THE JINX IS BROKEN… (MAYBE… ;-)

Oh well, it took me more than two months to nail down a picture of any kind of warbler. I’m scratching my head since a while , wondering why we did not see any warblers this year? If you take the time and look at my blog posts from last year in May you may find a big variety of warblers that stopped here, at least for a snack in the trees..

I’m glad to report that I saw a male Common Yellowthroat in the Green Island Wetlands today. Joan calls them “Zorro”, and there is no question about where she got the idea from. Doesn’t the male look like “The Zorro”? The Common Yellowthroat is one of the most beautiful birds we can find here and as you can imagine this shot made my day....

NATURE CLICKS #283 - CLIFF SWALLOW

When I started shooting with the Nikon D750 back in April I wrote here in the blog that I have to get physically closer to my subject in order to use the full potential of the full frame sensor. The Cliff Swallows built their nests out of mud below a concrete bridge that crosses the Little Maquoketa River down in our valley, just a few miles upstream. Getting closer to them requires some climbing over a rocky slope, fighting the way through tall weeds, and dealing with hordes of mosquitos. This is a challenge but these extra steps are necessary to fill the frame with the nest and its master architects, the Cliff Swallows.

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

There are several dozen nests under this bridge and the colony of swallows is feeding their offspring at the moment. It takes some patience to make the click if you focus on one particular nest. Sometimes the parents don’t return for several minutes. Taking the challenge of moving in closer and adding a little patience led to some rewarding images and great shooting fun today...

NATURE CLICKS #282 - MAYFLY

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM

Yesterday I saw the first Mayflies at Mud Lake down at the Mississippi. You remember, they emerge from the water as adults in often enormous numbers but have a very short life span, often not even 24 hours. I don’t think this is the “big hatch” yet but last night I saw at least a few hundred of them. I made the mistake only having the 24-120 mm lens with me, not exactly a lens for a macro shot. There was good light and only moderate wind but the lens prevented me from getting close enough.

I went back today with the SIGMA 150 mm, f/2.8, my favorite lens for this kind of photography, but I found only a few Mayflies. The wind blew a little stronger and wasn’t really photographer’s friend this evening. I believe Plato said ‘Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder’ but for me the Mayfly is just a beautiful looking insect. Beside that I’m fascinated by its biology and strategy for survival.

This was the shot I liked the best at the end, although there is room for improvement…

NATURE CLICKS #281 - EASTERN BLUEBIRD

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

The moment when I saw the male bluebird hesitating and waiting I knew I was too close to its nest. There was a nest box a few yards behind me but I really thought it was not in use. I immediately backtracked away from the nest and let both parents feed their offspring. This picture of the bluebird with a grasshopper in its beak was taken later from the other side of this dead tree with a big bush between me and the nest. Both bluebirds used the dead birch as a perch before the approached the nest site. I wasn’t actually at Finley’s Landing at the Mississippi for the bluebirds this evening but had some hope to make a shot of the Belted Kingfisher. I saw the kingfisher several times but distance was too big for a decent photo. Coming back home with a photo of an Eastern Bluebird on the memory card isn’t too bad either, isn’t it?

NATURE CLICKS #280 - YELLOW WARBLER

Finally I made my first photo of a warbler this year. During migration time in May we have not seen any of them in our valley here, although I paid utmost attention to any movement in the woods. Spring 2014 was so much better and I don’t know really why. However, this evening I went to the Mines of Spain, the wooded area south of Dubuque, Iowa, and tried my luck there. Sure enough I saw an American Redstart and found this beautiful Yellow Warbler under the canopy of the trees in an area with heavy brush thicket. Using the tripod is not very practical between the bushes and trees and so I handheld the D750 with the Sigma 50-500 and SB800 speed light attached. The warbler changed location every few seconds and it is a lot easier to follow the bird without the tripod. Working this way requires some faster shutter speed and I had the ISO pumped up to 1000 to make the click at 1/320s, f/8. The flash was used very subtle, just enough to make the colors of the warbler pop.

