A view I never get tired of, the swivel railroad bridge in Dubuque, Iowa. I made the picture a week ago, when the bridge was open for the barge traffic on the Mississippi River. A “spot light” by the low sitting sun onto the swivel part of the bridge, combined with some lovely clouds, made me push the shutter release button. The photo is pretty much what I saw, with just a little bit of dodge and burn at the cloud reflections on the water. This slight touch in post process reveals what I really had in mind when I took the photo. I know, this classic view has been photographed by many before, including myself. I just couldn’t resist to add another picture… 😉
TODAY’S SURPRISE
White-tailed Deer, Little Maquoketa Valley, Eastern Iowa
Joan and I, we both have seen this young buck recently. We probably know this particular White-tailed Deer since it was a little fawn and watched it visiting our front yard together with its mother and another sibling before, especially during winter.
I went over to a neighbor property today, trying to identify a bird we heard screaming many times before. We had our guesses, but were never totally sure what it was. Today I saw it, and I’m able to confirm that it is a Red-tailed Hawk. The parents and its offspring scream across the valley. I call discoveries like that good news!
While walking back to the house I suddenly became aware of a movement along the edge of the woods. There he stood! The light overall was kinda harsh, but with a dense area of forest in the background, this didn’t play much of a role.
I have photographed does and and fawns of White-tailed here on top of the bluffs at the Little Maquoketa Valley, but having a buck like this in front of the lens is not an every day occurrence. Soon this buck will shed the velvet on its antlers and participate in the rut. I hope to see him again!
MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2022 #5 - LIFE ON THE DRIFTWOOD
Ring-billed Gulls like to rest on a long log in the water. You can tell by its color that it is a preferred place. The gull’s social behavior is fun to watch and if you wait long enough, they let you get really close.
I always looked for driftwood, often big trees, that stranded somewhere in the mud during our recent paddle trips with the kayak on the Mississippi River. These logs are a potential place where birds can perch or other animals, like muskrats or turtles enjoy a bath in the sun or just eat.
Background is everything for telling the story of a critter in its habitat. Getting a good background is not always easy while moving in a kayak but it can be very rewarding if the approach is thought through and timing, direction of light, and the acceptance of our presence by the animal come all together.
A young Hooded Merganser enjoyed the last sun before it disappeared behind the bluffs of the river valley. I tried to get close enough to separate the bird from a bunch of gulls sitting on the same log. Water lilies in the background give a sense of place without much explanation.
An old mossy tree root that has been a long time in the river already is the perfect place for a sun bath for this Painted Turtle. The water of the Mississippi main channel is far enough away for a nice blurred background.
With no water in the background the attention goes directly to the birds. The perspective from below eye level of the gulls and great light make this photo a keeper for me.
The same American White Pelican I showed you already a few days ago. Not the most exciting gesture but driftwood and bird are kissed by “killer light” of the setting sun.
All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S
NATURE CLICKS #526 - RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
Here is a couple more pictures of yesterday’s photo session. I believe the first is a male juvenile, too young for having already a ruby-red throat. Their appetite is not less than that of an adult bird and they feed on the same flowers as the butterfly I showed you in my last blog post. It was shot with the same setup and a little flash helps again to reveal the colors.
This is the dominant male, “the bully”, who likes to perch in a small maple, just next to a hummingbird feeder between the flowers. He will chase everybody away who comes close to that feeder or any flowers nearby. Hummingbirds are very protective of their territory and use a series of vocal declarations or visual displays to scare any intruder away. I chose this photo for the hummer’s gesture, with one of the feathers in the bill after he had cleaned and preened his plumage.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, 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 @ 600 mm
SUMMER AT ITS BEST
Giant Swallowtail
Pleasant temperatures allow for all kinds of activities at the moment. I spent some time this afternoon at the flower garden in front of the house. Plenty of hummingbirds are frequent visitors, but wait, this is for another blog post.
