunch are always the three different species of swallowtails.

Female Tiger Swallowtail, black form

Friday night I saw a male Tiger Swallowtail interacting with another black looking swallowtail. First I thought he was fighting with a Black Swallowtail, a species we see here as well, but after it landed on one off our house plants it became clear that it was a female Tiger Swallowtail. I guess love was in the air. Males are always yellow while the females can be yellow or black. The yellow form is pretty common while black females are found more southwards according to my books. The last time I had one in front of the lens was 2015.

Both photos were made with the long lens at 600 mm (SIGMA 150-600 Sport), because I was actually on the hunt for hummingbirds. Like with my other wildlife photography I prefer to make an environmental portrait. Though I feel it is not so important to count every little hair, the insect still has to be sharp.

THE SOUND OF PROP PLANES

During the last couples days the sound of propeller driven airplanes over the house made me aware that it is the time of the year again when pilots with their historical planes get ready and practice for the big airshow next week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This evening I went out to the Dubuque Regional Airport and tried to make some clicks. I have done this before during other years and although I’m not really into aviation photography I enjoy these airplanes and take this opportunity for practice of handholding skills with the heavy long lens attached to camera. My keeper rate wasn’t very good today and I hate to come up with tons of excuses, but it was pretty much the lack of practice of my handholding capabilities.

As mentioned in other blog posts over the years before, I like to tell the story of motion with these airplanes and aim for a blurred prop. The only way to get this kind of shot is to stick with a slow shutter speed, means between 1/60 s and 1/200 s. The T6’s flew in formations of four and this was my favorite shot of this evening. But wait, there was some bird present at the observation deck of the airport that I haven’t seen in a long time. But hey, this is for another blog post… 😉