DOWNY / HAIRY - SIZE MATTERS

Hairy Woodpecker

They almost look alike from the distance, the Downy Woodpecker and its cousin the Hairy Woodpecker, but body size and length of their bill make it easy to distinguish one from the other species. Also their calls and vocal expressions are different. We have about seven or eight Downies here during the winter but only two of the larger Hairys. Their behavior during an approach couldn’t be more different. While I can walk up to a Downy Woodpecker feeding on a block of suet, the bird will eventually fly away when I’m within a 3 feet distance. The Hairy Woodpeckers in comparison are extremely skittish. As soon they detect a slight movement or noise, i.e. from opening the door, even 30 feet away, they will take off and fly into the trees. And that makes the photography of the larger woodpecker a much bigger challenge.

Downy Woodpecker

Both pictures were shot from an open window today. The Hairy Woodpecker flew away when I opened it, but finally returned back to “woodpecker tree #1” in the front yard after five minutes. Getting the shot of the smaller Downy was easy. They patiently wait in line when a larger woodpecker is at a feeder or they jockey with each other for the right to feed first.

The photos today give you an idea about their different body sizes. Both were shot from the same distance and are cropped to identical size. The dominant knot on the tree is the same in both pictures and helps to evaluate.

NATURE CLICKS #453 - BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON

What was supposed to be just a short trip to give our little dog Cooper his evening exercise turned out to become a nice bird watching and photo walk. We went to Bankston County Park, a nice wooded location along the Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River, less than twenty minutes away from home. I have reported about this little gem before last year here in my blog.

There is a small little pond and the first bird we saw was this Black-crowned Night-Heron. The only place I have seen this bird in Iowa before was twice in the Green Island Wetlands. The heron was perched on this big branch, hanging over the water. They are opportunistic foragers with a varied diet. My experience with the black-crowned has been that they are pretty relaxed and stay in place as long as you move slowly. We also flushed a much smaller Green Heron, who just moved to the other side of the pond. Green Herons seem to be a lot more nervous and I have missed many photo opportunities before because they are so skittish.

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

NATURE CLICKS #413 - GREEN HERON

Green Heron, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

It all came together this evening after a four hour paddle tour on the Mississippi River and upstream into the Little Maquoketa River. Almost back at the sandy boat launch of Mud Lake Park I saw this Green Heron hunting for little fish at an opening in the dyke that separates the main river and the backwaters of Mud Lake.

Stretching is important, not only afer a long paddle tour...

The cousin of the Green Heron, the Great Blue Heron, is easy to find in the Mississippi Valley and I make only a click if the light has some quality or if there is an outstanding gesture or location. The Green Heron is not present in such high numbers and it is a very skittish bird. On my way out today I saw several birds, but the only reason I saw them was the fact that they took off and flew away before I even was in a range of 50 yards.

I don’t know why this heron accepted my presence in the boat so well, but it did. I had our dog Cooper in the cockpit but he stayed calm and quiet as usual. When approaching a bird or critter I usually give the kayak a push with the paddle before I grab the camera and just hope for the best. The current in the river at this location pushed me away from the bird several times and I had to paddle again for another chance to make a few clicks. This heron must have known that I waited for this moment since several years. As I said, it all came together, oh boy, I wished I could say this a lot more often…😉

NATURE CLICKS #331 - BLUE JAY

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, DX crop mode     

Getting close to a Blue Jay has always been a challenge and I have mastered it only a few times so far. They are one of the most skittish birds we have in our woods. Earlier this week I set up my tripod and watched a bunch of Goldfinches through the lens. I didn’t really hide but tried to stand motionless behind the camera. The bird landed in the same tree where the finches had perched. They of course flew away, but I didn’t really mind. The late afternoon sun hit the jay just right. The noise of the camera’s shutter release made it suddenly aware about my presence. The Blue Jay took off but the goldfinches returned shortly after.

CLOSE, BUT STILL NOT CLOSE ENOUGH

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

A gorgeous summer day with low humidity and a nice breeze fueled my desire to go down to the Green Island Wetlands for some wildlife watching this evening. This is the closest I have ever been to a Belted Kingfisher. If you are an avid reader of my blog, you may remember that this bird is high up on my “most wanted list”. They are extremely skittish and it is really not easy to get close to them. A water canal between me and the bird limited a closer approach and I finally cropped the picture in post process. I’m not there yet with the kingfisher, and the bird will still remain on the “most wanted list”, but I’m not unhappy about today’s shot...