COURTSHIP DISPLAY IN THE HERON ROOKERY

Great Blue Heron, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, California

I guess you can tell that I have been away from Iowa for a few days by looking at this photo. It was about time because it has been a few years since my last visit in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and in the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, both located in Southern California.

Bolsa Chica has only a few palm trees but they were occupied by a colony of Great Blue Herons. Nest material is mostly gathered by the males and they flew in and out and came back with long branches that were added to the nests. The males did their ”neck stretching” display and performed long display calls. We also heard both, males and females, snap their bill tips together as part of breeding and territorial display. The courtship of the herons in a rookery is a great excitement to watch and photograph. More to come from last weekend, so please stay tuned…

ICY ART, WORK IN PROGRESS

The avid reader of my blog may remember that I had a project going on during the last few years, called ICY ART. A gallery of images I made over the years is on my website, just click HERE to have a look at it. This winter season I didn’t see much that was better than what has been photographed before, but finally on February 18, the shape, texture of the ice, and light came together for a new picture that will make it into the gallery. I hope you enjoy!

WON’T YOU DANCE WITH ME

Ring-billed Gulls, Mississippi River, Sabula, Iowa

The song ”Won’t You Dance With Me” with the great performance by the Detroit Cobras comes to mind when I look at the gesture of these two Ring-billed Gulls. A good reason to pull their 2001 record ”Live, Love, and Leaving”out of the sleeve and put it on the turntable (The song was actually first released in 1964 by Billy Lee and The Rivieras, aka Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels). Back to photography, I love when good light meets with a great gesture in a photo. For those who may complain about the wing hiding the face of the second gull I just like to ask, have you ever danced to Rock Music…?? 😊

NATURE CLICKS #544 - AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN

American White Pelicans, Mississippi River, lock & dam #14, LeClaire, Iowa

The American White Pelican needs open water to make a living. They feed on fish while swimming and snatch prey with their large bills. I made a trip today down south to lock & dam #14 near LeClaire, Iowa and there was plenty of open water. The ice cover of the river lasted only in quiet bays and backwaters with very little or no current. I was hoping to find Common Mergansers at the exit of the lock but had no luck. Instead a squadron of six pelicans cruised the water back and forth. They always work together as a group while trying to catch fish and it is such a pleasure to watch these majestic birds. Unlike their cousins, the Brown Pelicans, who live a long the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coast, White Pelicans do not plunge dive for food.

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

It is very easy to blow out the highlights in the pelican’s plumage when the sun is shining. I underexpose by at least 1 stop to prevent this. It’s always possible to brighten the water a little bit if you think this is necessary, but a blown out highlight is a lost cause.

LOOKS FROM A FAIRY TALE

Everybody could have made this kind of a photo here in our region today. Most of the tree branches had a thick ice cover after the ice storm during the last couple days. To include the sunburst the aperture of the lens is closed down to f/18 - f/22 and you can zoom with your feet until you have the desired position for the sun in the viewfinder. I drove a bit around today, hoping to catch some of the beauty nature provided for us, but at the end the photos I liked the best came from right here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa Valley. Our oaks were still covered with ice this afternoon but these ”looks from a fairy tale” disappeared rapidly under a powerful sun and with the help of some wind.

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 60mm, 1/500 s, f/22, ISO 100

ICE STORM (THE UPSIDE)

We are still dealing with the outcome of a big ice storm with freezing rain that hit us last night and today. I probably could host a bob sled race here in our drive way…😉  With all the negative impacts it brings for the people it also comes with a certain beauty. Nobody likes icy roads, electrical power lines down, or falling trees, but the glass-like look of tree branches bares some photo opportunities. A small adjustable LED light, set to 5000 Kelvin, was used to bring out some colors in the yew bushes that grow in front of the house.

The second photo was made on the balcony already last night when the ice cover was still growing. The power of two LED lights, that we use to illuminate the deck if necessary, comes from behind the camera. All the boards overhead that support a climbing vine plant  had this gallery of icicles. I shot this with ISO 10000, something I have never done before. The Nikon Z6II does a very good job for noise reduction in general, but of course at ISO 10000 there was noticeable noise in the picture. Since a few months I use Topaz DeNoise AI in my post-processing workflow whenever necessary for an image. The noise in this photo was most visible on the illuminated boards in the background. I’m amazed about the results, even at such a high ISO level, with no noise left and the icicles remained sharp and unaffected.

SHOOT IT NOW

Clouds and sunset over the ridge, Saint Donatus, Iowa

If there is one thing I would list above everything else I learned from studying the work of some well known or famous photographers over the years, it’s the advice, shoot it now.

Driving home the fifty-minutes-drive from the Green Island Wetlands to our home north of Dubuque, Iowa around or shortly after sunset can lead to interesting views, including clouds and of course the sun itself. The photo was made last Saturday and I pulled the car off the highway to make the click. I loved the patterns of snow below the wooded ridge, all framed by the clouds and the remaining light of the sun. It’s a private residence and the house on the slope is even in the picture, but underexposing the photo just for the highlights keeps the picture out of unwanted distractions.

A day later I drove home from the wetlands about the same time. There was again light from the setting sun, fewer clouds, but the sky was still worth a consideration for a photo. So what was the difference? Well the white stuff was almost gone and none of the snow bands on the road or in the fields were intact. It was in my books not worth to stop, the picture was gone. I’m quoting acclaimed photographer Jay Maisel: Never go back. Shoot it now. When you go back, it will always be different.