It seems the number of large butterflies is lower this year, but let’s wait until August is over before I may give a final verdict. At least this Giant Swallowtail gave me a number of opportunities today. It feeds on the purple coneflowers with very fast wingbeats and in the past I tried to make this kind of a picture with the 150 mm macro lens. Since I was actually out for the hummingbirds, the Sigma 150-600 was on camera and that allows much better tracking of a fast moving butterfly in the viewfinder. A few clouds made for quick changing light conditions and so I used the Nikon SB800 speed light with the MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender to add a hint of light for boosting colors, in particular when the sun disappeared for a minute.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, 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 @ 600 mm, 1/160 s, f/8, ISO 640
NATURE CLICKS #525 - AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN
American White Pelican, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa
The weather is just right for spending time on the Mississippi River in a kayak during the evenings. A couple days ago I came across this solitary juvenile American White Pelican. Usually a larger group roosts far away, almost on the other side of the river, but this lonely guy was perched on a log right next to the entrance of the marina at Mud Lake. The bird let me come very close but kept an eye on me while I was drifting carefully around it, trying to get the sun behind my back. I shot a lot of pictures with different backgrounds but this photo was my final choice, where good light, background, and gesture of the pelican came all together in the frame.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/800 s, f/8, ISO 200
NATURE CLICKS #524 - BLACK TERN (FIRST SIGHTING!)
Black Terns, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa
If this was a species I have photographed before or a very common bird, I would not show you this backlit picture, which definitely lacks some sharpness. BUT, this was the very first time that I even saw a Black Tern. Another first sighting for me! Joan was already back at the boat ramp in the marina at Mud Lake Park with our dog Cooper and unfortunately missed it. When I paddled back upstream to the marina I saw these four terns flying overhead. Hard to make a click with fast flying birds while in a kayak on choppy water. To my surprise they suddenly landed on the roots of a big tree trunk that had drifted into the mud near the shore of the Mississippi River. This is the best of the four clicks I was able to make before the Black Terns took off to the sky again. I went back to the river for another trip with the kayak this evening but none of the terns was present. I guess I had a lucky day yesterday… More to come, please stay tuned.
NATURE CLICKS #523 - FOSTER’S TERN
Foster’s Tern, Mississippi River, near Mud Lake, Iowa
Despite a stiff breeze it was a perfect day for a paddle trip with the kayaks on the Mississippi River this afternoon. It wasn’t the first time that I saw a Foster’s Tern just outside of the marina at Mud Lake but it is a bird we don’d see very often. The tern was in good company with a number of Ring-billed Gulls. They all enjoyed resting in the sun on this massive log that was stranded in the mud. The diet of a Foster’s Tern consists mostly of fish, but they also do not reject insects, small crustaceans, mollusks, or frogs. They catch fish at the surface or by plunging into the water from a perch or a hover.
The challenge was to isolate the bird from the rest of the bunch for this photo. The water was a little choppy and that’s when image stabilization in camera or lens really helps to get a sharp shot. I had to paddle into a field of water lilies in order to get between the sun in the west and the bird.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/1250 s, f/8, ISO 200, image slightly cropped
Big patches of water lilies in full bloom along the shore of the mighty Mississippi
ANOTHER ROUND OF PRACTICE
Vaught F4U Corsair and P-51 Mustang shortly after takeoff
Yes indeed, I went back to the Dubuque Airport this morning again and practiced handholding again with the Nikon Z6II and Sigma 150-600 attached. The pilots as well went out for some more rounds of practice for the 2022 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which will start on Monday. The humidity had increased and it seemed a little more hazy than the evening before, but unfortunately there were very few clouds to the west that would make for a little drama in the background. I tried to make up for this and included a bit of the horizon line behind the runway for this photo.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/160 s, f/16, ISO 100, image slightly cropped
T-6 TEXANS IN TOWN
Two T-6 Texans after takeoff at the Dubuque Regional Airport
The engine noise of T-6 Texans, P-51 Mustangs, and other historical planes filled the air during the last few days and reminded us that the world’s biggest air show starts next week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. A number of these aircrafts come every year to the Dubuque Regional Airport to train prior to the show. I tried my luck and went out to the observation deck at the airport this evening. At the end I had really just one good opportunity to bring a few Texans into the viewfinder of the camera and it was only this shot, with some great clouds in the background, that I liked. My panning technique is not up to par and the keeper rate was accordingly low. Maybe I should go back tomorrow if it is not too hazy…?
