In my presentations about “Story telling in wildlife photography” I always emphasized to start shooting in your own backyard, garden, or anywhere around your place of living. That hasn’t changed and recently I made a few improvements to my own front yard “shooting gallery”, means the arrangements of bird feeders, bird baths, landing and perching places the birds can use during the cold season. Since we came back from our vacation about mid September we watched two Red-breasted Nuthatches that became frequent visitors in our yard. This seemed to be a little early, but however, they were some of the first birds that trusted the new arrangements and rewarded me with some great opportunities for making a click. Regarding light, the place is ideal during the hour before sunset, most likely also the time when I’m done with my day job and when undivided attention to the bird traffic is possible. The Red-breasted Nuthatches never remain much longer in a spot than 1-3 seconds, not always enough time to predict the shot, obtain focus on the bird, and finally make the click. I love when it works out and light, color, and gesture tell the story of this beautiful bird that may hopefully spend the winter here in eastern Iowa.
NATURE CLICKS #472 - NORTHERN LEOPARD FROG
Northern Leopard Frog, Mississippi River, John Deere Marsh, Iowa
I will still post a few more photos from our trip in August / September but today it’s time for a picture I shot this week. It became a habit to take our little dog Cooper for a walk to one of the nature places in the neighborhood during my lunch break. This week I was twice in the John Deere Marsh, a wetland and marsh area at the confluence of the Little Maquoketa River and the mighty Mississippi. The birds didn’t cooperate on Wednesday and as we returned back to the parking lot I only had made one click of some American Coots, who slowly migrate south at the moment and spend some time in this area.
The discovery of a Northern Leopard Frog, nicely sitting on a weathered log that obviously was left from a flood of the Mississippi River some time ago, made up for the lack of birds. The blurred reeds in the background give a sense of location and the weathered, partly black and partly bleached driftwood makes some contrast to the warm colors of the Leopard Frog. Went back to the car with a smile on my face…
Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/500 s, f/6.3, ISO 320
NATURE CLICKS #471 - WOODHOUSE’S TOAD
Woodhouse’s Toad, Makoshika State Park, Montana
This was a new species for us that we discovered in Makoshika State Park, Montana. Here in Iowa this toad can be found only in the very western part of the state, while they are not uncommon in many other states further west. I did what I always try to do, take a few “safety shots” from the side and slightly above for later identification and then work with the critter from a better perspective. Lying on my stomach and having the camera on eye level with the toad leads to a much better photo that puts the viewer into the world of this animal. I don’t move an animal to a different place for a better shot and dealing with the grass for an unobstructed view is part of the challenge to make the click. The Nikkor 24-120, f/4 was the lens of choice because it allowed me to get much closer to the toad (minimum focus distance 0.45 meter / 1.5 ft). The 70-200, f/4 has more focal length but the minimum focus distance is 1 meter / 3.28’ ft. Less distance equals fewer grass stems. It was an easy decision…
Woodhouse’s Toads are mostly nocturnal and feed on insects and small invertebrates. It wasn’t quite dark at 6PM but maybe the toad was on its way to a new hunting ground. No matter what it is, but we are always happy to find a new animal species that hasn’t been on our radar.
BIRDS AT MAKOSHIKA
Orange-crowned Warbler, Makoshika State Park, Montana, September 2020
Wherever we go on vacation we always keep track what kind of birds or critters we see, even if not every encounter leads necessarily to a photo opportunity. A place like Makoshika State Park in Montana, with Pondarosa pines, red cedars, grasses, and shrubs provides food for many birds and other animals. We had a remote campsite on a ridge above a canyon and many tree tops were on eye level. This gave us a good position and view for birds who may have been otherwise high above our heads. This sounds easy but the biggest challenge was to manage the harsh light. Other than that, you can sit in your camping chair, read a book, and just wait until warblers, kinglets, or nuthatches show up. Most of the time you hear them way before you see them…
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch, All photos: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head
NATURE CLICKS #470 - NORTHERN BOBWHITE
Male Northern Bobwhite, Durango, Iowa
I had actually planned to continue with more photos from our trip through the badlands of the Dakotas and eastern Montana but yesterday the sighting of a Northern Bobwhite got me all excited. The first and last time I had one of these “New World Quails” in front of the lens was in May 2007, just a month after I started shooting seriously digital with a Nikon D200. The Cornell Lab Website ALL ABOUT BIRDS writes: Bobwhites have been in sharp decline throughout the past half-century, likely owing to habitat loss and changes in agriculture, and they are an increasingly high priority for conservation. I guess I can confirm the fact of decline in population!
