The American Goldfinch male is the prettiest of all finches we have here, especially in the summer. Their winter plumage is a little dull, but if the sunlight is bounced around by the snow on the ground, as we had it earlier this month, the colors can be very intense. The goldfinches stay in Iowa all year long and we see them here in large numbers coming to the bird feeders. Now, with the snow all gone and temperatures on the rise we will see soon the change to their breeding plumage again. It is the only member of its family that has a second and complete molt of its body feathers in the spring. All other species have just one molt each year in the fall. (source: iBird PRO app)
I THINK I SAW AN OWLET...
Very warm temperatures (26˚C / 79˚F) today made for a pleasant evening. Down at the Mississippi River big ice floes drifted by. I saw an eagle using an ice floe for a ride downstream. The entry channel of the little marina at Mud Lake had still an ice cover and a few ice fishermen were still sitting on their buckets and tried to catch some fish. It was quiet and peaceful…
But this is not why I post here today. As always, I checked the nest of the Great Horned Owl from a distance. Mother owl seemed to sit higher in the nest today. At least in some of the images I saw much more of the body than usually. It wasn’t before I viewed the photos on screen at home that I realized that I had probably captured the first pictures of an owlet! A little fuzzy ball appears in some of the photos and I believe this is the head of the little owl. I cropped the photo “to death” so I can share my discovery better with you. We knew it was about time and I’m happy that I caught a glimpse…
NATURE CLICKS #260 - GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
One of the birds I was hoping to see again last Friday in the Green Island Wetlands during their migration is the Greater White-fronted Goose. Their breeding grounds are in Alaska, far-northern Canada, and Greenland. And I was not disappointed. Several hundred geese, if not more, rested on the wet fields and near the ponds and puddles left from the snow melt. The Greater White-fronted Geese migrate often in large flocks during the night and I saw many of them taking off during the hour before sunset
I have been closer to the birds than last year but still not close enough to make an image where the bird fills the frame. It just wonderful to see them and hear their distinctive laughing flight call during the short period of time, when they migrate north and rest here along the Mississippi River.
DANCE OF THE CRANES
These photos don’t need much comment. Spring is almost here when the Sandhill Cranes have arrived in the Green Island Wetlands. I have never been so close to them in the wetlands. Watching their dance in the gorgeous light of the evening sun and hearing their wonderful call is one of the great moments someone can experience here along the Mississippi River.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2015 #2
I had to go out this late afternoon. The weather doesn’t get much better during the month of March. To summarize today’s trip to the Green Island Wetlands, and further down south to Sabula, Iowa, I just can say, it is absolutely amazing how nature has changed just within the last 6 days. Because of the snow melt the ice on all the small rivers was broken, in the wetlands was plenty of open water, and snow is found only on the slopes that face north at the the ancient river valley of the Mississippi. The ice cover on the big river was still intact for the most part, but when I came back to Dubuque this evening I saw open water there as well
Both photos I show you today were made at the main channel of the Mississippi River in Sabula, Iowa. They are pretty much straight out of camera, just the usual sharpening and a little work on the contrast settings. Although the composition in the first picture was what I wanted, with the eagle placed on the left, I finally decided to make the photo square and cropped it on the right hand side. It is more an artistic crop, because I felt that all the ice on the right didn’t contribute that much to the image. It is different on some other pictures I made, where the eagle looks straight to the right. But here the bird has a beautiful gesture by looking down for the fish just below the branch, or as it seems to look for its own mirrored image on the water surface. ;-) I think the closer crop does a better justice to this gesture.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES CONTINUE STILL IN 2015
The only positive thing about day light saving time in my books is that it allows to shoot photos an hour longer between leaving the office and complete dark. My folks over in Germany have another two weeks before they have to set the clock an hour ahead of real time. Even if I don’t like the whole thing, I take advantage of it and spent more time outside in the evening.
