SITTING, FLYING, SWIMMING, WALKING…

One of many Bald Eagles at the bridge across the river between Sabula, IA and Savannah, IL.

Short post today. Here are a few photos from today’s trip to different locations along the Mississippi River. 

More than fifty Trumpeter Swans shared the ice and open water at the Green Island Preserve.

Always a sure sign that spring is near, migrating Sandhill Cranes. (counted ~30 today)

Again, thousands of Greater White-fronted Geese are still around. Wave after wave flew up the Mississippi Valley and then turned west and followed the Maquoketa River. I still haven’t found out where they roost for the night.

IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR…!

Migrating Greater White-fronted Geese, Mississippi Valley, iowa

I leave it up to you to count all the Greater White-fronted Geese in the photo below. It has been a few thousands that came through the Mississippi Valley this evening within fifteen minutes around 5PM. Wave after wave flew across the Green Island Wetlands just before sunset. I don’t know where their roost for the night is this time. Other years the wetlands were used as a resting location for the night, but with a much drier location this time, the geese may have a better spot to rest. I have witnessed the spring migration of the Greater White-fronted Geese several times before, but it still sends a chill down my spine when these birds head towards their breeding grounds in the arctic regions of Canada. Nature at its best!!

YELLOWSTONE - 150 YEARS

Black bear mother with her two cups, October 2007, Nikon D200 with Nikon 80-400-D VR

On March 1st, Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, was created 150 years ago. I had the pleasure to visit the park with its beautiful mountains, over 10,000 hydrothermal features, and abundant wildlife, together with my wife Joan in 2005, 2007, and 2018. In 2005 I still used mainly a Nikon N2020 35mm film camera but played a little with a 3.2 Megapixel, Minolta Dimage Xt digital camera. At the second visit I just had started with serious digital photography and little did I know how to create an image with some impact. But it is nice to have these old images as a memory. It was interesting to see in 2018 how the National Park had changed and how the park administration tried to deal with the vast number of visitors that pour in the park every day, even in the off-season. It still remains a magnificent place to visit and to photograph. Yellowstone National Park has inspired conservation efforts around the globe since its inception in 1872 and in order to celebrate this event I pulled a few pictures from the library and like to share them with you.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, September 2018, Nikon D750 with AF-S Nikkor 70-200, f/4

Wolf watchers, Lamar Valley at Slough Creek, October 2007, Nikon D200 with Sigma 18-50, 2.8

Mammoth Hot Springs, September 2018, Nikon D750 with AF-S Nikkor 70-200, f/4

PANNING PRACTICE WITH GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS

Immature Great Black-backed Gull, Mississippi River, lock & dam #14, Le Claire, Iowa

Here are a couple more photos from my trip last weekend to lock & dam #14, down in Le Claire, Iowa. The goal was to practice panning with the Nikon Z6II and Sigma 150-600 lens attached. There is always a number of gulls around this area, mostly Ring-billed Gulls, but this time I found only three birds and they all seemed to be Great Black-backed Gulls. This is an uncommon species for this part of the country but I have photographed them before at this location and some other, more experienced birders than me, have documented their presence as well.

Gulls are a great subject for practice with the long lens. They fly often in circles and return over and over again during their hunt for fish, giving the photographer multiple chances to try different settings for the autofocus system and to find out what works best for a fast flying subject. It doesn’t matter how good the autofocus system on a new camera is, proper panning and handholding is still essential for a high keeper rate of sharp images. I could tell that I’m well out of shape. The keeper rate wasn’t bad but there is a lot room for improvement. The Mississippi was still covered with ice here in the Dubuque area yesterday. Once the ice breaks, which will be soon with the warm weather we have since a few days, the birds will move in and I hope my panning skills can improve with more practice down at the river…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,

1. photo   @ 600 mm, 1/2500 s, f/6.3, ISO 200

2. photo   @ 600 mm, 1/1600 s, f/6.3, ISO 200

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #4 - SIGNS OF SPRING?

American White Pelicans, Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #14, Le Claire, Iowa

In search for the first signs of spring I went down south today to lock & dam #14 in Le Claire, Iowa, where Interstate 80 crosses the Mississippi. Driving on both sides of the river (Iowa and Illinois) gave me different perspectives and direction of light during this road trip. Up here in Dubuque, around lock & dam #11, everything was still covered with ice. South of lock & dam #13 in Clinton, Iowa the river had mostly open water. In the distance I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of ducks and mergansers. It will become much warmer in the next few days and the ice will break shortly, means these birds will move north as the ice is in retreat.

Lock & dam #14 in Le Claire was well known over the years for being a good spot to photograph Bald Eagles during the winter months. This has changed in the last few years, due to mild winters, some loss of perching trees, and probably busy construction and other activities in the area. 

I went there for spotting a particular species of gulls, found it, and will write about in another blog post. With the relatively new Nikon Z6II I still try to learn and find out the best way to focus on fast moving animals. Gulls are one of the best subjects to practice handholding and panning with the long lens. It was a good feeling to refresh the ‘muscle memory’ for this kind of shooting today. I could tell, I’m out of shape and need a lot more practice to regain my skills.

