A SYMBOL OF THE NORTHWOODS

Common Loon, Beers Lake, Maplewood State Park, Minnesota

Two fantastic paddle trips are already behind us . We had great opportunities to watch and listen to birds, often in our campsite, were we use the Merlin App to identify them even if we can’t see the birds high up in the canopy of the trees. On the water I’m always thrilled to see the Common Loons, the Minnesota state bird, and we saw them and heard their distinctive calls on almost every lake so far. I have been in Norway, Sweden, and Finland many times and it is easy to understand why so many Scandinavians have settled in Minnesota after they came over to America years ago. The glacier shaped landscapes with thousands of lakes and dense forests are very similar in many parts of the country and the settlers must have felt right at home.

I have been brave despite Beers Lake was a little choppy yesterday and took the camera and long lens with me in the kayak. Well, I forgot to take the teleconverter off but that turned out not to be a bad thing with and 840 mm focal length allowed to fill the frame quite often with the beautiful Common Loons.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x…@ 840mm, 1/1250s, f/9, ISO 1000

TALKING ABOUT THE ”CUTENESS FACTOR”

Double-crested Cormorant, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Eastern Iowa

Let me start with some thoughts before I come to today’s image. In the Dubuque Camera Club we participate in monthly competitions with other camera clubs in different categories with our photos each month. We also have the duty of judging a competition quite often. In the month of May it was for the ”Nature” category, means wildlife, flowers, or anything else that falls under the umbrella of nature. This is all good and helps many beginners and advanced camera owners to become better photographers.

Over the years, since I’m a member of the club, I made an observation that still keeps me wondering. Nobody can win a competition if the subject doesn’t have a certain ”cuteness factor”. For example, if you post a real blurry photo of a cat (I mean house cats, lions, tigers, you name it…), not even very well composed, and as boring as a piece of wood in the bright sun, sometimes it still may be judged higher than a tack sharp, well composed, and properly exposed picture of a beautiful snake. It doesn’t matter anymore if the story a photo can tell is good, when the ”cuteness factor” kicks against it. I understand, it’s all subjective and the three judges never have an easy job to find a fair winner. It just still amazes me what role the ”cuteness factor” can play how we can feel about a photo.

So, here we have a Double-crested Cormorant and I know this bird is considered by some people as ugly. I guess the ”cuteness factor” may be ”a bit” less than i.e. for the Great Egrets I posted yesterday. However, this very adaptable bird is an elegant diver, swimmer, and flyer an I personally think they just look great. Due to their black plumage, making a well exposed photo is often a challenge.

The Double-crested Cormorants have a home in the Green Island Wetlands during the season with open water and they are abundant. I see them quite often, but making a photo without cropping the picture to death seems to be not so easy. It was the first time this very skittish bird was within the range of the lens and in decent light. I admit, the ”cuteness factor” doesn’t play a role in my wildlife photography. All animals need our utmost attention for their protection in their still shrinking habitats.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x

DIFFERENT PREY

Great Egret, Upper Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

The Great Egrets in the Green Island Wetlands have no problems to find and catch food at this time of the year. The metamorphosis from a tadpole to a frog was not yet completed for the prey the egret had in its bill, but I can see the legs of the frog already in a different photo of this shooting sequence.

Tadpoles or frogs were not the only items the Great Egrets had on their menu this afternoon. Another one caught a young Northern Pike and gobbled it down into its throat within a few seconds. The interesting thing to observe was the behavior of the egret after it had the fish in its beak. The Great Egret was smart enough to know that it can loose the pike during the attempt to swallow it and the bird just jumped onto the shore where it could pick up the fish again if the prey was accidentally dropped.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x

SCOUTED A NEW LOCATION

Dickcissel, Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge, Pine Creek Unit

I got this tip from Mike, a gentleman I met last week at Mud Lake below the two nesting towers that are provided for Purple Martins. It turned out that he monitors not just these two towers, but some more at other locations in the area. Pretty soon we had a very good conversation about birds and nature habitats. Mike told me about the Pine Creek Unit of the Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge and mentioned it as a good birding location. This area is located near Colesburg, Iowa, actually not very far from here, but I didn’t know about it. Thank you again Mike!

Orchard Oriole, male in its 1st summer

Well, yesterday I checked part of it out and although I spent only an hour and a half in this habitat with grassland, brush thicket, and forest, I had quite a few bird encounters and came back even with some photos. Be forewarned, there are not really any trails or roads in this area and I would recommend hiking boots and a good look at the map by the kiosk in the small parking lot at the end of the road.

American Tree Sparrow, this was a surprise for me since I have never seen them here except during winter time. Their breeding grounds are in Alaska and northern Canada.

NATURE CLICKS #607 - EASTERN MEADOW VOLE

Eastern Meadow Vole, Mud Lake Park, Mississippi River, Eastern Iowa

They look like a mini beaver without a flat tail with their thick fur, but this one was just the size of my fist. They are pretty common but still not seen very often by many people.

