MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2019 #01 - ATTEMPT TO GET THE BIG ONE

American White Pelican, Mississippi River, Mud Lake Marina, Iowa

It is an easy task to make a photo of the American White Pelican while they swim almost motionless against the current in the Mississippi River or just drift along. It is a perfect bird  to practice shooting techniques and proper long lens handling. If nothing else, our story telling with the final photo can always be about a majestic bird that is at home on the Mississippi River.

Wednesday night I saw this guy messing with something big in the water and soon it became clear that the pelican tried to swallow a giant carp. I don’t think the carp was dead, but it was definitely somehow impaired and didn’t defend itself aggressively. The story ended with the pelican giving up, not able to swallow the big fish, even after he tried hard several times. What I saw beside the the bird trying to eat, was the gorgeous light, great colors, and the reflections on the water. Just another “Mississippi River Story” that needed to be told…

BIG SURPRISE

Red-headed Woodpecker, Little Maquoketa River Valley, near Durango, iowa

Remember, I talked about several times before over the years that we see some birds here in our woods above the Little Maquoketa River Valley only for a few days in early May. One of them is the Red-headed Woodpecker, but to my surprise this bird showed up again yesterday evening. This makes me wonder if this guy will stick around during the summer. I haven’t seen a second one, a potential partner, like in other years, and maybe it was just the cold weather that we see a different pattern in migration. Other species, like the Scarlet Tanager or the Orchard Oriole, are also still present in larger numbers than usual. Not such a bad thing for the photographer but it puts up the question why this is all different this year…?

DEPENDING ON INSECTS

Eastern Wood-Pewee, Mississippi River, Mud Lake Marina, Iowa

I have been out of town for a few days but I guess I didn’t miss much in regards of wildlife photography. It was rainy and cold here. It warmed up today and this evening, after my return, I took our dog for a much needed exercise down to the Mississippi River. The water level is almost back to normal and Mud Lake Park is open again. Some dirt and debris is still evidence from the recent weeks of flooding.

The month of May was relatively cold overall and I had already concerns about the many flycatchers species, who spend the summer here and depend so much on flying insects. It was nice to see an Eastern Wood-Pewee, catching insects mid-air. Knowing the feeding and foraging habits of birds has helped me many times to find them. The pewee was very busy between the stranded logs the river had left along the shore he and returned quite often to the same perch after catching an insect. I used the car for cover and after getting the MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender out of the bag my results improved while the sun was hiding behind a cloud.

BLUE, AS PRETTY AS IT CAN GET

Indigo Buntings

One of the prettiest birds here during the summer is the Indigo Bunting. They are not present all the time and it is always difficult to get them in front of the lens. Last weekend I was lucky and had three of them here. The diffraction of light through their actually black feathers make them look blue and make identification very easy.

CLOSE TO THE GROUND

Yellow Warbler, Mines of Spain, Dubuque, iowa

In spite of the fact that we still have an abundance of migrating birds around our house at the moment (I promise, I will show more pictures soon!), I went to the Mines of Spain yesterday, the wooded state recreation area south of Dubuque, Iowa. I was hoping to see some neotropical warblers, vireos, and gnatcatchers coming up the Mississippi River Valley and was rewarded with several species that will breed in eastern Iowa during the summer. However, watching them doesn’t automatically mean to capture an image. Warblers are very fast moving birds most of the time, giving the photographer only fractions of a second to frame, focus, and making the click.

The Mines of Spain have two ponds, just separated from the Mississippi River by the railroad tracks. The bushes and shrubs that surround them are an excellent home range for birds that rely on insects. With other words, it is a prime habitat for warblers and other birds and a good place to stick the legs of the tripod into the mud.

It was interesting to see Yellow Warblers, American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroats, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and Yellow-rumped Warblers gleaning for insects very close to the ground. The reason might be the relative low temperatures we have. Mosquitos, gnats, or little flies do still not perform much. We humans may like this, but the birds may struggle for survival if this would last. The good news is, the forecast for next week promises warmer weather…

NATURE CLICKS #425 - ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The grosbeaks are here since May 3rd, a little later than usual. Most of them will move on but we always have some that raise their offspring in our woods. They winter in central and northern South America. Many of our migrators, like orioles, tanagers, and the grosbeaks have been here in large numbers during the last few days. It was relatively chilly and the birds use our feeders very frequently, which makes it easy to make a click or two during their presence. It is supposed to get warmer next week and I expect to see less birds.

Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a good bird to practice long lens photography. They provide mostly good contrast to focus on and even with 600 mm focal length a shutter speed of 1/80s or even slower can be managed.

NATURE CLICKS #424 - RED-HEADED WOODPECKER

For two days we had the pleasure to watch this beautiful Red-headed Woodpecker in the woods around our house. He or she is probably migrating further north. This species is actually a native in our area but we see them in our woods only for a few days in May. We have plenty of woodpecker habitat, means dead trees, but five other woodpecker species (sometimes even six) raise their offspring in our valley and on the bluff tops and this is maybe too much competition.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender

NATURE CLICKS #423 - HERMIT THRUSH

We are always happy to see birds that migrate through our woods here on top of the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa River Valley. For a couple days we saw this Hermit Thrush, whose breeding area is in the northern part of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and almost all over Canada. They are in the same family (Turdidae) as the widely known Bluebirds and American Robins. They forage on the ground and in vegetation.

Not as colorful as orioles or the Scarlet Tanagers, but with a little hint of flash I was able to reveal the color nuances in its plumage. My best photo of this rare guest so far and it will make into the bird gallery on this website.

SHOOTING FROM A BLIND

Male House Finch

I was invited this evening by my photography friend Kevin for some photo shooting behind his house on the south side of Dubuque, Iowa. He had set up a tent that served as a blind at the edge of his woods and minutes after we entered it, and had the tripods in place, our shutters were rattling. This is a great location with an abundance of birds. We had wonderful natural light (no flash needed today), and shooting with Kevin is always a great pleasure.

Male Red-bellied Woodpecker

I only have used my car as a mobile blind so far and shooting out of a tent blind was a first for me. The advantage is, you can get really close to our feathered friends. The downside is the partly loss of peripheral vision due to the tent walls and roof over the head. Not a big deal today. We had at least 14 species of birds on site and I was able to capture nine of them during our one and a half hour photo shoot.

American Goldfinch

Kevin chose the location for the blind very wisely in regards of the incoming light and had prepared the “backyard studio” with good perch facilities for the birds. A couple feeders were placed in a way that we were able to keep them easily out of the frame. Some big trees are in the background and allow to aim the lens at woodpeckers or nuthatches that crack a seed in a gap of the bark.

A pair of House Finches

No, it is no myth, our front or backyards can be some of the best places for wildlife photography. With relatively little efforts a lot can be accomplished within a short period of time, a fact that should be considered by everybody who tries to shave off time during a busy week. Special thanks to Kevin again for this opportunity today!

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head.

TODAY WAS THE DAY…

Baltimore Oriole

…we are always looking forward to every spring. Finally four more bird species arrived from the south. About three days later than usual we had “first of the year” sightings of male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, two male Baltimore Orioles, a male Scarlet Tanager, and a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. After the snow last weekend I expected a delay in their arrival time and being away almost the whole week, I’m happy they waited for my return from a business trip. I had the camera out on the porch this evening and at least the oriole and the tanager gave me a chance to take their picture.

We had a slight overcast that sucked up a little bit of the light but at the other hand made it soft overall. The MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender came out of the photo bag and was the essential tool for making the colors of the bird’s feathers pop.

Scarlet Tanager

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender

SPRING PICTURES??

I was traveling the whole week and came back full of hope for a nice and warm weekend. Right now all the leaves come out and end of April is usually the arrival time for many migrating birds here in our woods. But it came totally different today. It rained and snowed all day long and as I’m writing this we still have some snow cover.

Chipping Sparrow

But there is always a story to tell in weather like this and that’s what I tried to do when I went out with the camera in hand. The combination of fresh green and flowers with the wet snow made for a good target. Three Chipping Sparrows were the only birds beside our American Robins that were present this evening. The male House Wrens arrived this week but except for the early morning they kept hidden during the day.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be warmer again and I’m sure the layer of snow on the ground will be history soon.

