MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2016 #1

Common Muskrat, Mississippi River, Goose Island County Park, Wisconsin

Many things that happen in the outdoors here have to do with the Mississippi River, one way or the other, and I will continue writing my little stories from and about the big river in 2016. Today I had a meeting with a customer in La Crosse, Wisconsin and the drive up north, mostly just parallel to the Mississippi, is one of my favorite routes. It doesn’t matter if you drive on the Iowa / Minnesota side or east on the Wisconsin side of the river, the landscape is beautiful and there is always something interesting to see. I was not surprised to see many long stretches of open water already, although there are still parts of the river covered with ice. The winter was mild so far.

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

On my way back to the Dubuque area I stopped at Goose Island County Park, located just south of La Crosse, WI. This park with campsites, boat ramps, and other tourist amenities is probably busy in the summer but today I saw only a few fishermen and bird watchers.

I had the camera already in my lap when I discovered this Common Muskrat getting in and out of the water. Their dense, glossy winter fur is just gorgeous. This one used the ice floats as a feeding platform and was chewing on aquatic plants. The backwaters of the Mississippi, with its marshlands and water arms between countless little islands, are an ideal habitat for these large rodents.

THE "ORDINARY" BIRDS

Canada Geese, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

How do we photograph the “ordinary” bird to make the picture special? I’m talking about the species that we can see every day at any time, if we just walk out the door and go to a location where they are always present. One way is making the image in extraordinary light. Well, that doesn’t always work out. Light comes and goes and most days it is just “average” and not great at all. The other way is to wait for a great gesture or pose, or to capture some action while the bird is moving.

Canada Geese are pretty much everywhere where a body of water is located here in the Midwest. After you have the first few hundred images of geese, sitting, standing, or swimming, on your hard drive it’s time to move on. Don’t take me wrong, Canada Geese are really a good subject to practice your shooting or to test and learn about your gear. The bird provides good contrast against almost any background even in nasty weather.

Last weekend in the Green Island Wetlands it was a little too early for seeing migrating birds, but coming home without any picture is not an option for me. I’m still in a phase of learning about the new SIGMA 150-600 lens and so I used every opportunity to shoot, even the “ordinary” birds…

NATURE CLICKS #321 - BALD EAGLE

Dubuque, Iowa, 16th Street Basin

I went back to Dubuque, Iowa again this evening but didn’t have nearly as much action on the ice of ‘16th Street Basin’ as yesterday. So, here is my favorite shot from last Sunday. I like the position of the bird in the frame, with the small strip of open water along the shore in the background. By the way, the trees laying in the water are cut by beavers. I think this is amazing because the pond is surrounded by busy roads and railroad tracks on all sides. Shooting at this location can be a challenge, if you want to keep any men-made structures out of the frame.

This immature eagle is probably in its fourth year. As you can see, its feathers on head, neck, and tail are not completely white yet, but will be probably soon. Bald Eagles can live up to 40 years in the wild.

NATURE CLICKS #320 - NORTHERN SHRIKE

Ok, today’s post isn’t so much about a good picture but about a first sighting for me. While working this week in Dallas, TX the temperatures have raised way above freezing here in eastern Iowa and today I went back to one of my favorite wildlife areas, the Green Island Wetlands, next to the Mississippi River and south of Bellevue, Iowa. I have not seen a Northern Shrike before and it didn’t matter that the bird was too far away for a good photo. I was just happy to see it for the first time. The Northern Shrike is supposed to be here only during the winter. Their breeding grounds reach from northern Alaska across the northern parts of Canada.

NATURE CLICKS #319 - EASTERN BLUEBIRD

Here is another visitor of the “backyard studio”, a male Eastern Bluebird. It came actually not alone, a female joined the bird bath as well, but they sat so far apart from each other that I decided to focus on either one of them separately. We have never seen them eating at a bird feeder yet but obviously they enjoy the heated bird bath. It isn’t the first time that we saw Eastern Bluebirds here in February. I know it is silly to say that, with all the snow on the ground at the moment, but when the bluebirds show up here, spring is not that far anymore… (Can you tell we are a little tired of winter ??)…😉

EARLY VISITOR

White-throated Sparrow,  Little Maquoketa River Valley near Durango, Iowa

Winter was telling us today that is not over yet by letting it snow pretty much all day. As a result we had a lot of activities around our bird feeders. It was a nice surprise to see a White-throated Sparrow, who visited several times. We are at the northern edge of their winter range according to my field guides, but it is the first time that we have seen one in February. Other years my earliest photos were made in April.

