GREAT BIRDING THIS WEEKEND

Several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks finally arrived, males and at least one female. One pair may breed right here, the other ones will continue their migration to Minnesota and even parts of Canada.

It didn’t take a lot of efforts to make some photos of birds this weekend. Placing the tripod on the porch, dial in the settings for the camera and an off-camera speedlight, and just be patient, and that was all! There were new arrivals of migratory birds and some of the permanent residents posed in full breeding plumage, it doesn’t get any better. Just sit back while you start your week and hopefully enjoy this little ”spring-bird-gallery”!

Our property doesn’t have much open space that is preferred by Eastern Bluebirds. However, a male bluebird showed up twice yesterday to take a drink from one of the bird baths. I have built a nest box that fits their needs but all the House Wrens are pretty aggressive around here, and I’m not sure if the bluebird is able to take possession of the nesting place.

The first male Ruby-throated hummingbird showed up a few days later than other years. Two of them started competing about food sources and probably the one female that is here since yesterday.

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

When the Chipping Sparrows arrive we always know, spring is finally here, the snow may not come back (95% true…). The first one was seen April 11th this year. This photo is valuable for me. It’s hard to get a shot of this bird while they are not foraging in the grass and it is the first time that I have a pair of Chipping Sparrows together in the same picture.

The Northern Cardinal is a permanent resident on our bluffs above the Little Maquoketa Valley here in eastern Iowa. During the winter they stick together in flocks and we have sometimes around thirty cardinals, males and female, here. During their breeding season the male cardinals fiercely defend their breeding territory from other males. Since we still see several males flying in without fighting each other we just can assume the ”hot” phase hasn’t started yet…

BACK FROM THE SOUTH

Male Scarlet Tanager, back from the tropical forest

As you maybe saw in my blog post from yesterday, the light before sunset was just gorgeous. Well, today it was a different story. Rain clouds moved in and made the shutter speeds dropping tremendously. The speed light was employed again but had a different purpose. While yesterday it was more used as a fill flash while shooting against the sun, today I used it mainly to get some colors back from the birds feathers. I exposed for the ambient light and sent just a ”kiss” of light with the flash to pronounce the bird’s colors.

Today the first male Scarlet Tanager showed up in our woods. They spent the winter in the tropical forests of northwestern South America and have a long journey behind them when they arrive here in the Midwest. Years ago, when I saw my first Scarlet Tanager I was amazed about the beauty of this bird and I’m still impressed when I see one.

Male Baltimore Oriole

This Baltimore Oriole has already arrived three days ago, but it wasn’t before today I heard its flutelike song. They are not migrating as far south as the tanagers. The Baltimore Oriole spends the winters in Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, or the northern tip of South America (source: allaboutbirds.org).

WITH A HINT OF FILL FLASH

Male Yellow-rumped Warbler

Every new bird species that arrives here after migration from the south is greeted with cheers. While this year some species have not arrived yet, or at least have not been seen, today a Yellow-rumped Warbler landed right here above the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa Valley this evening.

One of my goals this year is to improve my wildlife photography while using a speed light. I hardly ever use a flash light as the main light source. I’m a strong believer that the ambient, natural light should give a sense of the circumstances when and where the photo was made. And of course, there is always an exception from these wishful ideas if we want to tell our story with a photo.

When we sit on our porch in the evening at this time of the year, the setting sun shines right in our eyes and every bird in the front yard is backlit. To make a click, like the photo above, requires some kind of light from the front. This is when the flash from an off-camera speed light can be used to fill in the shadows and enhance the colors.

