NATURE CLICKS #360 - WILSON’S SNIPE, EARLY APPEARANCE

Mississippi River, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa -------

It was a great day for bird watching and in particular the migrating waterfowl along the Mississippi River. On my way south my first stop was at the John Deere Marsh in Dubuque. On the pond north of the little parking lot I saw a couple Northern Pintails, several Gadwalls, Ring-necked Ducks, and lots of Mallards, American Coots, and Canada Geese. I may post a couple pictures from this location tomorrow.

My excitement grew when I arrived in the Green Island Wetlands and found dozens of Northern Shovelers and a pair of Hooded Mergansers beside the other “regulars”, like Canada Geese, Mallards, American Coots, and Killdeer.

As I was ready to turn around and head back home I suddenly discovered four Wilson’s Snipes in the pond across the gravel road from the DNR facility. They were probing the mud with their very long bill in search for food. This was the earliest I have ever seen this bird in the Green Island Wetlands. All older photos in my archive were made during the month of April.

I admit both images are a little soft due to distance and the fading light. When the snipes have the bill in the water or mud the movement of their heads hardly ever stops. There was a moment when they all stopped feeding suddenly. I quickly added the Sigma 1.4x teleconverter to the 150-600 lens. As it got darker with every minute, autofocus became a problem and the lens started hunting back and forth from time to time. Luckily a few clicks could be made nevertheless.

WOODPECKER TREE NO. 1

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker ---    

The tree in our front yard that I call “Woodpecker Tree No. 1” is probably one of the ugliest trees we have. But it is of big importance for our woodpeckers, if they want to approach the suet feeder that is not far from it. Before they enter the feeder, most of the time they land on this tree and hop down step by step, making sure no predator is nearby. The tree is also used to make clear who is next in line. There is a hierarchy between the different species and ages of the birds. The Red-bellied Woodpecker is able to scare the Northern Flickers away, even if some of them are larger. The much smaller Downy Woodpeckers always leave and wait patiently when one of the larger birds, like the Northern Flickers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, or Hairy Woodpeckers come to the tree.

Downy Woodpecker

Both photos are from last weekend after we had some fresh snow on the ground. This helps a lot with light quantity. In addition I use flash fill, not as my main light source but to make the colors more vibrant and to improve mostly the quality of the light. I’m still testing a new flash extender that made it into my bag a few weeks ago and I will write about this piece of gear here in the blog shortly. “Woodpecker Tree No. 1” has been always a good place to make tests with new gear. I know the location and most importantly can compare my results with older photos that were shot under similar circumstances.

I GOT HIM!

Brown Creeper, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Iowa ----------     

This photo was on my ‘Most Wanted List’ since a long time. I showed pictures of the Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) before here in the blog but none of them was well crafted (heavily cropped and lack of sharpness). It is not unusual to see them here in our woods but their appearance is almost unpredictable. They fly to the bottom of a tree and spiral upward very quickly while pecking for insects. The Brown Creeper uses its stiff tail for support when climbing. Their curved bill helps them to get the food out of the smallest cracks and from behind the bark. After the bird is done with one tree it hops down to the base of another tree and starts all over again. Here is some trivia, in my home country Germany lives a relative, called the ‘Gartenbaumläufer’ (Certhia brachydactyla). It looks very similar to the American species.

Male White-breasted Nuthatch

While waiting for the appearance of the Brown Creeper another tree climber showed up several times. The White-breasted Nuthatch is a regular visitor here and we can see them all year long. Beside the obvious visual differences between the creeper and the nuthatch, the White-breasted Nuthatch flies to a higher point of the tree and usually hops down the trunk. ‘Nuthatch’ is derived from its habit of placing seeds or nuts in crevices of trees and prying them open with its bill. (source: iBird Pro App)

FIRST GLIMPSE

Great Horned Owl  ------------   

It looks like I show you the same image at this time of every year. Yes, a Great Horned Owl sits again in the nest at Mud Lake Park, just a stone throw away from the Mississippi River. 2017 is the fifth year in a row that the Great Horned has chosen this nest site. A couple other photographers have emailed me during the last days that they saw the owl and even the male was spotted in another tree (Thank you Linda and Ken!). Incubation takes about 28 to 35 days and is mostly done by the female.

 I was there yesterday afternoon but the bird was out of the nest. Today I used my lunch break to drive down to Mud Lake again and was even able to make a few clicks. Distance is always a bit of a problem and I used all my technical means to overcome it. First, the Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG was mounted between the Sigma 150-600 mm lens and the camera to extend the focal length to 850 mm. Second, the D750 was set to DX crop mode, which gave me the equivalent angle of view of a 1275 mm lens. I still cropped a little sliver on the right and top to keep a few distracting branches out of the frame. At that time of the day I had to shoot against the sun but a thin layer of clouds didn’t make this a big problem. Dialing in exposure compensation of +1 1/3 EV delivered the best results today. 

MISSED VALENTINE'S DAY SHOT

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens,Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG ------------

I was hoping to show you a perfect Valentine’s Day shot but it didn’t work out. A few seconds earlier a second Mourning Dove still perched on the same branch and both birds were facing each other like a good couple. While still fiddling with my camera one of them left. Well, maybe next year… 😏

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.