It’s not a tack sharp image but I thought I show it anyway, because beside photography my blog has always been about sharing wildlife encounters and locations.

FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW - THE GREAT HORNED OWL

It was a cold day due to some icy wind. It didn’t stop me to take Cooper, our little dog, down to Mud Lake at the Mississippi River after work. Not that I was really longing to go out into the wind but it is the time of the year when the Great Horned Owls lay their eggs. And yes, for the fourth year in a row an owl sits in the old eagle’s nest. Photographically it is not so interesting because you can’t see much of the owl, but as a bird lover I’m very excited.

The photo below shows the young owl that grew up in the same nest last year. The shot is from April 27, 2015, taken after the owlet had left the nest already.

April, 27, 2015

UP EARLY

Black-tailed Prairie Dogs

I shot a ton of pictures of Black-tailed Prairie dogs during last year’s vacation in the Badlands of North and South Dakota. The ones that stood out for me are those that show the critter with a great gesture or in beautiful light.

The whole prairie dog town was out of their dens already shortly after the sun raised over the mountain ridge. They probably tried to warm up a little after a long night and watched us very carefully while we moved closer with our cameras.

NATURE CLICKS #318 - BROWN CREEPER

According to my field guides the Brown Creeper is supposed to be around here in eastern Iowa all year long. This photo was made in the Mines of Spain, a mostly wooded recreation area south of Dubuque, Iowa. So far I have photographed this small bird only during winters or in the early spring. And I admit, I still haven’t been able to make a tack sharp image I could be very proud of. The bird blends very well in while creeping along tree trunks, always from the bottom upwards. They are almost always in motion and it is very difficult to lock the focus on. The picture has a little motion blur too, despite a shutter speed of 1/800s and fill flash for bringing out its colors. With other words, the Brown Creeper still remains on my “most wanted” list…

TEST SHOTS WITH A TITMOUSE

Tufted Titmouse

Yesterday I had planned to go back to LeClaire, Iowa for some more shooting of Bald Eagles but unfortunately other things stood in the way. My friend Dave Updegraff posted some good pictures in his blog from this location and obviously the weather conditions and action of the birds were really good this time. I guess I have to wait for another chance.

I used the gray overcast today to work on a new piece of photography accessory, which I had in mind as a “do it yourself” project since quite some time. I won’t reveal what it is until it is finished, it almost is, and I will show it here in the blog hopefully soon. However, some testing was required in order to find the best design and this Tufted Titmouse in one of our trees made for a perfect subject. The titmouse is another bird that we can see here in our woods all year long.

YOUNG EAGLE'S CATCH

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

On my way home from a good customer of mine in Davenport, Iowa I stopped at lock and dam #14 in LeClaire, Iowa, the same place I have reported from many times before about Bald Eagles. There were by far not so many photographers as last Saturday (see my blog post about the last visit by clicking HERE).

The light was kinda mediocre but I want more practice with the new SIGMA 150-600 Sports lens. During the short time I was at the Mississippi River I just tried to explore the capabilities of this lens , even under not the best light conditions.

I show you what I think was the most interesting picture that made it onto my memory card today. This immature Bald Eagle caught the fish out of the water and headed straight to a tree . Younger eagles are not always successful in their fishing efforts but this one knew it hit the jackpot. The claws holding the fish became my subject, but the photo would have ended up in the trash can, if the eye of the bird would not have been visible or even just been blurry.

NATURE CLICKS #317 - PURPLE FINCH

Female Purple Finch

Any time I look through one of our windows I check for not so common birds or critters that may pay us a visit or just pass through our woods. In the last couple days I have seen a few Purple Finches around here. Surprisingly I saw only females so far. During the summer they are up in Canada or northern Minnesota but we see them on occasion every winter here in eastern Iowa. The females did obviously not stand for the bird’s name with their brown-streaked body but I think they are pretty. The males have a pink-red head, throat, and rump. Hope to see one of them too sometime…

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

3 PICS, 3 WAYS OF TRYING TO GET A PLEASING COMPOSITION

Beside the story telling in my wildlife photography I like to make photos that are esthetically pleasing. I admit, not every picture that tells a story complies with this criteria. At the other hand, not every photo that is a piece of art tells a story about the critter or the environment it lives in. I guess there is an in between and a demand for either side.

