GOING FOR A COMMON SPECIES

Juvenile Ring-billed Gull, Le Claire, Iowa

During my presentation last week I was talking about not to forget the common species, the critters that are present most of the time, usually in larger numbers, and that don’t make it too difficult to get a shot. To make a difference and make the photo special, there has to be at least a certain quality of light or maybe we can catch a unique gesture of the animal.

Today I was driving down south along the Mississippi again but it was one of these days when not much happened despite warm and sunny weather. I had several plans in place for today but I didn’t found what I was hoping for. Coming home with an empty memory card doesn’t happen very often. When I saw a bunch of gulls fighting for fish on the ice near Le Claire, IA, in gorgeous late afternoon light, I knew I had at least something. The Ring-billed Gull is the most common gull in our area and not difficult to find. This juvenile was on its way to the remains of a fish, nothing really special but the light and reflection on the deep blue ice made me push the shutter button.

GOOD FEELING

Northern Flicker  -----------      

Yesterday I gave a presentation at the Swiss Valley Nature Center. The County Conservation’s program “Lunch-N-Learn” is targeted for adults and seniors but it was a mixed audience and even some young students participated. Under the title “Creating awareness by visual story telling” I talked about how I approach wildlife photography, introduced some good locations, and gave some tips how we can tell a story with our images. I didn’t include many technical aspects of photography, but talked about passion and how we can create awareness about our natural resources and wildlife, even by using just a cell phone camera. I used about 80 of my photos for the story telling. At the end I was able to answer questions that came up, followed by good conversation with participants after the presentation.

It was the first time that I did something like that and I have enjoyed every minute. I know I still have a long way to go with my photography but creating awareness and being a tiny part of conservation and protection efforts is a damn good feeling…

DIDN’T SEE THE FULL STORY

Red-tailed hawk with raccoon -------------  

It was time to visit one of my favorite locations for wildlife photography along the big river again. I haven’t been in the Green Island Wetlands since last fall and today we finally were able to see the sun again. I hardly ever come back from this location with an empty memory card but this time not much was going on. A little further south, along the road to Sabula, Iowa I found this scene. This Red-tailed Hawk was all over a dead raccoon, obviously a road kill, and didn’t give up on it, even after I stopped the car and started shooting. However, it wasn’t until I looked at my photos at home on the computer that I realized that the hawk had a deep injury on its chest. I just can assume that a collision with a car caused the wound. The hawk seemed to act normal and I just can hope that this injury may not effect its ability to hunt for food. At least this raccoon was claimed…

NATURE CLICKS #359 - DOWNY WOODPECKER

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGNETMOD MAGBEAM flash extender -----------------

We had one of these gray and windy winter days that give us the feeling that winter may never end. Not much interesting light today but I wanted to test a new flash extender. One of our five or six Downy Woodpeckers posed nicely for me. 

END OF A MYTH

American Robins ------------------

It took me several years to write today’s blog post…:-)  I guess I just wanted to watch the development a little more before opening my mouth…. Every spring we get bombarded on social media about the fact that spring is here, and as the greatest witness the appearance of the poor American Robin is held for a fact. At least during the last six or seven years we have seen robins here in Eastern Iowa during the winter, even during periods of very cold temperatures. One important reason might be the abundance of juniper berries, the fruit that hangs from our Eastern Red Cedars here on the bluffs in the Little Maquoketa River Valley. However, the last three winters have been relatively warm, but I think, the old myth that the American Robin disappears in our area during the winter is a thing of the past. 

FUN IN THE MORNING

American Goldfinch --------------

The days are getting longer and if the sun is out, it hits my northeast facing office window for a short time in the morning. The birds that land at the bird feeder next to the window are backlit but the snow on the ground, and maybe even the window, reflect some light and throw it back at the birds. I can’t use a fill flash because that would not go well with the glass of the window between me and the bird. The Nikon D750 with the Sigma 150, f/2.8 lens attached sits right on my desk and I can grab it quickly and shoot from less than two feet away. Nothing really special, but a fun way to start in the morning…