The bird is easy to identify and when I saw this male crossing the road while driving downhill into our valley I hit the brakes hard. Driving with the camera in my lap and the bobwhite posing nicely for a few seconds, I got the shot. Unfortunately I had only 200 mm focal length, hence that cropping of the photo was employed.
This wasn’t really far from our neighborhood and I wonder if the population of the Northern Bobwhite here is larger than I thought. I’ll keep my eyes open…
NATURE CLICKS #469 - AMERICAN KESTREL
Female American Kestrel, Little Missouri National Grasslands, North Dakota
Here in eastern Iowa the American Kestrel can be found even during winter. Up in the northwest part of North Dakota the kestrel migrates south for the cold season. The picture was made just a few miles south of Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s North Unit. Whenever possible, most wildlife photographers try to keep the human made elements out of the frame. This is quite difficult with the American Kestrel because 90 percent of the time I find them perching on an electrical power line. This gives you no sense of location and who really loves these “wire shots”?
This female American Kestrel posed nicely on a bale of hey in a field beside the gravel road. Sure, this is a human made thing, but the difference to the “unknown wire” is that a bale of hey gives you a sense of location. Yes, grassland, fields, and prairie are preferred habitats for this bird. During summer time large insects, like grasshoppers, are their main diet, while during winter months small mammals, birds, and amphibians are on the menu.
NATURE CLICKS #468 - SCARLET TANAGER
Male in its non-breeding plumage during fall migration
Since five days we have an unusual visitor at the suet feeder next to my home office window. This male Scarlet Tanager waits patiently until no woodpecker or other bird is present and takes his turn for a meal. Usually early in May we see up to a dozen tanagers after they arrive from South America. I have posted photos and have written about these beautiful birds every spring but we have never seen one during fall migration. At this time of the year the males have already traded their red feathers for green-yellow. We know that some Scarlet Tanagers breed in our woods, but they spend most of the time high up in the canopy and are hardly seen near the ground during the summer. Now we wonder if this is a bird that was here for the last few months or if he is just on his journey through to the forests in South America.
The photo was made through the admittedly not very clean window next to my desk with the Nikkor 70-200, f/4 at 175 mm. As almost always I shot in Aperture priority mode and to compensate for the bright background the exposure compensation was set to +1.66. The “Dehaze-slider” in Lightroom took care for the haze and blur effect from the window glass.
WE ONLY CAN IMAGINE…
American Bison along South Fork Sage Creek, Badlands National Park, South Dakota
We only can imagine how it was when more than 60 million of American Bison once roamed on the plaines and grasslands of North America in search for the best places to feed and to survive the impact of the weather. Today only a number of about 31,000 wild bison can be found, maintained mainly by National or State Parks.
We always know that we have arrived in the west when we see the herd of bison in Badlands National Park, South Dakota again. This time it was very special. While dinner time was already over we sat in our camping chairs and watched them across Sage Creek moving up the valley. With the setting sun in our back the light was gorgeous .
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, South Unit, North Dakota
It was quite windy five days later up in North Dakota when we saw a smaller herd in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The bison had retrieved into a small side valley but we were able to park the car safely and tried to get some shots of these majestic animals.