Get it right in camera and be done with it is a high bar that I like to jump but this is quite often easier said than done. Here are three pictures from yesterday’s shooting at the Mississippi. Each was made with a pleasing composition in mind but the outcome required more or less correction.

Focussing on just one Canada Goose and panning with the lens led to this shot. No crop, the bird’s position in the frame tells the story of a direct overflight, and the light reflected from the snow on the ground make for a pleasing picture in my books. I wished it would be always that way 😊.

More geese flying by at the same location. The light is again just great. I tried to capture the typical V-shape of the formation and integrated it as a triangle in my composition. Everything worked out good, except for the fact that one goose was cut by the edge of the photo on the left hand side. There was no remedy for that beside removing the bird in question. I didn’t get it right in camera obviously but this small correction made me keep the image.

Over the years I made thousands of photos with a Bald Eagle in flight and I keep still several hundred in my photo library. So, why another one? The shape of the cloud in the background and the way the eagle holds its wings at that moment make it an esthetically pleasing photo for me. Well, but I missed the composition completely by having the eagle dead center. I would not have a problem with that if the eagle would fill most of the frame, but here the cloud is an important part of the photo. It just didn’t look right to me. A small crop on the right and at the bottom came to my rescue. Again, not right in camera, but the photo is much better balanced after the correction in post process.

BALD EAGLE DAY

Adult Bald Eagle, Mississippi River, lock & dam #14, LeClaire, Iowa

Today I finally had a chance for the first time this winter season to travel down south to lock & dam #14 in LeClaire, Iowa for some Bald Eagle photography and for more exercise with the new Sigma 150-600 Sports lens. I like the late afternoon light at this location the best and so I took my time and visited several other locations along the Mississippi River on my way. The river has ice cover all the way down to Princeton, Iowa but it isn’t solid and there are open spots. South of Princeton I found nothing but open water, except for the bays and some backwater areas. This is unusual in January but except for the last couple weeks it was a relative warm winter. I saw lots of ducks and mergansers that just go so far south as the ice stretches.

Photographers lined up at lock #14, LeClaire, Iowa

The parking lot at #14 was completely filled when I arrived and I don’t think I have ever seen so many people with cameras in this place yet. I think it is great that more and more people go out for nature photography but I personally don’t like big crowds and try to avoid them. Well, I turned around and went across the river on Interstate 80 to the Illinois side of the Mississippi. Wow, I had it all for myself! There was nobody at the dam on this side of the river. The main reason is that shooting from the east side of the river is not always the best in the afternoon but I had my chances. The photo above shows only part of the crowd that gathered on the Iowa side. The river is here more than one kilometer wide. This is next to the exit of the lock and many photographers like this place because the eagles perch in the trees nearby, there is always open water, and you have a good chance to make a picture of a Bald Eagle catching fish.

Immature Bald Eagle, Mississippi River,dam #14, Illinois side

The bay next to the dam on the Illinois side of the river had ice and a nice snow cover. This worked like a giant reflector and the photo of this immature young Bald Eagle flying over was made without flash or bringing up much of the shadows in post process.

NATURE CLICKS #316 - EASTERN GRAY SQUIRREL

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

Our woods around here support a lot of critters. Oaks, hickory trees, maples, eastern red cedars, wild cherries, and a variety of smaller trees provide food for birds and mammals. The Eastern Gray Squirrels built their nests in the trees, made out of leaves and small branches, and we have always a few of them here. As the winter continues their food stacks become obviously smaller and they take more advantage of the bird feeders than usual. The squirrels must have a really good way to communicate and spread the news, at least as good as the internet…😉  A few days ago, when it was bitter cold here, I counted twenty of them just by looking out the windows. This is a new record and we wonder from how far they come to desperately fight for a few sunflower seeds.