GREAT LIGHT BUT STILL ADDING SOME MORE

Red-bellied Woodpecker -----------

Winter is back here in eastern Iowa since a couple days. Time to put the best reflector nature provides for us to work. Yep, I’m talking about the fresh snow on the ground. The quality of light becomes very good for bird photography as soon a little sun hits the snow. The reflection from underneath the bird, even if they sit a little higher in a tree, makes the big difference to any other time of the year. In addition I’m testing a new flash extender that made it into my bag of tools. I’m not ready to talk about it today but might be soon. My flash extender of choice was the Better Beamer for many years (click HERE to see how it looks like). So why throwing more light at the subject if the overall conditions are sufficient? “Tree hugging” birds like this young male Red-bellied Woodpecker like to stay quite often on the shady side of the tree. I still can expose halfway correctly but a little hint of flash (and I mean a little hint) will reveal the beauty of all the colors in its feathers.

This is the tree I call “Woodpecker-Tree #1” in our front yard. A suet feeder is nearby and this tree is quite often the starting point for the birds approaching this feeder. The Red-bellied Woodpecker seemed to be in some competition today about the best spot with another woodpecker, a Northern Flicker. As you can see, it was all about display. Catching the colors and gesture was important to me to tell the story with my photo.

LUNCH-N-LEARN

Black-capped Chickadee ----------

Last year I have been asked by the Dubuque County Conservation to be part of a new program series “Lunch-N-Learn” for adults and seniors in the Swiss Valley Nature Center. Date and time were now officially announced and I like to invite those of you who live in or not too far from Dubuque, Iowa to join my presentation about nature photography. 

When: Wednesday, February 08, 2017, 11.00AM - 12.30PM

Where: Swiss Valley Nature Center, 13606 Swiss Valley Road, Peosta, IA 52068

The event is free but if you like to register for the catered lunch ($10) or want more information, please use the link below:

http://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Dubuque/Park/Swiss-Valley-Nature-Preserve-and-Nature-Center/Events/9396/Lunch-n-Learn.aspx

“Creating awareness by visual story telling” is the topic of my photo presentation. I will talk about favorite locations, the best times to find critters, how to approach wildlife, and how we can tell a story with our photographs to make other people aware about our natural treasures. It will not be so much about the technical aspects, like f-stop, exposure time, etc., but all about passion and the fun nature photography can create. Of course, I will try to answer any question someone may have after the presentation. I’m very excited and I hope you can join me February, 08.

 

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2017 #4 - WARM WEEK AT THE RIVER

I have two photos for you today. The one above is from earlier this week, taken at lock & dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa. It seems it becomes more and more common that some pelicans stay here during the winter. In Le Claire, about 90 miles south from Dubuque, the main channel of the river is open and they can find apparently enough food.

Dam #11, Dubuque, Iowa

It was a gray and foggy day today here in Dubuque and not very inviting for any bird photography, but the temperatures were way above freezing. In the second photo you can see that the snow is almost gone around here. The ice was jammed above the dam, hence the fog in the background. What you don’t see is any Bald Eagles. Today was the annual “Bald Eagle Watch” but I felt bad for the visitors at lock & dam #11. I saw only two eagles on the ice and they were far away. The US Army Corps of Engineers had Brent, one of their Natural Resource Specialists, on site and he was answering questions and helped people with spotting scopes that were provided to watch the birds.

He told me that there was more going on in the Grand River Center in Dubuque and so I went there next. Natural resource agencies and organizations had educational displays and information and there were also some activities for kids.

At one of the vendor’s tables I met with Ty Smedes, a well known nature photographer here in Iowa. I have seen him on TV and read some of his articles in the IOWA Outdoors Magazine before. We had a good conversation about many aspects of nature and photography. If you like to check out his work, here is a link to his website http://www.smedesphoto.com . I bought one of his excellent books and Ty was so nice to sign it.