NATURE CLICKS #421 - COMMON MUSKRAT

Juvenile Common Muskrat, John Deere Marsh, Mississippi River, Iowa

Here is another image from last weekend. This was shot at the John Deere Marsh, right beside the road, and about a kilometer away from the main channel of the Mississippi River. This young muskrat had absolutely no fear and kept chewing on fresh grass tips even after I just parked my car right beside it. 200 mm focal length was enough to make this picture and I employed the Nikon Nikkor 200 f/4 on the D750. I made a slight crop in post for esthetic reasons. Too many bleak sticks after the winter distracted from the subject, this beautiful little muskrat. Their fur looks great when it is dry. I saw and heard an adult calling from down below the river bank but this little bugger gave a dam and kept chewing on the first fresh grass. Some people are put off by anything that is called a “rat”, although this rodent is not a member of the genus rattus. Muskrats are smaller than beavers and they share quite often the same habitat. Their diet is 95% plant materials.

EGRET ON A HUNT

Great Eagret, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Yesterday I spent the last two hours before sunset in the Green Island Wetlands. The water level in the Mississippi River has dropped a little bit but many areas are still flooded. The sun came finally out and it was a good evening for wildlife observations and photography. The first Greater Yellowleg has arrived and was searching for food in one of the muddy fields that are part of the area. I saw the first pairs of Wood Ducks and numerous female Red-winged Blackbirds have joined the males , who were already present since several weeks.

But the star of this evening was the first and only Great Egret I watched this season so far. First I saw him standing almost motionless for several minutes between some flooded small trees along the dyke. After a while the bird started moving its neck forth and back and stirred the water with its feet. It was clear, the egret was hunting for a fish. It had his head turned to the east, means the setting sun lit just the back of the head. I made a few clicks anyway. Suddenly the bird turned around, now facing the sun, and moved a few feet to an area where not so many branches were obstructing the view. And than it happened very fast. The clouds opened up a little more and at that moment the egret caught a fish. The metadata of my pictures reveal, from the moment he got it out of the water until the fish was going down its throat only 9 seconds had elapsed. A piece of weed was hanging over his head. Happy egret and happy photographer!

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm/f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @600 mm , 1/500 s, f/6.3, ISO200

FOCUSSING ON SANDHILL CRANES

Sandhill Crane, Green Island Wetlands, near Mississippi River, Iowa

Any time I go to the Green Island Wetlands in spring I see or at least hear some Sandhill Cranes. Two years ago we had about 200 cranes but this year I have not seen more than 20 at a given time. Getting close to them can be a challenge. They are not skittish, like for example most of the ducks, but they keep a distance to humans and cars that doesn’t always allow to make a decent photo of these birds. 

Last Sunday I was lucky and came close to a single pair that was searching for food. I didn’t get both cranes in the same frame but was nevertheless pretty happy about the results. Getting close is key for a sharp image. In this habitat, between the old grass and reeds, the Sandhill Cranes do not provide a lot of contrast to lock on focus all the time. The ground is still cold and the warmed up air above can lead to heat shimmer and make obtaining focus even more difficult. Going out late in the day, when the temperatures drop and the light gets warmer seems to be the best time for success.

COOTS, DOING ME A FAVOR

American Coots, Green Island Wetlands, Mississippi River, Iowa

After not making a single click in over a week for several reasons I finally went out to the Green Island Wetlands yesterday evening. The water level of the Mississippi River is still rising and also in the Green Island area it is above normal.

It was windy and many of the ducks were hiding or at least not near the shore. Every year I have seen a large fleet of American Coots at this time of the year and I always was debating with myself how to make a picture that tells the story about their presence in large numbers. Quite often the raft of coots is stretched out and it is impossible to make this kind of a photo. This time was different and they did me a great favor. While I watched them through the binoculars in the distance, the whole fleet suddenly swam towards me and didn’t stop until they all were near my “mobile blind”, the car of course.

They were feeding and goofed around like coots do. Coots are kleptoparasitic, they’ll steal their meal from other birds if they don’t feel like hunting for their own food (source: iBirdPro app). Indeed, I have seen them arguing about water plants. Maybe that’s why it is always fun to watch this raucous and quarrelsome bird.