THE LITTLE CHANGE IN GESTURE

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

I made five clicks for this Tree Swallow last weekend in the wetlands,. None of them is really bad but I chose this one for the blog today. It is this little gesture of rounding the chest, tilting the head, and somehow looking into the lens that was pointed at it that made the difference for me. The photo was cropped in post from over 6k pixels on the long side down to a little more than 4k. This is about the same perspective I would have gotten with my old DX-camera, the Nikon D300s or by shooting in DX mode on the D750. I really try to shoot in FX mode whenever possible, means full frame, but in this matter I just haven’t been able to get closer to my subject. So what’s the deal? I can’t print it on paper at least 20 inch long without loss of detail. It’s OK for the blog here, but it will not stand in the world of high quality images. Does it matter? It does for me, because I like the photo because of the gesture the Tree Swallow shows off. So what’s the remedy? I need to go out and try it again…

DISTURBING FACTS

Everybody likes to see pictures of new born or young animals and nobody wants to hear really about the death of a critter. This is quite normal. If you are in the great outdoors all the time you will develop a pretty good understanding about the cycles of life. And sometimes you come across a story that makes you more than wonder, shake your head, and leaves a feeling of sadness.

Yesterday in the Green Island Wetlands I saw a large Northern Water Snake lay on the gravel road that goes across the area. I stopped the car and walked up to it with the camera in my hands. These snakes are harmless, non-venomous, and usually flee rapidly when approached. The road has water on both sides and so the presence of a water snake isn’t a surprise. The size and dark color told me that this was a beautiful full grown adult. This one was not moving much, just looked like it would take a sun bath. I made a few clicks from different angles while slowly approaching the snake. Suddenly the snake turned on its side, curled up, opened its mouth, and acted like it was under extreme pain. Four minutes later the snake was dead. Some snakes feign death if attacked but the Northern Water Snake isn’t one of them. I moved the body off the road and checked it two hours later. It was definitely dead.

I understand that some people do not like snakes, for whatever reason, but I really hate the thought that someone drove over it on purpose. I couldn’t see any external injuries but assume that the critter died from internal damage, caused by a car that drove over it...

LEOPARD FROG AND SUMMER MOOD

Northern Leopard Frog

Hi friends, I’m back from Sacramento, CA where I spent the week on a business trip. There was no time for photography (explains the week without a single blog post) and finally I arrived a day late because of weather issues in Denver. Good to be back home and having the weekend for what I love to do the most, being in the great outdoors and using the camera.

There is a lot going on here in our woods and yesterday I did some bird photography. But let me start with a couple of my favorite pictures from today. Both images were made in the Green Island Wetlands. Because of last week’s rain the water level in the Mississippi and the wetlands is higher than normal. Except for the Canada Geese, who already escort their offspring, you can’t see much of the waterfowl. The grass and reed is tall and hides the ducks, coots, and mergansers pretty good.

I like to make the shot with some gesture of the critter but the Leopard Frog isn’t known for cute gestures ;-)  It just sits and waits probably for an insect to come by. Well, how do we make an image of the frog work anyway? We have to lay down and meet the critter at eye level. I tried this with two other frogs before but they didn’t like my presence and jumped into the taller grass. For this one I went down and crawled slowly towards the frog until I had it at a focal length of about 300 mm. It makes for a more interesting picture and it blurs the otherwise very busy background nicely

Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

I like the summery mood of the second shot. Everything is lush and the duck weed and algae amplify the green and yellow colors of this very humid day. The reflections on the water are my subject, even if this is not so obvious since this is not a very strong one, but the sharpness will lead the eye. On a side note, I did not realize the Great Blue Heron in the background on the right while I made the photo but I think it adds to the peaceful scene. More to come…

SAME BIRD, DIFFERENT LIGHTING

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

About a week ago I already showed some images of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird here in the blog. It is the only hummingbird species that we have here in eastern Iowa. Those photos were made in the rain or at least with an overcast sky. I used the Nikon SB800 speed light for boosting the colors and for making these images of hummingbirds shine, despite a gray sky

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Yesterday morning we had a blue sky with only a few clouds, the air was clear, and there was a quality of natural light that I just liked to use for my bird photography. As a story teller about nature it is most of the time important to me to give my images a sense of place. Shooting in the rain with low light requires a longer exposure if the background needs to be an important part of the image. The flash is used only for the colors and the muted sun is still the main source of light for the photo. Yesterday the sun was out and the colors didn’t need any amplification, hence I didn't use fill flash. It also allows to shoot with much faster speed, mostly between 1/640s and 1/ 800s. In comparison, During the overcast last week my exposure was mostly below 1/250s, and sometimes going down to 1/100s. I used “sniper mode”, means one picture which each release of the shutter button. But even then, shooting with faster exposure time has the advantage of a higher keeper rate. As you can imagine, having a bird as your subject, that is capable of producing up to 50 wing beats per second, may not always lead to a tack sharp photo… ;-)

ANY NEWS ABOUT THE HOUSE WRENS?