Both photos: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm,
FAWNS IN THE YARD
White-tailed Deer fawn
This White-tailed Deer fawn and its sibling paid us a visit this week again. They were born this spring and we see them often along our road here in the neighborhood. I sneaked quietly onto the balcony with the camera and it took only about 300 mm focal length to get the shot. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get both in the frame at the same time. Look at its fur and you get the idea how seeds are transported from one location to the next by these little guys.
THE FERAL HORSES
Feral horses, South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
While driving on the Scenic Loop Drive in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park many visitors try to see the feral horses that live in the park. Sometimes you can watch quite a few of them and sometimes you may not be lucky at all. We spent a little time with parts of the herd again this year. Feral horses are fun to watch and there is a good chance you get carried away and make way too many clicks (oh, is there such a thing like too many clicks…? 😉).
Of course you make your safety shots that will serve as a memory, but you want to make that picture that sets it apart from the rest. I’m talking about the photo that includes a nice gesture, a background that tells the story about location, and maybe a soft light, which is not always guaranteed. The horses often stood very close together and that’s nice, but I tried to find a position with the camera where I could separate individual animals, or like in this photo a foal with its mother.
Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, @600 mm, 1/1600 s, f/6.3, ISO400
NATURE CLICKS #468 - MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD
Mountain Bluebird, Little Missouri National Grassland, North Dakota
In many locations we camped or visited during our trip there was a good chance to watch some Mountain Bluebirds. Quite often they forage from a perch, like a fence, twig, or rock. They drop down to the ground to catch insects but they also hover above their prey before they make a catch. Beside insects the bluebird takes also fruits and berries.
They like to keep their distance and many photos of Mountain Bluebirds I made during previous years had to be cropped. This female was perched on a young eastern cedar in our campground, just outside of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. The light was soft and the background far away, ideal for such an image.
Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/160 s, f/6.3, ISO250
PRAIRIE DOGS, HIGHLY SOCIAL
Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Prairie Dogs don’t know anything about today’s need for social distancing, and who want’s to blame them?. In fact, they are a highly social animal, fun to watch, and a great subject for any wildlife photographer. I like to point this out, because it is an animal ideal to work with for any camera owner, who likes to go into wildlife photography.
Since I was the first time in the Badlands about fifteen years ago we have seen a great increase in numbers of the Black-tailed Prairie Dogs. During our 2020 trip through South and North Dakota, and as well eastern Montana, we have seen quite a few prairie dog towns and most of them seem to be good locations for observation and photography. However, the easiest place on the planet for photographing prairie dogs is right at Sage Creek Campground in Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Sit in your camping chair next to your tent, maybe have an adult beverage nearby, but most importantly have the camera on eye level with the critters. Their dens are below your tent and the entrance mounds are all around your location.
At a place like that I shoot a lot of pictures, but the ones that make it to public have to tell the story about location and the typical behavior of the animal. At least one of the prairie dogs is always on the watch for predators (here the one on the left) and when they come out of the den, it doesn’t take too long before they feed or interact with each other. I always like to have the feature in my photos that gives a particular animal its name. Hence the three black-tipped tails in this photo…
STOP FOR THE PRONGHORN
Pronghorn, Badlands National Park, South Dakota
After eleven hours on the road you just want to get to the campsite, pitch your tent, and open a beer. As we entered Badlands National Park, South Dakota on the first day of the trip, this beautiful Pronghorn male stood next to the gravel road. We have been in this place many times before over the years and it felt like someone welcomed us back. You know you have arrived “Out West” when you see the first Pronghorn at close range. You gotta stop for the picture, the beer had to wait…
LOOKING FORWARD
American Bison Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, 2015
Looking forward to see one of these guys again…
WATCHING THE AIR SPACE ABOVE
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
This young hummingbird didn’t pay much attention to my presence. His attention was occupied by more than a dozen other “hummers”, who all fight for the dominance at the bird feeders that hang from our roof. I love the gesture of their little heads, tilted slightly to the side for having an eye on the air space above.