Our snow melts away very rapidly and I enjoy to see the changes at the Mississippi River. At Mud Lake, our closest access point to the river, the ice had still covered up everything today, but the color of snow and ice got a lot darker. A sure sign that we will see open water soon. This island, illuminated by the setting sun, separates the main channel of the Mississippi from the backwaters, the actual Mud Lake. It provides habitat for many species, including Sandhill Cranes, muskrats, blackbirds, snakes, and turtles. I already look forward to go round it with the kayak again this summer
There is a small passage between the river and Mud Lake that has always some open water, due to a strong current. I know, I just posted some pictures of a muskrat but I couldn’t resist to make the click when I saw this young critter in nice light chewing on aquatic plant material.
I promised you to give you an update if I have news from the Great Horned Owl. Nothing new yet, mother owl still sits on the nest and watches every step me and our little dog Cooper do in the distance. I have been there several times recently and everything seems to be fine. We can’t be far away from the appearance of one or more owlets. I have seen the owl on the nest 26 days ago for the first time this season and with a gestation period between 28 and 35 days we might be pretty close.
FUN WITH A MUSKRAT
Here is another little story of last weekend’s wildlife trip to the not so green Green Island Wetlands. This young Common Muskrat had just left its burrow for the first time after we had the last snow fall. I could tell by the only and fresh tracks in the snow that covered the ice of the pond and the levee I was on.
It was real funny to watch. As you can see in the animation (made out of four pictures) it jumped almost like a fox that hunts for mice. Sometimes the musk rat disappeared completely under the snow and came back chewing on some plant material.
Earlier this winter I saw many traps, or at least the red flags that mark the location of a trap, along the shore of the lakes and canals. This one obviously survived the merciless greed for its durable and waterproof fur
VALID QUESTION AND MOOD OF AN OUTGOING WINTER
A valid question to ask is what one finds out there in the Green Island Wetlands when everything is frozen and covered with snow? It’s a simple answer, it just needs a little more patience to find the critters during the winter. I don’t always come back with a good image, not even in the summer, but I never came back without seeing any wildlife.
Yesterday this beautiful Red-tailed Hawk soared above and finally landed in a tree just in front of me. I talked about the snow as a big reflector lately a few times and in this photo you can really see what I mean. The sun creates a nice catch light in its eye, but the snow below bounces the light off and makes the use of a speed light needless.
On my way back home I paid a visit to the Mines of Spain, the wooded and prairie land just south of Dubuque. There wasn’t as much snow as here at home anymore but still enough to provide a nice color contrast to the almost golden looking prairie grass that swayed in the wind just half an hour before sunset. Love the mood of an outgoing winter… :-)
NATURE CLICKS #259 - BROWN CREEPER
I feel bad for every nature, wildlife, and landscape photographer here along the Upper Mississippi River who didn’t have a chance to be out shooting today. It doesn’t get any better during winter time as it was today. About 8˚C (46ºF) felt really great after such a long period with temperatures below freezing! :-) Although it melts rapidly there was still plenty of snow on the ground today, the best and biggest light reflector on earth for any camera owner. I was out in the Green Island Wetlands along the Mississippi River today but like to show you a photo first that I made earlier this morning in our woods.
The photo is not perfect, still too far away, but better than any picture I made before of the Brown Creeper. I have seen the little guy earlier this week and since this bird is on my mental list of “needs improvement”, I spent some time this morning to work on this task.
Following the Brown Creeper isn’t so difficult, if you know a tree where it may return frequently. Point the lens to the bottom of the tree, because they always start their search for food (insects, seeds, nuts, suet) at the bottom, and then they creep and climb up along the trunk like a woodpecker. They use their stiff tail for support while climbing (source: iBirdPro app).
I have more little stories to tell, but this has to wait until tomorrow. So please stay tuned!
Best task
The avid reader of my blog may remember my photos and little stories about “Struppi’, a deer fawn that made herself home in the woods around our house for a while. Well, we have not seen her since we had the last snow storm, about ten days ago. This photo was made at high noon on February 23, 2015 from my office window.
