NATURE CLICKS #546 - EGYPTIAN GOOSE (FIRST SIGHTING)

Egyptian Goose, San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine California

The Egyptian Goose is actually a native to Africa but according to one of the sources I consulted to learn more about this bird, it has been widely introduced to other parts of the world, like Europe and parts of the US.

Other people I met in the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary during my two visits last weekend told me that they see them around this area quite often. Geese go almost always out of your way here in the Upper Mississippi Valley, they don’t let you come too close, but this guy didn’t even lift its head when people walked by within 1-2 feet distance.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, CALUMET CK8156 tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,     @ 420mm, 1/3200 s, f/8, ISO 1000

THE EARLY MORNING BIRDS

Early morning at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, California

During all my visits to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve at the Pacific Coast in Southern California over the years it always paid off to arrive early in the morning before sunrise. First, you find a place to park the car in the very small parking lot, but more important, nothing beats the warm morning light for making pictures of birds in the wetlands if the sun shows up. This wetland is a nature gem and is surrounded by the Pacific Highway on the ocean beach side and oil wells, local roads, and expensive residential homes on all the others. A weird and somehow noisy place that faces many environmental challenges but with an abundance of wildlife.

Northern Pintail

This photo of a male Northern Pintail was made exactly at the time of sunrise but a band of clouds prevented that the story could be told that way. No warm light on this beautiful duck. Still one of the best looking ducks with a tail that gave this bird its name.

Horned Grebes in their winter plumage

Twenty minutes after sunrise time the clouds gave way and these Horned Grebes in their winter plumage were busy diving for food under water. They are much more impressive in their breeding plumage during the summer, but hey, look at this eye standing out in the killer light of an early morning! I had to make the click.

Bufflehead

I have photographed the male Bufflehead many times before here in the Upper Mississippi Valley during migration time in March / April, but never in such warm light and often not as  close to the bird as I wanted and as it is possible in the Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

NATURE CLICKS #545 - BUSHTIT (FIRST SIGHTING)

Bushtit, San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California

It all started last Friday afternoon after I was done with all my business duties in the area south of Los Angeles, CA. I headed straight to the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, a heaven for every bird and wildlife lover in the heart of Orange County. It encompasses 300 acres (121 ha) of coastal freshwater wetlands, half of it restored to a natural state, the other half is in no need of restoration (source: Irvine Ranch Water District website).

It took me only a few minutes to walk with the camera on tripod on the shoulder until I made a new ”first sighting”. The Bushtit is a tiny bird with a stubby bill and a long tail that prefers a brushy chaparral habitat. I found a little flock of about twenty birds, buzzing and moving around quickly between the flowers that grow along the trails between the ponds in the wetlands. They feed mostly on small insects and spiders. The females have pale eyes, while the males and juveniles have dark eyes.

There was no way that I would get a picture with the camera on tripod with the little Bushtits moving from one flower to the next very quickly. I tried not to move around erratically with the heavy long lens attached, so I focussed on an area and followed the birds as they moved along.

The Bushtit is only found in the western part of the US and Mexico. They are not uncommon but it was my first sighting of this tiny agile bird. Can’t asked for a better start into a birding weekend… More to come, please stay tuned….

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.