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 400 mm, 1/160 s, f/18, ISO 100
SURPRISES
Male Baltimore Oriole
It’s always nice to see some birds that don’t visit us every day. During the first days in May we always celebrate the arrival of some Baltimore Orioles. Some just stop here to feed on orange halves during their migration and others have their breeding grounds here in eastern Iowa. As the summer gets closer we don’t see them much anymore because they are busy raising their offspring and are found mostly higher up in the canopy of the trees. This year we didn’t really hear any and thought none of them had a nest nearby. To my surprise a few days ago this beautiful male oriole just showed up and checked out our front yard. I guess they are around somewhere here…
Juvenile male Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Only fifteen minutes earlier two juvenile Rose-breasted Grosbeaks came to the seed feeders. We probably saw their parents every day but it is good to know that a new generation has left the nest. Good times!
CARING BLUEBIRDS
Most of the time the parents call from different locations, either in nearby trees or from the top of the nest box. When both of them sat at this branch, it was only a question what bird to focus on. The female with an insect in its bill was the right choice.
The young Eastern Bluebirds in the nest box at my photography friend Kevin were almost ready to leave three days ago. I’m thankful that he called me and I still had a chance to take some pictures of the parent birds while they tried to lure the offspring out of the nest. Luckily they left not before the next day. It was a great setup with a small branch carefully placed not far from the nest box. Both parents waited sometimes several minutes with some food in their bill and quietly called the four nestlings.
The colorful male bluebird calls and lures with a little grub.
I used the 1.4 teleconverter, extending the focal length to 850 mm and allowing me to keep a safe distance to the nest. We did this last year at a different location in Kevin’s yard with the blue sky as a background. This year the green background of vegetation works actually much better for bluebirds and as a result I had a very high keeper rate. Thank you Kevin for arranging a great photo opportunity again!
The female is not as colorful but obviously found the bigger piece of food for the nestlings, a good size grasshopper.
All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, 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,
ANOTHER DAY, DIFFERENT CLOUDS, BIGGER MOON
Not as many clouds as the day before yesterday evening but beauty everywhere. When I took a series of shots at this scene I thought already, the cell phone tower behind the barn has to go away in post process. To be honest, I do not like too many “contemporary” elements in my landscape photos. But back home at the computer I changed my mind for this image. The waxing moon was at 68% last night, 11% more than the day before, and the tall tower points exactly at it and kinda leads the eye there.
SKIES IN JULY
Eastern Iowa, quite often hot and humid in July, but always a chance for great clouds between thunderstorms and the next hazy moment…
NATURE CLICKS #522 - BROWN SNAKE (STORERIA DEKAYI)
Brown Snake, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Heritage Trail
It was getting dark when we returned to the car from a little walk with our dog Cooper this evening. We had chosen a quiet section of the Heritage Trail for our hike, a little bit up in the valley, to keep the dog away from any firecracker noise that is part of the celebrations for Independence Day. Most dogs do not like this kind of noise…
Joan discovered this small Brown Snake on the trail. They are a nonvenomous species and prefer woodlands like we have them here in eastern Iowa. Years ago we had no problems finding this and other species in our woods but during the last few years we hardly see any. I wanted to document this not so common find and cranked up the ISO to 2500 and still shot only with a shutter speed of 1/30s. This is when vibration reduction in camera or lens becomes a useful feature. It helped that the snake went into a defensive pose while we took a few pictures. We kept the stress to a minimum and guided the critter off the trail with a stick. Luckily nobody came at the time of dusk anymore, but a bicycle accidentally driving over it wasn’t a good perspective for this beautiful Brown Snake…