NATURE CLICKS #374 - DUNLINS

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, California ---------

These Dunlins were still thousands of miles away from their breeding grounds along the arctic coast. Something seemed to scare them once in a while and they took off from the island in the background, but they always returned shortly after. Their coordinated aerial maneuvers are stunning and fun to watch. Another photo I made revealed that at least two birds were already in their breeding plumage, recognizable by a conspicuous black belly patch.

NOT LITTLE ANYMORE

Juvenile Great Horned Owl, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa ---------    

I made an early visit to Mud Lake this morning and came back with nothing. Looking for the branchling between all the leaves is like searching a needle in a hay stack. My photography friend Linda went later in the day to the same place and spotted the owlet successfully. I finally went back in the afternoon and found the young Great Horned Owl sitting on a branch in a large cluster of maple trees, the same spot Linda had described in an email to me. I’m very thankful to her for sending me the message.

I guess we shouldn’t call the owlet “little” anymore. It’s hard to believe it was only 37 days between the photos from today and my first shot of the young bird in the picture below. The click above was made when the bird turned its head and had an eye on our little dog Cooper, who sat quietly in the grass below. Maybe there were some thoughts about a future meal… Looking at its big claws leaves me without any doubts that this owl will be a great predator.

First sighting, March 28, 2017 (image cropped)

NATURE CLICKS #373 - WILLET

Willet, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, California ---------

Last week I read on the website of the Iowa-Bird google group that people had spotted a number of Willets at several locations in eastern Iowa. I tried to find this medium to large sandpiper at the Deere Marsh here in Dubuque last Saturday morning but I had no luck.

Two weeks ago in the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in California I still saw a few that hadn’t migrated to their breeding grounds in the interior of the western US and Canada.

The Willet in the image was in company with several Marbled Godwits but I tried to isolate it from the rest of the bunch for my picture. The warm natural light of this evening made it an easy click with the Nikon D750 and Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports lens mounted on tripod with gimbal head. 

PREENING - OFTEN A GOOD GESTURE

Snowy Egret, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California ---------

No visit in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve or the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Southern California is complete without a photo of a Snowy Egret. I have photographed this beautiful bird many times before and the question at another visit is always, how can the previous results be improved? The answer lies first in a review of older images. Do I need improvement on the technical side (i.e. sharpness)? What was missing? What kind of shot would I like to make? For the Snowy Egret I found out that I have plenty of images showing the bird standing in the water or walking along the shore and looking out for little fish to catch. This is how we see the egret the most and I can tell you, I added some more photos to the library that show the bird just doing this. What I didn’t shoot before was an egret preening its feathers. This is a great gesture that tells a story about this bird.

In harsh light exposing strictly for the highlights on the white egret darkens the background but I used it too my advantage because it also hides some mud and clutter that would otherwise distract from the subject of the photo. Sure, this can be done in post process at home on the computer but getting it right in camera is the real deal for me.

HIGH HOPES

American Avocet, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California ---------

Every local birder I met in the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Orange County, California a few days ago was excited to talk about the possibility that the American Avocets may breed this year at the ponds of the bird sanctuary. Someone must had posted something on social media because several people asked me where to find the avocets. That wasn’t really difficult to answer, since they were present right at the pond next to one of the parking lots. In the morning I saw only three, but later in the day I counted five birds. They bend down and sweep their bills from side to side in a scything motion along the bottom to stir up aquatic insects. Their diet also consists crustaceans and aquatic plants.

I started to understand the excitement of other bird lovers while watching a pair of avocets preparing a nest side or at least pretending to. Remember, this sanctuary is next to an airport and between extremely busy freeways and residential areas.