CATCHING AND DROPPING

Bald Eagle, Mississippi River, at the bridge between Sabula, IA and Savannah, IL

Nice weather again today made many people go out this weekend and look for Bald Eagles along the big river. The break-up of the ice on the Mississippi opens new opportunities for the eagles. They like to catch fish and more open water means more opportunities. There are some places along the river that the birds obviously prefer and visitors can watch a great show of performance sometimes. This adult eagle had picked up a fish from the ice that was dropped by another bird before.

This 2-3 years old juvenile had dropped a fish several times before finally claiming it. Dropping the catch often leads to a total loss because countless Ring-billed Gulls wait for their opportunity to steal a fish from the eagles.

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

ICE AND REFLECTIONS

Green Island Preserve, Mississippi Valley, Iowa

Today I was out for the fourth time this year in the Green Island Wetlands. Although it has been still cold during the nights, the warmer temperatures during the days have set the ice on the Mississippi in motion. There was a lot more open water than just a week ago and with it come the birds that move north to their breeding grounds. I saw several hundred Greater White-fronted Geese, Canada Geese, Trumpeter Swans, and lots of ducks coming through the Mississippi Valley after 4PM today.

The sun was hiding behind a thin layer of clouds and made for some interesting light. The puddles of water on the marshy fields started freezing again and reflected the light nicely. I had some shots of the birds already on the memory card and during a quiet moment changed the lens quickly and captured the landscape with ice and reflections. To keep the highlights intact the picture was underexposed by -2/3EV

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, f/4,  @ 82mm, 1/320s, f/11, ISO 100

NATURE CLICKS #543 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

It is the best time of the year to photograph woodpeckers. The lens is aimed at a male Red-bellied Woodpecker quite often, but it takes a certain quality of light to make their red head really stand out from the rest of the image. Feathers reflect light for different purposes, like for camouflage, or of course, for attracting a mate. If the ambient light is not perfect, a hint of flash, and I mean really just a hint, throws the red color of the woodpecker’s head back right between your eyes…

NATURE CLICKS #542 - DOWNY WOODPECKER

Male Downy Woodpecker

It was not very busy around our bird feeders during the last three days. Spring is not here yet but warmer temperatures made the snow from last week melting quickly and the energy demand of the birds has obviously slowed down. This may change tonight and tomorrow. Another winter storm warning has been issued. The bird we can always count on to show up is the Downy Woodpecker. Up to nine ‘Downys’ have been here at the same time while we had the last cold snap. It is a great bird to practice bird photography, even for beginners. The contrast around their eyes makes it easy to focus and get a sharp picture in comparison to many other species. While males and females stay separate in fall and early winter, they form pairs during late winter. Both sexes take turns drumming loudly on dead limbs in the trees and that sound has started already around here.

FEBRUARY SUN, LONG SHADOWS

Mississippi River, Green Island Preserve. Eastern Iowa

February sun with already long shadows from the trees at mid afternoon, over a well known and still iced over part of the Green Island Wetlands. The photo was taken from a small boat ramp we have used many times before to launch our kayaks. This is about forty miles south from our home and that short of a distance can make quite a difference how the weather impacts the landscape. Here they didn’t get by far as much snow as we did this week and a couple degrees difference in temperature can make the snow disappear much faster.

Before the Green Island preserve was separated from the Mississippi River by dikes, this was obviously all backwaters of the big river. I have photographed from this spot before and it is one of my favorite locations in the wetlands. Always liked how the lines of this channel move the eye to the horizon and how the trees follow this line.

While approaching the place I saw the cloud in the background moving fast towards the east. I was hoping it would have been a little more to the left, in the gap between the trees, but unfortunately I was too late. I’m still happy with the photo, telling the story about gorgeous winter days here in the Driftless Region of the Upper Mississippi Valley.

WINTER WONDERLAND RESTORED

The view into the valley wasn’t pretty during the last days, with the old snow from earlier this year almost gone. But a new thick layer of the white stuff poured on us again all morning. It was very wet snow and it did cling to the trees. “Winter Wonderland” restored, even if it was only for a few hours…

The deciduous forest here, without its leaves, bares a lot of distractions that often do not work for a photo very well. The chaos of branches is reduced by their snow cover, they stand out and it almost becomes a texture. Using black and white for the final image emphasizes the beauty that we saw today while looking at the trees above the valley below.

RACCOON MOON

Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

I left the Green Island Wetlands in the Mississippi Valley late last Sunday evening. My hope was to spot maybe a Short-eared Owl, which I had seen in this area before some years ago. This didn’t happen but instead the call from a Great Horned Owl echoed from the rocky bluffs that line the edge of the valley after sunset. I enjoyed it for a few minutes while sitting in the car with the windows down. Just as I was ready to leave I looked to the east and realized that I had missed the moonrise over the Mississippi River. It was still gorgeous and since the Sigma 150-600 S was still on camera, I used the long end of the lens for a compressed view across the wetlands.

I finished the book “Saga of the Sioux” just recently and learned that many civilizations, including native Americans, used a calendar based on the cycles of the moon. Some would call the one we see here “Moon of the Dark Red Calves”, others call it “Racoon Moon”. It makes sense, raccoons mate in February and amorous raccoons become especially raucous. Yep, let’s call this photo ‘Raccoon Moon’!

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