On the way back to the car I suddenly saw the shadows of many big birds crossing in front of me. Looking up, silently about 80+ American White Pelicans soared elegantly overhead and gave me another chance to practice with the long lens. Sign of spring? You bet!

 

DOWNY / HAIRY - SIZE MATTERS

Hairy Woodpecker

They almost look alike from the distance, the Downy Woodpecker and its cousin the Hairy Woodpecker, but body size and length of their bill make it easy to distinguish one from the other species. Also their calls and vocal expressions are different. We have about seven or eight Downies here during the winter but only two of the larger Hairys. Their behavior during an approach couldn’t be more different. While I can walk up to a Downy Woodpecker feeding on a block of suet, the bird will eventually fly away when I’m within a 3 feet distance. The Hairy Woodpeckers in comparison are extremely skittish. As soon they detect a slight movement or noise, i.e. from opening the door, even 30 feet away, they will take off and fly into the trees. And that makes the photography of the larger woodpecker a much bigger challenge.

Downy Woodpecker

Both pictures were shot from an open window today. The Hairy Woodpecker flew away when I opened it, but finally returned back to “woodpecker tree #1” in the front yard after five minutes. Getting the shot of the smaller Downy was easy. They patiently wait in line when a larger woodpecker is at a feeder or they jockey with each other for the right to feed first.

The photos today give you an idea about their different body sizes. Both were shot from the same distance and are cropped to identical size. The dominant knot on the tree is the same in both pictures and helps to evaluate.

NATURE CLICKS #516 - AMERICAN KESTREL

Female American Kestrel, near Savannah, Illinois

Nine times out of ten we can see the American Kestrel perched on a utility wire. Hardly ever I see them in a tree during winter time. This female didn’t mind my presence in the car on the other side of the road and kept looking for small rodents or birds. As much as I try to keep man-made items out of the frame, taking a picture of this small falcon often includes the wire. I get it, it’s part of the story about this bird, how they hunt and use electrical wires and power poles as their favorite perch.

NATURE CLICKS #515 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

The landscape got a fresh powder coating of snow last night and it became another gorgeous, but cold winter day with lots of sun. I spent the late morning and early afternoon behind the camera and tried to take advantage of the light conditions. This male Red-bellied Woodpecker is one of my favorite subjects at the moment. The bird was almost completely in the shadow of this tree trunk, but its head got a nice touch by the sun and the red color just intensified tremendously. Light was also bounced off the snow and onto the backside of the woodpecker, taking away a little bit of the harsh contrast we often see around noon.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Nikon FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   @ 600 mm, 1/1000 s, f/6.3, ISO 200, cropped

NATURE CLICKS #514 - DARK-EYED JUNCO

Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Eastern Iowa, February 2022

There is no better winter indicator beside fresh snow, than the appearance of the Dark-eyed Junco. When they show up here, mostly sometime in December, we know, snow and cold temperatures are on their way. At the other hand, as soon we do not have this sparrow around anymore, spring might be on its way. We have a few more warmer days in the forecast this week after the temperature went up slightly above the freezing point today, and at no surprise, the juncos just disappeared. Well, that doesn’t mean they won’t come back…

I think I mentioned before in another blog post, they are difficult to photograph in low light. If their eye doesn’t have a spotlight from the sun (or maybe a flash), it just blends in with the dark head and the photo looks kinda flat. No juncos today, but this image is from last weekend when frost still dictated the weather.

Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   @ 600 mm, 1/320 s, f/6.3, ISO 200

PATIENCE REQUIRED

I don’t think we ever had so many Blue Jays here in our woods during the winter. They are very skittish and avoid being close if they are aware about a person’s presence. The trick to make the click is to stay calm, don’t move much, and just wait until these birds forget about you and come back within reach of the lens. The more difficult part in this process is to get a clean background, without a lot of branches and twigs right behind the bird. We have a lot of trees here and those spots are hard to find. As I said, moving is not an option and patience the only solution…

Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   @ 600 mm, 1/200 s, f/8, ISO 400

SLIVER OF SKY

Young White-tailed Deer, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Durango, Iowa

The sun started to disappear behind the trees on the other side of our valley and there was a nice glow on the snow yesterday evening. Joan’s call, “deer in the front yard” made me leave my desk and run for the camera. A well known White-tailed Deer doe with her two fawns showed up and checked out if any seed droppings were left below our bird feeders. It was too late to open the window without scaring them away and so I shot again through the glass. This fawn looked towards the sunset and had its ears pointed in that direction as well. I have a number of images without that sliver of sky at the top of the picture but I chose this one here. The subtle glow on the fawns fur and on the few dead leaves at the left hand side of the picture become more obvious, or make more sense, by including this small piece of sunset sky. The spot is brighter than the rest of the picture, but not bright enough to prevent the viewers eye coming back to the beautiful face of the young deer. Enjoy the weekend!

Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter,   @ 600 mm, 1/125 s, f/6.3, ISO 1000

NATURE CLICKS #513 - VIRGINIA OPOSSUM

Virginia opossum, Green Island Wetland Preserve, Iowa

I “patrolled” my favorite wetland area along the Mississippi down at Green Island this afternoon. Five different raptors were spotted, with the most noticeable a Rough-legged Hawk. None of the birds came within range of a decent photo but it was fun watching some bird action. As I was ready to go home I spotted a black dot in the distance on top of the dyke. Getting closer it was soon identified as a Virginia opossum. They do not hibernate but reduce their activities during the winter and can stay in their den for several days if it gets a bit below freezing. 

Both images: Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter

This little guy had obviously enough from staying home and was out for a walk. As I got out of the car it had nowhere to go, there was only all open and snow covered territory around. The critter took a stand, showed me its teeth briefly, and figured out feigning death, means “playing possum”, wouldn’t help either. So it waited what would happen next and probably wondered why the guy with his camera in hand got low to the ground but didn’t charge or attack. The Virginia Opossum, also known as the North American opossum, is the northernmost opossum and also the northernmost marsupial in the world. Several sources state that this animal eats 95% of the ticks they encounter and it is estimated that they eat about 5000 ticks per season. Talk about a useful animal…!

MORE TESTING, AND A COUPLE NOT SO COMMON BIRDS

Common Redpoll

We received more snow yesterday and snow removal took priority over photography. After a cold night the birds knew where to find food and water this morning and I decided to spent some time behind the camera and the glass of our balcony window. To make things even more awkward I put the 1.4 teleconverter onto the SIGMA 150-600, f/5-6.3 S lens. This was the first time that I used this piece of glass with the new Nikon Z6II mirrorless camera, extending the focal length to 850 mm. Let me talk about the performance first before we come to the birds. Even behind the double glass of the balcony door, the autofocus still worked fine at f/9 with the Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG. Yes, the pictures are a little soft, probably just due from behind the window glass, and it took higher ISO settings to nail the shots but it was doable.

Now, let’s talk about the birds. At this side of the house we have only a feeder with sunflower seeds hanging from the balcony. That draws in all the seed eaters, like cardinals, titmice, a couple Purple Finches, and dozens of House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, or American Goldfinches.

While shooting, testing, and looking at the results my excitement grew rapidly when I spotted a Common Redpoll. The only time we saw one before was seven years ago, right here on our balcony. They are actually an Arctic bird, breeding high up in the north of Canada. I just read that redpolls sleep in snow tunnels during a long arctic night to preserve body heat. Amazing! They migrate south for the winter but our area is even south of their usual winter range. However, I read reports about sightings here in Iowa every year. Not my best image but I know that some birders follow my website and I like to share my own bird sightings with them.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

The other bird I like to mention today is the Yellow-rumped Warbler. We still see between two and five females every day drinking at one of our bird baths, despite the very cold weather. They probably feed on the juniper berries that can be found here on top of the bluffs at he Little Maquoketa River Valley. The Yellow-rumped Warbler is capable of wintering further north than any other warbler. The photography, oh boy, I try really hard to make a picture without the bird bath in it. Do me a favor ladies, just jump onto the stone! 😉

USING THE NATURAL REFLECTOR AGAIN

Blue Jay, Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head

After very gray but warmer weather yesterday the sun was back today and with it the cold air. We have still a good layer of snow on the ground and it made sense to use it for some bird photography in the woods around the house. You know already how much I love how the sunlight is bounced by the snow to the underside of the birds. Yes, the birds are here for food and water but they are careful and don’t fly directly to a feeder. Sometimes they also have to wait until a bigger competitor has left. The best chance to make the click is when they perch on branches at the edge of the woods. Since we have so many birds visiting, the photographer can be choosy and aim the lens to the species with the most brilliant colors only…😉

Northern Cardinal, Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head

BALD EAGLES, LOTS OF THEM

Juvenile Bald Eagle in all its glory, probably in its 2nd or 3rd year. The bird flew by with something (little fish?) in its bill. 

Yesterday a call from my photography friend Kevin made me aware that a large number of Bald Eagles is present at lock & dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa. The Mississippi is finally frozen over almost everywhere and the eagles come south to find open water, so they can eat and hunt for fish. Below the dams is always some open water and that’s where they concentrate and strive for the best fishing spots. I estimate we saw about 40-50 Bald Eagles at and around the lock & dam in Dubuque, Iowa today. It is the highest number we have seen since quite a few years.

Adult Bald Eagle, Mississippi River, Lock & Dam #11, Dubuque, Iowa

I was excited to explore some of the new focus modes and tried to get a grip on shooting birds in flight with the new Nikon Z6II. Oh boy, the best tools can’t help you much if the handholding skills are not very well developed. I haven’t practiced panning with the long lens for quite some time, but it is an essential skill that needs practice if you want the focus lock on the fast flying subject. The focus tracking capabilities of the camera work very well, better than with any digital camera I ever owned before. If you pan very smooth and follow the subject, you can really concentrate where to position the bird in the viewfinder without loosing the focus and just decide when to press the shutter button. The new tool is great but I guess I have to practice some more and work again on my skills to have a higher keeper rate than what was produced today…

My favorite gesture of the day, the moment when the eagle went from smooth gliding into a sudden dive down.

All images: Nikon Z6II, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, FTZ adapter