I admit, I’m not really good working with a flash light, but today I practiced a lot with the birds that are always here. When I just thought I figured it all out, this beautiful male Yellow-rumped Warbler, in full breeding plumage, landed right in front of me and gave me a minute to work with. As you can see, the warbler is backlit, the background is absolutely gorgeous, but the bird had too much shadow and did not stand out. Well, a little hint of fill-flash can make all the difference…

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Lesser Yellowlegs, Maskunky Marsh, Iowa

The American Avocet wasn’t the only bird at the Maskunky Marsh yesterday. A number of Lesser Yellowlegs had chosen this wetland area for a rest stop on their way to the north. They breed in the meadows and open woodland from Alaska across Canada, all the way to western Quebec. The Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs are birds we see during migration quite often. The month of May is the peak time for their appearance here in Iowa. This pair didn’t care about my presence in the ”mobile blind”, of course my car, and there was a lot of action going on in the Maskunky Marsh.

Distance was again the biggest setback for the photographer and so I cropped the photos again for a decent display here in my blog.

NATURE CLICKS #558 - AMERICAN AVOCET

American Avocet, Maskunky Marsh, Mahaska County, Iowa

Business required me to travel this week in Kansas and Missouri but unfortunately the camera stayed in the bag due to the lack of time. On my way back to eastern Iowa today I finally stopped at the Maskunky Marsh, near Oskaloosa in Mahaska County. I was there only once before, in July 2021, and it was the first time that I saw and photographed Yellow-crowned Night Herons. I knew this wouldn’t happen today but my hope to find some other shore birds came true.

This migratory single American Avocet was feeding in the shallow water of the marsh. The bird is in its breeding plumage and it was the first time that I saw an avocet in Iowa. I read about occasional sightings by other birders but we are not in its breeding range, which is further west and northwest.

The American Avocet feeds by having the bill underwater and swinging it from side to side along the bottom. This way they stir up aquatic insects.

Both photos are heavily cropped, although the first one was even shot with the TC 1.4, extending the focal length to 850 mm. There was just no way to get any closer to this bird but for an important sighting, like this avocet, I gladly crop the heck out of the image. 😉

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG

FLYING IN FOR A MEAL

American White Pelicans, Green Island Wildlife Area, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

With a wingspan up to 110 inches (280 cm), the American White Pelicans make a big impression while they soar often in large flocks above our heads. Their flight is graceful and a feast for the eyes. This was only a small fraction of a squadron of about 50-60 pelicans that flew in at a lake in the Green Island Wetlands. A minute later they started herding fish in a corner of the lake. Nature at its best!

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,   @ 600 mm, 1/2000 s, f/8, ISO 1000

GUARDING THE OFFSPRING

I saw quite a few Canada Geese sitting on nests during the month of April and so it was not a surprise to see the first pairs with their offspring last weekend. This pair had obviously five little goslings while another one I saw guided only two through the waters at Green Island. The parents are extremely protective and guard their offspring very well.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,   @ 600 mm, 1/800 s, f/8, ISO 1000

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,   @ 490 mm, 1/800 s, f/8, ISO 1250

DANCE PERFORMANCE

Greater Sandhill Crane, Upper Mississippi Valley, Green Island, Iowa

It was a busy weekend, mainly with other things than photography, but today I managed to make a trip down south to Green Island. I was greeted with a ”dance” from a pair of Sandhill Cranes. They mate for life but have a dance-like performance to maintain their relationship.

During this performance one may throw plant matter with mud or sticks in the air. If you look closely at the photo above, you may see a branch flinged by the crane, visible to the right of the bird’s head. It is pretty intense, fast, and a lot of fun to watch and photograph. I knew the distance to the Sandhill Cranes would require to put the 1.4 teleconverter between the lens and camera. I didn’t have enough time to do this and shot all images in full frame mode (FX), with the intend in mind to crop the images in post processing.

It all ended suddenly. The pair of Sandhill Cranes stood for a moment motionless side by side and then moved on feeding and foraging in the shallow parts of the wetlands.

Watching a wildlife performance like this is very exciting but the best medicine to detach from the ordinary things in life for a moment… Can you agree?