I was actually out for a certain bird species in the Mud Lake area along the Mississippi River but didn’t get the shots I had in mind. While walking on a new trail through an area of prairie vegetation that has been planted by the Dubuque County Conservation Board only a few years ago, I discovered this Meadow Vole. It didn’t seem to be bothered by me at all and continued chewing on fresh grass stems while I just walked by. The photo could have been made with any of my lenses but I had only the Nikkor Z600 , f/6.3 with me during this little exploration hike. For a picture like this the minimum focal distance of this lens of about 4 meters can become a disadvantage. It’s not difficult to get a sharp image, but I had to step back and at the end had to crop the photo to get you this intimate environmental portrait of this small critter.

MANY NESTING ACTIVITIES

Eastern Bluebird. The male observes the neighborhood in a nearby tree before he brings food to the nestlings.

There is a lot going on in the woods and the nest boxes around here. Hard to follow it all with equal attention.

The Eastern Bluebirds in the nest box have hatched a few days ago. I had a brief look into the box but wasn’t able to see how many nestlings came out of the five eggs because the nest is very deep. Time will tell. Both parents are feeding vigorously and bring caterpillars, spiders, little worms, and moths to their offspring every few minutes. I saw the male still catching insects tonight at 8:45PM . It’s a hungry bunch!

Female American Robin preparing a new nest

Yesterday a female American Robin was building a new nest in a tree just across from my office window. It might be even on top of a first nest that most likely was built at the end of April already. With other words, they work on the second brood already. The female collected very quickly dried grass and other plant material and glued it together with wet dirt from underneath a bird bath. After dropping the grass in the nest the robin rigged it with her feet and it looked like she was trampling it in place. The male watched the surrounding area and chased everyone away that came close to the nest. I saw him a couple times going after the bluebird.

Male House Wren inspecting a nest box.

The tiny male House Wren still sings his heart out to attract a female to one of the nest boxes we provide for them since many years. Once in a while he inspects one of the nesting chambers and the photo was made when he came out of the hole. As I said before, hard to follow all nesting activities at this time of the year…

All images: Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,   @ 840mm,

NATURE CLICKS #606 - BOBOLINKS, READY FOR THE NESTING SEASON

Male Bobolink, Technology Park, Dubuque, Iowa

Bobolinks have one of the longest migration routes. They spend the winter in Bolivia, Paraguay, western Brazil, or northern Argentina. They breed in grassland habitats and it is important that the grass is not mowed during the breeding time. This happened unfortunately here in the Dubuque, Iowa area in one of the habitats in 2023, due to human ignorance. The Bobolink is one of the few songbirds that undergo two complete molts each year. After breeding the male changes to a more drab and camouflaged plumage.

I found at least 4 male Bobolinks today and saw briefly even a female in the grass of the Dubuque Technology Park. The Dubuque Audubon Society has worked with the city so that mowing in the undeveloped lots takes place only outside of the nesting season. Signs around these areas inform the public about this natural treasure. Other bird species can be present as well and toady I saw American Robins, an Eastern Meadowlark, Barn Swallows, Red-winged Blackbirds, and an Eastern Kingbird.

I made a number of shots while standing or kneeling at the edge of the grassland lots but the distance to the birds was a little bit too far for a pleasing photo. Later I parked the car with the driver side against the curb and shot both photos from my ”mobile blind”.

WARBLERS, GREAT SUBJECT FOR TESTING

American Redstart, Bankston County Park

Just back from a business trip I had the desire to go out and look for some wildlife yesterday evening . The steep and wooded river valley in Bankston County Park has been a good spot many times before and in the month of May there is often a good chance to get some warblers in front of the lens. Both species I found will probably breed in this area and there was a lot of calling going on.

It was the first time I didn’t bring the tripod and relied completely on my handholding capabilities and the amazing focus system of a new Nikon Z 6 III. It was very windy, even in the valley, and these little birds never seem to hold still, but I had a good number of sharp shots I could choose from for this blog post. I have used the new Z6 III since two weeks now and all I can say is, I’m very impressed with its focus system after extensive testing with the long lens and the teleconverter attached.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z TC-1.4x,   @ 840mm

Yellow Warbler, Bankston County Park area

ON GUARD

Eastern Bluebird, female

Eastern Bluebird, male

This was nine days ago and I knew there were at least five eggs in the bluebird nest box. It was a warm evening and even the female spent time away from the nest, certainly returning for the night later. Both parents were frequently perched in a tree that still had some gorgeous sunlight not far from the nest and they had always an eye on it. The bluebirds obviously avoided to draw attention to the location of the nest. This all made for a good photo opportunity with the long lens and the teleconverter attached, so the parents were not concerned about my presence in the backyard.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z TC-1.4x, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2025 #4 - ON THE RIVER AGAIN

