NATURE CLICKS #541 - WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH

It was ideal weather today for spending some time in the “front yard studio”, with temperatures slightly above freezing. The sun was out and a very thin and hazy layer of clouds acted as a great light diffuser and in addition the snow on the ground worked as an additional light bouncer. I put the 1.4 Teleconverter on the lens and shot almost the whole time at 850 mm focal length. This allowed me to stay under the cover of our porch roof and the birds had less to worry about my presence.

One of the species I wanted to focus on was the White-breasted Nuthatch. The first image was made in the very early afternoon while the nuthatch posed briefly on this cedar stump. This adds some nice color contrast to the white, gray, and black of the bird and the crisp winter light.

Three hours later the setting sun added some warm light to the edge of our woods. It was a perfect setting for the typical “head down” of a White-breasted Nuthatch while moving down a tree trunk.

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, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender,

1. photo   @ 850 mm, 1/1250 s, f/9, ISO 640

2. photo   @ 850 mm, 1/640 s, f/9, ISO 1600

LOOK AT THE SKY

American Goldfinch

More snow during the last days and at times the sun came even out and made for good light. The American Goldfinch is the bird that changes plumage twice a year. The bright yellow summer plumage of the males, with the black cap on their heads, is hard to beat, but I also enjoy their not so bright winter colors and tried hard to get an image that does justice to my claim. The snow below helps again to make the yellow feathers shine. These finches don’t give the photographer much time to think about the picture. Quite often they perch on a branch for only a couple seconds or even less. I love the pose of the bird, having a glimpse to the sky and looking for predators, before jumping down to the bird bath or flying over to a seed feeder.

ENDLESS APPETITE

Great Egret, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Here is another one from my last photo shoot with the Great Egrets in the Green Island Wetlands. No, this is not the same fish as in the last picture. The appetite of the egrets seems to be endless. This particular egret caught and ate four of them, all about the same size, within less than 20 minutes. This is great for us, who want to take storytelling pictures of these beautiful birds. Sure, the beautiful pose they make sometimes while standing motionless in the water is worth a click if the light supports it, but the catching or handling of their prey tells sometimes a more powerful story about their life and biology.

A MORNING WITH THE SMALLEST

Immature male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee and behind the camera after a busy week on a Sunday morning is hard to beat. We still have a number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds around and as far I have seen it, they are all juvenile males. These young rowdies have the endless battle about the best feeders and bully each other whenever they can. Their ruby throat is not fully developed yet but the first feathers that look almost like scales start to peek out.

This summer the tiny hummingbirds have nested relatively early here and have probably already left towards the tropics some time ago. What we see are immature birds that have only recently hatched further north and that are now on their first journey to the south.

It had rained overnight again and an overcast still covered the sky this morning. I like this kind of soft light for my hummingbird photography. The MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender was used to throw some extra light at the birds and use the reflection of the feathers to bring out some colors.

There were many keepers on the memory card today but I always look for the special pose or gesture that makes the difference between a good picture and a photo that tells a story.

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender

EMPHASIS

This Great Blue Heron changed position many times but stayed in the same spot the whole time I was able to watch it yesterday. Hence that a series of pictures was made of this beautiful bird in the Green Island Wetlands. It was the last one I chose for today’s blog post. The heron stretched its left leg and wing to the side. Suddenly the dappled light wasn’t my enemy anymore and gave this pose and gesture of the heron some emphasis. Went home with a smile on my face… 😊

NOT WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, BUT…

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

I haven’t made a single click since two days <sigh>, because an indoor project kept me grounded. However, I have very little regrets, the weather has been really miserable the last couple days.

More birds have arrived here. Our House Wrens sing already since 4/16, the Whip-poor-will was heard the first time during the night of 4/20, and a female Scarlet Tanager landed briefly at a bird feeder on 4/25. That is the earliest we have ever seen a tanager in our woods. Finally the first male Rose-breasted Grosbeak showed up last Thursday, together with two Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

While trying to catch the kinglet this male Northern Cardinal posed for me briefly in a tree nearby. It was already 6:30pm but I still wanted a little bit of daylight in the background. To make this happen I shot this in DX cropping mode at 600 mm (900 mm FX) with 1/80s. The flash is still used as a fill flash, but only to reveal the colors of the cardinal. Sure, I could “nuke” this with 1/250s, and it would be tack-sharp, but the background would have been totally black and the photo would scream nothing but “FLASH!!”

The cardinal is an all-year-around bird here on our bluffs but it was its pose and gesture that make this image work for me.