NATURE CLICKS #557 - HOODED MERGANSER

Hooded Mergansers, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

I shoot a lot more than what I ever can publish here in my blog. But today I have a photo from a couple weeks ago that I really still like to share with you. Hooded Mergansers form pairs between November and January and after they migrate here from the south there is only a small time window to take a picture of male and female together. They are monogamous but ones the female starts to incubate, the male abandons her. I try it every year, often with mixed success or no results, to make a photo with both birds together. This time a pair of Hooded Mergansers gave me enough time and finally swam to an area at the pond where the background was not too much illuminated but still enough light to make the mergansers stand out. I never see the males during the summer and just wonder if they immediately move south after their part in the breeding process is done?

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,   @ 600 mm, 1/3200 s, f/8, ISO 800

WITH SUMMER PLUMAGE IN THE SNOW

Male American Goldfinch with spring molt almost completed

The photo today sums it all up how we started the day. A fresh layer of very wet snow clung to trees, flowers, and bushes while more than a dozen American Goldfinches visited our bird feeders. They are in process of changing from winter plumage to breeding plumage by a complete molt of their body feathers and most male goldfinches have their distinctive summer colors already. Yesterday evening when it started snowing I was already hoping for this photo opportunity in the morning. As you can probably tell, I was not unhappy. The snow melted away during the day and spring will continue…

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE

Black-capped Chickadee enjoying the last sun of a warm spring day

During my public presentations about wildlife photography I point out that shooting the local species, the animals we can find all year long in the area where we live, is a great starting point. It will lead earlier or later to success and encouragement for further advance with wildlife photography. Even with the most common cameras, the ones we have in our cell phones, good results are possible. With this endorsement comes always the remark, make a difference by photographing the local species in great light. Having a photograph of a very rare species in mediocre light is sometimes accepted for documentary purposes. But with the local species we should make a difference. Quite often we try to tell a story about animal behavior, about the season , about a certain gesture, or just about their beauty. Sometimes all of those together. A certain quality of light may draw the attention to a picture of a common species, the animal that everybody has seen a thousand times before, it will make the difference.

NATURE CLICKS #556 - YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER

Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

As mentioned yesterday already we had some early migrating bird arrivals this week. The first male House Wren was here eleven days earlier than 2022 and we saw a couple Chipping Sparrows, almost three weeks ahead of last years arrival date. Both species will raise their offspring here.

But the biggest surprise came yesterday when a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker showed up and visited our trees several times during the day. We are near the southern edge of their breeding range, which goes all the way up to northern Canada. The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is the only woodpecker in eastern North America that is completely migratory. We had a successful brood here in our woods in 2014 and the last time I photographed this woodpecker was in April 2018.

Sapsuckers feeding a little different than any of the other six woodpecker species we have here in the Little Maquoketa Valley. The following is a quote from the CornellLab website https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-bellied_Sapsucker/lifehistory#food :

As the name indicates, sapsuckers rely on sap as a main food source. Just like people who tap maple trees to make maple syrup, these birds drill their wells in early spring. Sapsucker wells are neatly organized, with several holes drilled in horizontal rows. The bird first drills narrow, circular wells into the tree’s xylem—the inner part of the trunk—to feed on sap moving up to the branches in early spring. Then, after the tree leafs out, the sapsucker begins making shallower, rectangular wells in the phloem, the part of the trunk that carries sap down from the leaves. This sap can be more than 10 percent sugar. These phloem wells must be continually maintained with fresh drilling, so the sap will continue to flow. Sapsuckers tend to choose sick or wounded trees for drilling their wells, and they choose tree species with high sugar concentrations in their sap, such as paper birch, yellow birch, sugar maple, red maple, and hickory. They drill wells for sap throughout the year, on both their breeding and wintering grounds. In addition to sap, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers also eat insects (mostly ants) and spiders, gleaning them from beneath a tree’s bark like other woodpeckers. And at times they perch at the edge of a tree branch and launch after flying insects to capture them in midair, like a flycatcher. Sapsuckers are also attracted to orchards, where they drill wells in the trees and eat fruit.

