As expected the water in the Green Island Wetlands along the Mississippi has dropped to the lowest level I have ever seen it. Many of the smaller ponds and canals beside the gravel roads are totally dried out. Only the larger ponds have still some water left. Needless to say that water fowl is not present at all, except for a family of Wood Ducks that I saw far away. Some egrets and herons still try to feed in the mud and shallow puddles where water is present.
I drove my usual loop to check the situation and to learn what animals make the best out of these very dry conditions we have here in Iowa at the moment. I saw a raccoon mother with five young ones feeding in the water that was left in one of the larger ponds. Unfortunately they were too far away for a photo that can be shown here.
Even this time I did not come back from the wetlands with an empty memory card. I had a very good opportunity to make an image of another flycatcher. The Eastern Kingbird was posing for me and I grabbed my chance and shot a nice series of pictures. After they catch an insect they do not always return to the same perch but twice I was lucky enough to put the glass on the kingbird in front of a decent background. I only had to clone out a small branch that stuck into the frame from the side but this is an easy task in the post process at home.
Despite all the dried out mud around, you can still find some beauty in the landscape. The water lilies are in full bloom and the big patches are always good for a picture.