BALD EAGLE’S STORY, GOOD REASON FORE EVEN MORE AWARENESS

Living here in eastern Iowa and having Bald Eagles present all year long may dull our sense of appreciation for this majestic bird. But as real friends of nature we will probably never get tired of their presence. Not everybody is aware that this bird was almost at the brink of extinction not that long ago, but the time is luckily over when we had to make any possible shot to prove that the Bald Eagle is still among us. Instead we now can relax and focus on its sheer beauty and the stories our images may tell. Creating awareness about our natural history and heritage is what my photography is about. Seeing large numbers of eagles soaring above our heads doesn’t mean we have reached a safe heaven. There are many other critters and birds that need our attention, and your photos, yes, yours, may help to create awareness about the struggle for survival of a particular species that is confronted with shrinking habitat and / or global climate change.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2017 #3 - BALD EAGLES

Mississippi River, Le Claire, Iowa, Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head ---------------

The long-time followers of my blog knew probably immediately where I have been today after looking at this photo. Yes, a trip 90 miles south to lock & dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa was overdue and the weather conditions were perfect today to shoot at this location along the Mississippi River. The river is not frozen over but there were always some Bald Eagles around, even if they could fish at many other places along the river.

I have been a little “rusty” for shooting birds in flight but I got a good share of photos with Bald Eagles soaring over the water and catching fish. However, my favorite photo of eagles today is the one above with this couple, shot at the moment of take off from a dead tree. While many photographers never point their lens at anything different than a Bald Eagle while they are at L&D 14, I used half of the time today to go for some other birds that were present, and that are usually a lot more difficult to get in front of the camera. But this is for another blog post. So please stay tuned…

2016 RETROSPECT / 6

Warbling Vireo, Mines of Spain, Dubuque, Iowa, June 2016 --------------

Much of my time out in the field is dedicated to wildlife photography and that wasn’t any different in 2016. The Mississippi Valley and surrounding areas provide habitat for many species. Some of them are here only for a few weeks, just enough to raise their offspring.

In June I had the chance to photograph a pair of Warbling Vireos. I saw them several times with insects in their bills and knew that they were feeding, but it took me more than 90 minutes before I finally discovered a young bird. The little guy sat in the grass below a group of trees and waited to be fed by its parents. The technical aspects of making a photograph are dealt with on a subconscious level in situations like that. It’s all about the bird, the light, and being fast enough to bring it all together…

Juvenile Warbling Vireo

2016 RETROSPECT / 5

Hooded Merganser with offspring, Green Island Wetlands, May 2016

One of the most memorable moments this year out in the field chasing the wildlife was the encounter of a female Hooded Merganser with her offspring. Everybody likes a picture of young ducklings but it was the story telling gestures of the female that led to my best photos that afternoon in the Green Island Wetlands next to the Mississippi River here in eastern Iowa. I have written about this here in the blog but I think there is nothing wrong including another photo of this great moment in my 2016 retrospect series.

NATURE CLICKS #356 - EASTERN BLUEBIRD

Male Eastern Bluebird

One of the prettiest visitors in our yard is the Eastern Bluebird. We have at least four that fly in every day to drink or just sit at the bird bath to warm up a little. I shot this through the glass of a window. They are very skittish and fly away as soon they sense some movement. The glass has a little softening effect on the image. This benefits the background but makes it more challenging to obtain sharpness on the bird. The bluebirds are often in company with some American Robins that stay here despite the cold temperatures we had last weekend. What keeps both species here during the winter is probably the supply of juniper berries from Eastern Red Cedars that grow here on the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa River Valley. Bluebirds feed on insects, earthworms, snails, and other invertebrates during the summer but are highly dependent upon berries during the winter.

NATURE CLICKS #355 - NORTHERN FLICKER (YELLOW-SHAFTED)

Male Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker -----------

We had quite a bit of snow during the last two days and the temperatures dropped way down (-22˚ C / -7˚ F). 17 different species of birds can be found in these tough times at our bird feeders and water supply and I’m not counting those who show up only occasionally. The flickers have found out about our place again and this season we see at least three males and one female.

The Northern Flicker has two subspecies, the red-shafted and the yellow-shafted. Here in Iowa and the eastern US we have the yellow-shafted form. The image below is not a real good photo but I wanted to show it anyway. While I focussed on the female sitting at a bird bath it suddenly turned its head for an incoming male. Although the male bird is not in focus, you can see why this subspecies is called the yellow-shafted.