NATURE CLICKS #372 - PALM WARBLER

Palm Warbler, Little Maquoketa River Valley near Durango, Iowa --------    

It paid back to take the camera and long lens with me while walking our dog down in the Little Maquoketa Valley this morning. First I saw a White-throated Sparrow perfectly placed on a horizontal branch (hence the new photo-button for my bird gallery in the side bar of this website). Shortly after I watched a Palm Warbler foraging in the trees between the abandoned Burton Furnace Road and the Little Maquoketa River near Durango, Iowa. First warbler of the season for me!

The bird in the photo is not tack sharp, just good for a post on the web. Printing this image on a larger scale would not be very pretty. I kinda struggled to handhold the relatively heavy combo of Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600 sports lens, and SB800 speed light. Using the tripod for small birds on the move is not always the best choice, so I left it up on the bluffs at home. Being fast is essential and the only way to solve this conflict is to practice more handholding. Will try tomorrow again…😉

THE DOG, A SORA, AND HARSH LIGHT

Sora, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi River, Iowa

Yesterday Joan and I went on a “Sunday cruise” along the Mississippi by car and ended up checking all the known locations in the Green Island Wetlands that have led to some wildlife photography in the past. At the end of a short hike on one of the levees our little dog Cooper started barking and ran down to the water. First we thought a muskrat had triggered his instincts, since he usually ignores all the birds, but then we saw a Sora foraging on top of the driftwood and between the old reeds. We called him back immediately. It was the same spot in the wetlands where I had photographed this species last year after another photographer had made me aware of it. A little later we saw finally a second bird.

A look at the range map in my bird guides reveals that the Sora is widely distributed and is the most common rail in North America. The Green Island Wetlands are about at the southern border of their summer range.

It wasn’t an easy process to make this photo. I was shooting against the sun and all the reflections on the water made it a challenge to deal with exposure. The Sora moves fast while searching for food between the floating vegetation and quite often old stalks were in the way for a clean shot. The background is not very nice but it is it’s natural habitat. Last year I watched the Sora while it was raining and thought that was not easy. Well, I take the rain any time over the harsh light from last Sunday…

NATURE CLICKS #371 - BLACK-NECKED STILT

Black-necked Stilt, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California ----------

Hard to believe that it was already a week ago when I visited the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, California. It was very exciting to see and watch many birds that we don’t see here in Iowa. One of them is the Black-necked Stilt, who feeds in salt and fresh water. I first saw them a few years ago in the Great Salt Lake, Utah, than last week again in the salty water of the Pacific Ocean at the Bolsa Chica laguna, and finally in the fresh water ponds at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. Their legs are extremely long in proportion to their body, only exceeded by flamingos. This stilt feeds on tadpoles, mollusks, aquatic insects, snails, flying insects, seeds, and even small fish (source: iBird Pro App).

The photo was made with the Sigma 1.4 tele extender attached to the Sigma 150-600 lens and camera was set to DX crop mode. This is the equivalent to an angle of view of a 1275 mm lens. This shows the bird a lot closer but handling this focal length, even on a tripod with gimbal head, is not an easy task. This combination is unforgiving when you make the slightest mistake while focussing on a moving subject. The Black-necked Stilt has some good contrast in its feathers and therefor it is a great shore bird to practice with a long lens.

SPRING BIRDS AND MORE

White-throated Sparrow, near Durango, Iowa

I don’t mind to travel and it is an essential part of my job, but it is nice to be home again, especially at this time of the season. It’s getting green here in eastern Iowa, a little earlier than other years, and with the warm weather more birds arrive in our woods.

Yesterday I heard the wonderful sound of the male House Wrens for the first time this spring. He will wake me up in the morning during the next days and weeks by his melodious songs that hopefully will attract a female to one of our nest boxes.

There were several White-throated Sparrows in the grass below our bird feeders and they look never more beautiful than during this time of the year.

In addition a pair of Chipping Sparrows has arrived and unfortunately a Brown-headed Cowbird is around already. They like to lay their eggs into the nest of other birds and that doesn’t always go well for the offspring of the host bird.

