NATURE CLICKS #545 - BUSHTIT (FIRST SIGHTING)

Bushtit, San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California

It all started last Friday afternoon after I was done with all my business duties in the area south of Los Angeles, CA. I headed straight to the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, a heaven for every bird and wildlife lover in the heart of Orange County. It encompasses 300 acres (121 ha) of coastal freshwater wetlands, half of it restored to a natural state, the other half is in no need of restoration (source: Irvine Ranch Water District website).

It took me only a few minutes to walk with the camera on tripod on the shoulder until I made a new ”first sighting”. The Bushtit is a tiny bird with a stubby bill and a long tail that prefers a brushy chaparral habitat. I found a little flock of about twenty birds, buzzing and moving around quickly between the flowers that grow along the trails between the ponds in the wetlands. They feed mostly on small insects and spiders. The females have pale eyes, while the males and juveniles have dark eyes.

There was no way that I would get a picture with the camera on tripod with the little Bushtits moving from one flower to the next very quickly. I tried not to move around erratically with the heavy long lens attached, so I focussed on an area and followed the birds as they moved along.

The Bushtit is only found in the western part of the US and Mexico. They are not uncommon but it was my first sighting of this tiny agile bird. Can’t asked for a better start into a birding weekend… More to come, please stay tuned….

OZARK MOUNTAINS (6) - MY FAVORITE PHOTO

Blackbirds in murmuration, Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas River Valley

Not far from Petit Jean State Park, where we camped during Thanksgiving weekend, is a wetland area along the Arkansas River. It reminded me a lot of the Green Island Wetlands I enjoy so much here in the Upper Mississippi Valley. Despite a couple gray days in a row we cruised Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge three times and although it wasn’t bird watching prime time, we enjoyed looking out for wildlife very much. The key story, unfortunately not captured in a picture, was the brief sighting of an Armadillo.

One of the most impressive views we had was the display of thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds in murmuration. In Europe this behavior is known only by starlings but here this flock of blackbirds and some grackles just performed incredible.

Why is this my favorite photo of the whole trip? If you look at the lower left quarter of the image closely, you may see the white spot on the tail of a Northern Harrier. The raptor took its turns and any time it came close to the huge flock of blackbirds they took off and went into murmuration to discourage the harrier during its hunt. When the blackbirds crossed in front of the colorful tree in the background, I knew I had an image that tells the story of fall colors, bird migration, and if nothing else, about the time of the season.

As more as I dive into photography it slowly becomes evident to me that the emotional side of an image, the story it carries to the viewer, is more important than the technical aspects of a photo. I understand that someone who works for a client or tries to sell their photos to a customer have maybe to follow other rules than the pure artist or hobbyist, but story telling seems to be still the key for a satisfying image.

NATURE CLICKS #409 - BLUE DASHER

Blue Dasher, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

My German photography friend Maren had recently posted some excellent photos of damselflies and dragonflies in her blog (https://marensfotoblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/06/wow-seltene-gaeste-am-gartenteich/). Her pictures always inspire me, and while visiting the Green Island Wetlands last weekend I realized that we have plenty of dragonflies this year. When they perch on a stem of grass or any other plant, you have usually a few seconds to make the shot, and quite often they return to the same spot and may give you another chance if you missed the first shot. The only problem last Sunday was the hot wind that blew over the wetlands and what made getting a sharp image a little bit of a challenge. I thought the key for making a decent photo of the beautiful Blue Dasher was incorporating the background, at least its colors, and without having any clutter in the frame.

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

BACK IN BOLSA CHICA

Great Egret, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, California --------  

Last Sunday, after four years of absence, I was again in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, a wetland area near Huntington Beach in Southern California. This was my fourth time since 2010 and I never came back disappointed. It is a great place for bird watching and photography.

My strategy has been always to arrive on location before sunrise and to leave after the sun disappeared behind the horizon line of the Pacific Ocean. I took a lunch break for some much craved fresh seafood in the early afternoon, when the light is usually not at its best in Southern California, but returned for the warm light in the late afternoon.

I talked with a lot of people in the preserve, other photographers, bird watchers, or locals that were in for a walk along the shore of the laguna. Everybody was extremely friendly and helpful with hints where to find some particular birds. I was told we are kind of between seasons in Bolsa Chica. While some winter residents have already arrived, many are not there yet. However, I had a great time last Sunday in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Some of the birds we never or hardly ever see here in Iowa and as a result I have at least one species on my memory card that I saw and photographed for the first time. I’ll talk about this in one of my future blog posts.