Yes, this is a valid question, especially if asked by someone who follows my blog for a long time already. The House Wrens returned during the first week in May this year again and we always wonder if these are the same birds that were born in one of our nest boxes. 

The usual rituals happen as every spring. The males built first loose nests in every hole they can find and try to impress the females. Later, after the females arrive the air is full of love, the male wrens sing like crazy, and finally the female chooses a nest and will finalize its construction.

Photo from May 22, 2015

We have two identical nest boxes, each with two nest chambers. Usually there is one female in one nest box and it is either in the upper hole or in the lower one. This year things are a little different. The box closest to our house has two females and it seems there is only one male present.

Photo from June 4, 2015

A few weeks ago I have heard at least three males singing but since we can’t always follow what’s going on we don’t know the full story at the moment. Yesterday the female on the lower floor started feeding little baby House Wrens and the male brings food as well. The second female carries still twigs and grass to the upper chamber, which means it does not sit on eggs. The other nest box at the edge of our woods seems to be empty (we are not sure yet) and maybe the second female has lost its brood. There is a raccoon roaming around every night here and other predators are a possibility as well. Well, to answer the question above, yes, there are a lot of news about the wrens but it is fun to watch them as every year…

NATURE CLICKS #279 - SILVER-SPOTTED SKIPPER

Nikon D750, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM, SB 800 speed light

1/80s, f/5.6, ISO200        

I have been traveling again the last couple days but after I came back home today I still saw a small butterfly in the yard that I had seen already earlier this week. If you think identifying birds is difficult, you haven’t tried it with some of the butterfly species. My book says (Kaufman: Field Guide to Butterflies of North America) the Silver-spotted Skipper is the most easily recognized skipper across North America. Well, it took me a while to find that out… ;-)

This one was feeding on a cluster of blooming chives and was constantly in motion, but it didn’t care too much for my close presence. As you can imagine it took more than a few trials to find a composition where no crop in post process is needed and the background is smooth but still part of the story telling

DEEP IN THE BACKWATERS

Gorgeous weather yesterday and I used it for another long paddle tour. I explored parts of the Green Island Wetlands that I have never seen before. It is always amazing to see how many species this ecosystem can support. There is wildlife in abundance and even if someone doesn’t care for photography at all, you can’t escape the magic of this landscape.

It needs some navigation skills because it is easy to take the wrong turn or miss a passage between all the water arms and little islands. The advantage of using a kayak becomes obvious when you paddle through very shallow parts deep into the backwaters where no other watercraft can go without getting stuck.

Cooper, our little dog who shared the boat with me, and myself enjoyed the solitude. We didn’t meet another human or boat the whole afternoon. Yes, it takes some efforts to get out there and keep the equipment dry and clean, but at the latest, when we paddled slowly below a dead tree where a big Bald Eagle sat on a branch, I knew this was where I wanted to be…

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

HUMMINGBIRD DAY

Well, this is what I would like to call this Saturday. Three things came together today. First, I had time on hand to pursue a particular photography project, like shooting nothing but hummingbirds. Second, it was a rainy day. This was good for two reasons. It makes for great colors without extremely high contrast, and even more important, with the rain came lower temperatures. The hummingbirds have a very high metabolism and if it is colder they have to feed a lot more frequent. Hence their visits at flowers and hummingbird feeders happen a lot more often than during a hot day. And the third thing was my motivation to really go for the story that can be told at this time of the year about the hummingbird and to add maybe a few images to my bird portfolio.

I did the whole shoot in three sessions, spread out during the day. Uploading the first one to my computer made me reconsider, learn, and try it again with a different mind set. Gosh, I love days like this… :-)

NATURE CLICKS #278 - GRAY CATBIRD

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

This is not my first blog post about the Gray Catbird but I still have not made many photos of this species. It prefers low and dense vegetation and if there wouldn’t be its distinctive meeow-call we probably would hardly recognize its presence. Staying always on paved roads or trails is limiting the range of wildlife that we can get in front of the lens. Knowing a little bit about the biology and the preferred habitat of a bird or critter is already halfway of making the click. Sure, we get lucky sometimes in the middle of the road, but going into the woods or into thick brushes and underwoods may lead you to the picture you were waiting for since a long time.

NATURE CLICKS #277 - SONG SPARROW

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, SB 800 speed light

We can talk about the Baltimore Oriole all day long, everybody would agree that this bird is one of the prettiest and most wonderful sounding song birds in America. The Song Sparrow may not win the beauty contest in comparison to the oriole but its singing capabilities are not far from those of the oriole.

The Song Sparrow migrates but I have seen them here in Iowa even during the winter down at the Mississippi River.