I think there is nothing wrong by having an emotional attachment to a particular critter, especially if it has been the “star” of a photo shoot or, like in this case, the subject of a photo story for several days. We have White-tailed-Deer in our yard every day, and of course, we look out for “Struppi” any time we see a deer. The little guy, that probably lost its mother earlier by a car accident, has not been here since I made this photo. Everything is just speculation, but we have coyotes around here (we can hear them howl more then we ever see them), the presence of a Red Fox, or the uncontrolled roaming of some neighbor’s dogs, it all could be a reason for not seeing “Struppi” anymore.
The photo may not mean anything for anybody else, but for us it is a fond memory, frozen in a few pictures during the winter of 2014/15. Photography at its best task…
NATURE CLICKS #258 - NORTHERN CARDINAL
I have another image from last weekend for you. The light was just too lovely to let it go without making a few clicks here in the woods. The big dead branch the Northern Cardinal had chosen as a perch doesn’t look very elegant but its diagonal position makes it acceptable for me.
NATURE CLICKS #257 - BLUE JAY
I still like taking advantage of this great reflector on the ground, called snow (my friends over in Germany didn’t even know how to spell it this winter… ;-) ). While working on other projects this weekend, it was easy to get back to the tripod ones in a while and work with the birds that enjoyed the sun as much as we did. I never got such great light on a Blue Jay outside of winter yet. It didn’t need any color boosting help by a flash light to make this photo. The Blue Jay is probably one of the most difficult to shoot birds that we have here. Any little bit of noise or sudden movement makes them fly away. I haven’t been as close as I would like, hence the image is slightly cropped. Room for improvement, as I call it…
PHOTO FUN WITH SNOW
It isn’t difficult to guess what kind of weather we have right now by looking at this photo of a Dark-eyed Junco. It snowed heavily since late morning today. The snow draws a lot of birds to the feeders in the yard and daylight lasts already a lot longer. Good time for a photo session in the “backyard studio” this evening!
I played with longer exposure times to get some trails of the snow flakes and to catch as much daylight as possible for the background. Even if we are a little tired of winter already, but I still enjoy a moment like this and the opportunities it brings for some great photography fun.
NATURE CLICKS #256 - HAIRY WOODPECKER
Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, speed light Nikon SB800, at 500mm, 1/250 s, f/6.3, ISO200
About three weeks ago I wrote that some of the critters we have here in our woods need a better representation in my galleries, means I like to make better images. The Hairy Woodpecker is one of the species that is here all year long but they are a lot more skittish than their smaller cousins, the Downy Woodpecker. Last weekend I was able to make a couple clicks of the Hairy and the photo I show you today will replace the previous one in the woodpecker section of the Bird Gallery - North America. Click HERE for a shortcut.
It’s hard to believe that my new website and blog are online since already a month now. I have not regretted the switch from GoDaddy and Wordpress to a Squarespace platform for the website. It has bought me a lot of time, time that I like to use for the creative process of my photography and for writing the content of this blog. I spare you with the “tech talk”, but if you like to know what else triggered the switch, send me a message and I can fill you in with the details (just in case you consider a change for your own website ;-) )
THIRD YEAR IN A ROW
Today I don’t have an eye pleasing photo but it is, at least for me, an important documentary shot. The image is already a week old and shows that a Great Horned Owl is sitting on the abandoned eagle’s nest again, now for the third year in a row. In 2013 and 2014 the owls raised one juvenile each year and I was lucky enough to be there with my camera several times. If you like to see some of the pictures from the past, type “Great Horned Owl” into the search field at the sidebar on the left, and all links to my older blog posts that talk about the owls will pop up immediately.
For now we can just wait and see how things turn out. The eggs are incubated for 28 to 35 days, mostly by the female. The Great Horned Owl lays between one and five eggs.
My records show that last year we saw the owlet not before March 23 for the first time peeking out of the nest. I will check out the nest down at the Mississippi River again tomorrow and keep you posted as soon I have news.