Spotted Sandpiper, Mississippi River, Mud Lake area

Yesterday morning I paddled into the main channel of the big river, following a Spotted Sandpiper that never seemed to stand still for a moment. The wind added some dynamic to the fast flowing water. I didn’t expect that the vegetation and probably some algae along the shore had such an impact on the colors reflected from the surface of the river, giving it a warm touch. Of course, I take that for a photo that is a little different…

Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S,    @ 600mm, 1/1250s, f/9, ISO 1000, image slightly cropped

NATURE CLICKS #605 - BALTIMORE ORIOLES

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x.   @840 mm, 1/1000 s, f/9, ISO 1250

At least a dozen orioles are frequent visitors in our yard since a few days. We have orange halves out there as a food source and they pull the fruit pulp out of them, although it seems they like the also provided grape jelly even better.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x.   @840 mm, 1/1600 s, f/9, ISO 1250

RISKY PLEASURE

We made another paddle trip by kayak in the Mud Lake area on the Mississippi River yesterday evening. The water level of the big river was a little bit higher than two days earlier and as a result I saw only one sandpiper. But there is always something to find in this ever changing ecosystem of the Upper Mississippi Valley. Before we even saw them we heard the incredible noise from dozens of American Toads that had started their mating  time.

Having probably only one thing in mind some of the frogs didn’t pay the attention to their environment they should have. While I still tried to find the best position with my kayak, two Northern Water Snakes took advantage of the frogs desire for some pleasure and their drive to mate and snatched them off from the driftwood logs in the mud. One snake disappeared immediately in the water and made it to land quickly. The other one slipped over the log quickly and all what I got in my picture is the head of the snake and the legs of the toad sticking out of its mouth.

Well, this didn’t stop all the other males to continue to attract the females with their loud high-pitched trill. They produce their characteristic calls by using a combination of their lungs, vocal cords, and a vocal sac to amplify the sound.

Good time, good times!

All photos: Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S

NATURE CLICKS #604 - A SECRETIVE RAIL, THE SORA

Sora, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

Shooting from a kayak leads to perspectives that are otherwise hard to obtain. I have photographed the very secretive Soras before from land and it seems they always disappear behind some reeds or bushes when you have them in the viewfinder. It can drive you crazy. However, the Sora is the most widespread and abundant rail in North America. While they search for food and move along the shore it is often hard to follow them. Being on the seaside in a boat makes it a lot more visible where they might go next and allows to predict a good opportunity for a shot a little bit ahead of time.

Soras rake often floating vegetation in the water with their feet or use their bill to move plant material and find insects, mollusks, snails, seeds or aquatic invertebrates. Yesterday I found three of these very beautiful rails in the backwaters of Mud Lake. The one in the picture below took actually a bath and frolicked in the shallow water for several minutes. What a show!

NATURE CLICKS #603 - DUNLINS ON THEIR WAY TO THE ARCTIC

Dunlins, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa

I really wanted to go back to the Mississippi River this afternoon and try to shoot from the kayak again. It was a good idea since I saw birds we haven’t spotted yesterday. The highlight were two Dunlins in full breeding plumage, who were definitely on their journey from the cost of the Gulf of Mexico or Florida to the arctic coast in Canada. This is a bird easy to identify with their black belly patch. They didn’t pay too much attention to my presence and didn’t stop to probe and jab in the shallow water or mud along the shore at Mud Lake on the Mississippi River. I have seen them a few times at the Green Island Wetlands further south during recent years, but always very far away. Today I finally had a real photo opportunity here in Iowa for the first time and I had a hard time to decide which photo to post here in the blog.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2025 #3 - OPENING THE SEASON

After taking many pictures of Greater Yellowlegs during this spring season I finally found a Lesser Yellowleg within the reach of the lens.

Today we used the nice weather with mild temperatures and sun and opened the paddle season. The kayaks were launched on the Mississippi River in the backwaters of Mud Lake, only a few minutes away from home. What was supposed to be a short trip became an all afternoon journey with lots of wildlife encounters. I have written here before how much I love to shoot from the kayak because of the ability to have the lens real low above the water, much better than driving by car on top of a dyke. Beside the usual suspects, like egrets, herons, geese, ducks, pelicans, and muskrats, we watched three different sandpiper species, a number of eagles, and even heard the Sandhill Cranes in the reeds.

All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S

Many Painted Turtles had climbed on driftwood logs and used the sun to warm up after a long winter season.

This adult Bald Eagle had just eaten something, probably a fish, and didn’t seem to be bothered by me drifting by with my kayak. Six or seven other eagles were nearby, maybe hoping to pick up some leftovers.

If this Solitary Sandpiper plans still to reach the breeding grounds in the northland regions of Canada, it better gets on its way for the rest of the long distance. They spend the winters from central Mexico to South America.