NATURE CLICKS #264 - HORNED LARK

It wasn’t an easy task to make the photos I show you today. There was a reason why I never was able to make any decent shots of the Horned Lark here in Iowa before. They live and breed in the open country, where no tree or bush can hide a desperate photographer ;-) I have seen them in a field just outside of the Green Island Wetlands many times before but never came close enough to make the image work. Yesterday evening I found a pair of Horned Larks foraging along one of the levees that separate the ponds in the wetlands. I maneuvered the car, which as you know serves as my mobile blind, several times in position. Many birds seem to accept the presence of a car quite often, while opening the door and getting out of it, may spook them away immediately. The two larks didn’t show much interest in me this time, but getting close was only one problem I had to overcome.

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

Most wildlife photographers are familiar (or at least should be) with using the peak of action, the short moment between movements, for the shot. It has been quite often best described with a bouncing basketball. The brief moment when the ball reaches its highest point and the speed is zero. This is the moment when you have your chance to make a sharp shot, no matter what your shutter speed is. The only way to make this work for your photography is trying to predict this moment a tad before and then use the ability of the camera to shoot several frames per second (the Nikon D300s does 6 fps). The Horned Lark gave me a hard time. Both were foraging, head down, and with high speed and intensity. Yes, there was peak of action but it occurred very irregular. Sometime the birds didn’t stop for more than ten seconds. Other times I thought I nailed it, but the lark had their eyes closed. Well, as you can imagine I had my good share of misses yesterday evening…

The good thing was that the light got better with every minute while working with the birds. You may ask why some of the grass and background looks black. The DNR (for my German friends: Department of Natural Resources, similar to Naturschutzbehörde) had a controlled burning in the area the week before. This is a way to keep prairie and marsh land in good condition. Wild fires have always played an important role for the health of these ecosystems and landscapes.

NATURE CLICKS #263 - RING-NECKED PHEASANT

I went out today to find all kind of birds near or in the water of the Mississippi and other wetlands. And there were lots of them today. However, my most surprising encounter today was this Ring-necked Pheasant. I found the bird in full courtship display on a piece of marshland at the Mississippi near Sabula, Iowa. His behavior indicated that he was either posing for a female or tried to impress another competitor. Although, I never saw another bird between the reeds and brushes along the river shore.

This wasn’t a first sighting for me but it was the first time that I was able to shoot a number of pictures of a pheasant. The Ring-necked Pheasant is a native to Asia and was introduced as a game bird in California in 1857 (source: iBird Pro app). I’m very happy that I finally can add this species to the BIRD GALLERY - NORTH AMERICA. Check it out if you like.

HIGH UP IN THE TREES (TWO STORIES)

After an overall gray day the sun came out this evening for a brief moment. Luckily this happened when I checked the nest of the Great Horned Owl again today. Not much new to report. I saw the upper part of the head of one little owlet, but haven’t seen the face yet. My photography friend Linda from Dubuque sent me an email today, basically confirming the same observations. It looks like we have one young owl in the nest again, the same as during the last couple years. But what do we know? Since we can’t peek into the nest we may still have a surprise waiting for us...

Male Wood Duck

The second image was shot this morning during some light rain from my office window and has not much to do with decent photography. I made it mainly more for my own documentary. Every spring, and only in spring, we see and hear migrating Wood Ducks resting in the oak and hickory trees that surround us here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River Valley. There was actually a female duck sitting not far from this male, but as you can see by the blurry parts in the foreground, lots of branches obstructed a clear view. The bird is further away as it seems. I have cropped the picture a little bit. Nothing for the purists among you today, but since my blog has always been about both, photography and nature, I still like to share today’s observations with you...

GOING FOR THE COLORS

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, Nikon SB600 speed light

I couldn’t resist to hit the shutter release button yesterday when we had the new snow on the ground and this female Northern Flicker landed on the tree trunk not far from me. Not just because of the additional light by the reflection of the snow, but also for the wonderful colors the bird showed. Their breeding time is between April and July, depending on location, and they might be in courtship by now. That is usually the time when the birds look at their best. For curiosity I looked in my archive and yes, in March the colors look much brighter than during any other time in the winter. Here in Eastern Iowa we see the yellow-shafted race of the Northern Flicker, while in the western part of North America the red-shafted is more common. Populations overlap and hybrids are not uncommon in different parts of the country. I hope you enjoy!

WINTER IS BACK!

Male Dark-eyed Junco

…and with it several dozen birds I thought had moved further north already. A fresh layer of snow, about 2 -3 inches, covered everything up last night and made our first Schneeglöckchen (snow bells) disappear again. :-(

During the last eleven winters I lived here in Iowa we learned that winter is not over as long we see the Dark-eyed Juncos. Here in Eastern Iowa we see the slate-colored form of this sparrow during the cold season. Their breeding grounds are up in Canada and usually they take off as soon the days get warmer. Well, today there were lots of them below our feeders and in the trees around, and that means nothing but winter is not over yet… ;-)

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… :-)

 

NATURE CLICKS #261 - AMERICAN GOLDFINCH IN WINTER PLUMAGE

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

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...

Great Horned Owl with 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

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

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

Bald Eagle

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-120mm / f4

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… :-)