Owlet, Great Horned Owl, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

After being away for an entire week I had to go back to Mud Lake Park at the Mississippi and find out how the little owlet is doing. Other photographers kept me up to date during my time in California but since I watch this nest since five years I wanted to see it with my own eyes. The young owl has grown tremendously since I saw it the first time peeking out from under the mother’s feathers (Click HERE for the first photo). There is definitely only one owlet in the nest this year (last year we saw two) but it is so nice to see this episode continue.

BLUE SHOW OFF

Male Western Fence Lizard, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California -------

I don’t know if this male Western Fence Lizard displayed to attract a female or maybe tried to keep an intruder at distance. I saw only him between the rocks at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, California. Commonly called the blue-belly, it was showing off his blue patches on throat and belly right in front of me. I was actually focussing on the birds in the shallow water behind the lizard and therefor had the 1.4 tele extender added to the Sigma 150-600. This was the right combination to make this click without sacrificing any pixels because of the distance.

NATURE CLICKS #369 - ALLEN’S HUMMINGBIRD

Male Allen's Hummingbird, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Orange County, California ----

Last Saturday in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve I met a German pilot from Lufthansa, who did exactly the same like me, shooting pictures and enjoying it. He recommended another location that I wasn’t familiar with, the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. This unique freshwater marsh is only a few blocks away from John Wayne Airport and as you can imagine not the quietest place on the planet. I changed my plans for Easter Sunday and decided to give it a try. All what I can say is that it was a great tip from the pilot. The checklist from the Audubon Society tells that over 282 bird species have been documented in the sanctuary. Before I even pointed my lens at any of the shore birds, I saw this Allen’s Hummingbird. This is a first sighting for me and I was eager to make a photo of it, perching high up in a tree.

NATURE CLICKS #368 - EARED GREBE

Eared Grebes, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, California --------   

When a pair of Eared Grebes becomes the subject during the last hours of the day in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve there is one shot that will make it into my blog. The photo when the sun hits the feathers on their heads was what I tried to capture. Well, the grebes have their own mind and as soon one of them turns the head just a little bit that photo cannot be made.

NATURE CLICKS #367 - WHIMBREL

Whimbrel, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, California --------   

Greetings from Southern California. One evening and a whole Sunday of bird photography lie behind me. I shot at two locations. About the first one, the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, I have talked in the blog before. As always, great bird watching and fun to make some good clicks around the laguna between Huntington Beach and Seal Beach.

This Whimbrel was a first one for me. I followed this long-legged sandpiper for quite some time. They are in constant search for marine invertebrates, worms, and mollusks. The Whimbrel probes deeply into the mud and moves as it feeds but I also saw them picking up food on the ground. The Whimbrel breeds up in Alaska and the arctic regions of Canada and Greenland.

Because of the intensive low sitting sun it looks almost like a speed light was used for the photo, but because of this light quality the flash stayed actually in the bag the whole evening.

MIGRATING GEESE, STILL COMING THROUGH

Snow Geese, Mississippi River, near New Albin, Iowa

This is a late photo from our trip along the Mississippi River last weekend. I was traveling this week and had planned to post this on Monday already, but made the “beginners mistake” of leaving my card reader at home. A good reminder to pay more attention while packing the photo gear for a trip…

We saw several hundred White-fronted Geese near the boat landing in New Albin, just south of the Minnesota border. Among them were about a dozen Snow Geese, feeding in the marsh land that surrounds the road to the main channel of the river. I have watched these species since several weeks along the Mississippi and was surprised to see still so many of them. I thought they were all gone already and they would be way further north on their journey to the arctic region of North America. A look on the migration map reveals that especially the Greater White-fronted Goose travels from as far south as Mexico.

Greater White-fronted Geese

I shot most of the pictures from my car, using the DX-crop mode, equivalent to a 900 mm focal length. Another photographer told me that a little earlier they were so close that he had to zoom out to 150 mm focal length. I wished I was that lucky…