In my second photo you can see how the sapsucker has its bill in a hole at a tree branch, he obviously had drilled. There is also a hole visible with sap pouring out in the first image. It is to the left of the bird’s foot. You may not see that if you read this blog post on a device with a small screen. Beside being very happy about this photo opportunity I just thought it is very interesting how these woodpeckers time their migration with the arrival of spring and sap starting flowing in the trees here in eastern Iowa.

NATURE CLICKS #555 - STRIPED SKUNK

Striped Skunk moving along the banks in the Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Since last weekend we have warm weather and with it came the arrival of several bird species from the south, some of them earlier than usual. But before I get into that I like to show you a couple more photos from last weekend. After I had the kayak stored back on the roof of the car I decided to go for another round in the Green Island Wetlands, this time by car.

Pretty soon I came across this beautiful Striped Skunk, who moved quickly along the banks of the lakes and ponds. I was actually very happy because I have seen more dead skunks than living creatures here in the Midwest so far, mostly killed by vehicles. Until now there was no usable photo of a Striped Skunk in my library. I stopped several times and tried to get a shot from the side or front of the critter. The skunk knew I followed but kept moving and sometimes stopped and licked its nice fur.

Erected tail, first warning. The chemical defense system on its backside was luckily not employed!

Finally, shortly before crossing a small pond and disappearing between the reeds, the skunk stopped, turned around, and erected its tail as a warning to me. I watched this guy very closely. The last thing I wanted to happen was getting sprayed by its two highly developed scent glands, one on each side of the anus, containing the very unpleasant smelling musk. There is a reason that in Germany this animal is commonly called ”Stinktier”, which translates to ”stink-animal”.

GREAT LIGHT WORKS

Not every critter or bird is as attractive as the pelicans I had yesterday in my blog post, but they all play their role in the ecosystem of the wetlands. It took me a long time to learn that the only way to come back with a decent picture of animals, who are a little less appealing, is the presence of great light. A gray sky or a lot of glare on the water will effect the results often not in our favor. Including some colorful reflections on the water, without making them the subject of the photo, can also help to make a nice portrait of a muskrat or turtle. Paddling the kayak with the sun sitting low and from your back or the side is the most promising scenario.

This Common Muskrat swam right at me shortly after I left the boat ramp at Green Island. Muskrats eat the roots, stems, leaves, and fruits of a many water plants. Even though they are mainly plant eaters, small fish, clams or snails can be part of their diet.

To see turtles stretched out on a log in the water is very common in early spring, when they warm up in the sun. The Painted Turtle with its fine yellow lines is the most common turtle in the Mississippi. While approaching them I usually stop paddling as I get closer and let the boat just drift towards these reptiles. This extends the time they will stay on the log before gliding into the water, time that helps to fill the frame.

PEACE AND TRANQUILLITY

American White Pelicans, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Paddling with a kayak in the backwaters and wetlands of the Mississippi River is a great way for finding peace of mind. The occasional noise of a train far away on the other side of the river doesn’t take much away of the tranquillity we can find in a place like that. There is a bird that seems to know about that. Their movements are smooth, their flight is graceful, and their fishing activities are a collective effort that is effective and often executed quietly. The American White Pelican fits perfectly into a landscape as we can find it in the Upper Mississippi Valley.

While most of the ducks took off long before they came into the range of my lens, the pelicans let me come very close while I drifted slowly towards their resting place. The keel on top of their big bill tells us that we are in the breeding season. It’s not there during winter time.

A great paddle trip ended with another pleasant experience. When I arrived back at the boat ramp at Fish Lake Road in the Green Island Wetlands, I noticed that a RV camper had pulled into the parking lot. Shortly after I was out of my kayak the owner of the camper offered me to carry the boat up the ramp and later helped me to lift it onto my car. I learned that he is the owner of CrawDaddy Outdoors, an outdoor equipment store in Waverly, Iowa. Thank you Darrin, you are a real sport!

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,    @ 600 mm, 1/5000 s, f/9, ISO 640