The Great Egret is a bird that we see here along the Mississippi River during the summer. It was the gesture of this bird, while on the hunt for a fish, that made me choose this image for today’s blog post.

NATURE CLICKS #301 - JUVENILE SNAPPING TURTLE

During my usual “photo-and-dog-walk” in the evening I meet quite often other people that enjoy being outside as much as we do. Today I was at the Deere Marsh, the wetland area at the Mississippi River behind the big John Deere factory north of Dubuque, Iowa. I met a couple with their two dogs and we had a nice conversation about nature and other things. Even our dogs were friendly to each other. They went ahead towards the parking lot while I still tried to capture some pictures during sunset. After a while the couple called me over because they had discovered a bunch of young Snapping Turtles that obviously were crossing the trail on their way from a turtle nest to the water. I guess we can call this little one “cute” under consideration that the shell length of an adult snapper can exceed 15 inches (38 cm) and they can weigh up to 40 pounds (18.2 kg).

Looking into my photo archive back home I found out that I watched and photographed my first young Snapping Turtle eight and a half years ago at almost exactly the same place. This area has undergone quite some brutal construction changes for the sake of wetland restoration 2-3 years ago. It was hard to believe during that time that we would ever see a real recovery. We saw a lot of prairie wildflowers coming up this year, new young willows started growing (good for small birds), I saw Sandhill Cranes, herons, pelicans, and other birds, and todays encounter feeds my hope that this area is finally on a good way…

THE GESTURE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

I remember clearly when I started getting more serious with wildlife photography about four, five years ago. I called it success if I found a particular critter and made a few clicks, no matter how far the animal was away. The mission was accomplished if the photo was sharp, or at least kinda sharp… ;-) Some time and many shots later this wasn’t enough anymore and it became my goal to fill the frame without cropping the photo. That still doesn’t always happen but it is something I try to work on all the time while out in the field. I’m not an eyeball photographer, I’m more interested in an environmental portrait of the critter, but getting physically close is important for both ways of shooting. 

So what’s the next step in order to improve? For me, it is going after a particular gesture that can make the difference between just showing the beauty of an animal and having a story telling aspect in the photo, maybe about its behavior. The good thing is, this leaves room for improvement forever… :-

All images: Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

Let’s look at the two photos of Sandhill Cranes. Both show the birds in their natural environment, the fields that are part of the wetlands, and that are soaked with water from the snow melt. I like the second picture because of it’s warm light, just a little bit before sunset. It shows the elegance of the crane as it walks and looks out for food. However, the first photo is my favorite. The turn of the head is the gesture I was after. It tells the story about the crane standing on guard for any danger that may appear, while its mate was feeding. Most of the photos from that evening show both cranes feeding or walking, but it was that brief moment that made the difference for me.

NATURE CLICKS #262 - TIGER SALAMANDER

Today’s photos were made at Cardinal Marsh, a wetland with several ponds, about 12 miles west of Decorah, Iowa. Joan and I have been there last summer for a short exploration and I wanted to come back this spring, hoping to see some migrating birds there. Well, the birds didn’t fulfill my expectations this time. I saw lots of Canada Geese, Mallards, and some Ring-necked Ducks, but since I can find them here at the Mississippi River as well, it wasn’t necessarily worth a two hour drive… ;-) Finally, when I entered the car to drive home, I heard the call of the Sandhill Cranes. During our first visit last year we got a wonderful dance performance by the cranes. Click HERE if you are interested and like to see what I’m talking about

All images: Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head

What got me absolutely excited this time was the discovery of a Tiger Salamander, walking just towards me on the grassy trail that surrounds the marsh land. Last year we found a dead one, so we knew that a salamander species calls these ponds home. The month of March is breeding time for the salamanders and seeing a Tiger Salamander is a great treat for me, not just because salamanders spent most of their time underground.

Let’s talk a little bit photography. Although the critter doesn’t move that fast, the Tiger Salamander didn’t give me too much time to make the shot before it disappeared in the grass. I was prepared for birds and had the camera with the long lens attached on tripod over my shoulder. I made a mistake and didn’t change lenses. The SIGMA 150 mm, f/2.8 would have been the best choice, but I played it safe, went just on the ground, and used the 50-500. The sun was bright and almost harsh, and so it felt a little bit like being on safari in South Africa during mid-day, without the hot temperatures… ;-)  I like the first photo and would have never shown you the second one, if it would have been a critter that we can photograph here every other day. The Tiger Salamander was a “first one” for me… :-)