Kindergarten in the woods ;-)

 

There is a lot going on in the woods here again. Many young birds try to find their way around. The House Wrens from our second nest box left their nest finally Saturday morning. One of them found its way into our house but after five minutes I was able to catch the little guy and release him into the wild again. The male wrens are in full courtship again and try to impress a female by singing near any possible nest place. I have never seen the wrens using the same nest for their second brood and we will see what they do this year.

This is a young House Sparrow and the parents were nearby, still taking care for the offspring. It is the first time that we had House Sparrows having a nest somewhere close by.

I was happy to see five juveniles hopping around their parents on the ground today. This photo was made while a big thunderstorm moved into our area and it became quite dark. The fill flash makes the important, story telling parts standing out, the wide open beak and the eye of the young sparrow, as well the bill of its mother that stuffs the food into the throat…

(P.S.: In the first version of this blog post I said the sparrows in the last image were Chipping Sparrows. A closer look at some of my other photos made me recognize my mistake. They were all House Sparrows.)

Ready to leave the nest

 

Today the young House Wrens left their nest, at least at one of the two bird boxes we have installed for them in our front yard. Early in the morning one little wren was already outside of the box, sitting on a branch, but he may have returned later. There was a lot of calling going on by the adult wrens during the day and this happens usually when they try to lure the offspring out of the nest. This evening I saw one juvenile wren leaving the nest box and finally flying into the trees around. The mother still continued to feed the rest of the gang at least a few more times. I left home for half an hour and after my return it was quiet in the nest box. The first brood in 2014 had left the nest.

When I made the first two images this morning during a thunderstorm I had already the feeling that the young wrens were about to leave the nest soon. Didn’t know it would happen that fast. The parents will probably take care for the offspring for a few more days and than hopefully get ready for another brood. A few days ago I saw one of the males already building another nest in one of the other boxes we have in the yard and he was calling for a female’s attention like crazy…

Looking for a new generation

 

It became kinda quiet here in the woods around. We don’t see so many bird activities as just a month ago. Many species moved further north where they will spend the summer and those that are here sit either on their eggs or feed already their offspring. Maybe it just seems that there are less activities because of the lush vegetation we have here that covers the birds a lot better than in early May.

It takes sometimes a little effort to make a photo of the young birds but sometimes they just show up when you don’t expect it. In any case, approaching the offspring has to be done with utmost caution in order not to disturb them or the parents that feed the young ones.

When I was working with the Cliff Swallows a few days ago I suddenly heard something chirping right beside me. It was this young House Sparrow and I was clearly too close to the bird. I took quickly a couple shots and moved away so that the parents were able to feed the young sparrow again.

This young Red-winged Blackbird wasn’t even aware of me. I was well hidden in my car and used the long lens for this shot. Shooting out of a blind, and you know I consider the car my “mobile blind”, has the disadvantage that sometimes you can’t really change the shooting angle but in this matter I found the gap between leaves, flowers, and grass. This photo was made when the mother approached the little guy with an insect in her bill. She called it but the young blackbird just opened its bill and didn’t move.

The last one was made in the grass of an empty campsite. Two of these birds just landed in front of me while I was walking and looking for birds in the trees. I just laid down and made this eye level shot. Unfortunately I still haven’t figured out what kind of bird this is. I thought it was a young robin but back home and after looking at other pictures of juvenile robins my doubts grew. I still work on it… :-)

Trying to go beyond the ordinary pose

 

I wonder if you get bored by my little reports about some animals I follow with my camera throughout the season but at least I hope you enjoy the photos that sometimes can tell a story better than any words can do. One of the bird species I follow every year are the House Wrens that have their nest either in a bird box in our front yard or, like at the moment, in a gourd hanging from our porch. The young birds of the second brood are still in the nest and I was wondering why I saw suddenly four wrens sitting in the dead cedar branch that we use as a perch for the birds. The question was answered pretty fast when one of the adults started feeding one of them with an insect it just had caught. It was the offspring from their first brood that came "home" for a snack. Usually we never see them again after they left the nest but obviously they are still around here.

I have lots of photos from our wrens and the challenge is now to photograph them in a pose that is beyond the ordinary "sitting bird" pose. Some actions last only a couple seconds, like in the second image showing the bird scratching its neck. The other time to get the camera out is when a light situation looks promising. Early morning is a good time for it at our location.

The adult birds approach the nest every few minutes and always with food in their bills. The amount of food the young wrens eat is amazing. We still don't know how many juveniles are in the nest but I can tell you, they cry very loud as soon the adults bring another snack to the nest. Maybe that made their older siblings a little jealous and drew them back home, who knows... ;-)

Nature clicks #178 - Wood Duck - juveniles

 

If there is anything special about the first image it is just the fact that I was able to make it and as a bonus, making it with killer light. Wood Ducks are extremely shy and it is very difficult to get close to them. It was already 7PM last Saturday when I saw these three juveniles down below the levy in the water. There was obviously no mother nearby and they just stayed and tried to camouflage with the mud and algae carpet on the water surface. As good the algae and water plants might be for the ducks, they kill an image like this. Background is key for a good wildlife photo and this one looks just yucky, despite the great light on the young ducks.

I was wondering if I saw the second brood already when I watched only a few minutes later this female Wood Duck with twelve tiny ducklings swimming across another pond in the wetlands. Water fowl lives a dangerous life and many predators, from hunting birds to foxes and big fish that try to catch a young bird from down below, can have an impact of how many birds will make it into an adult life. Finally the hunting season in the fall is not helpful for some of the bird species that are in a decline anyway. It makes me sometimes sad to see that only two or three ducklings survive but I know it is part of understanding nature in its whole complexity.

Earlier in the spring this year I saw very few Wood Ducks in the Green Island Wetlands and wondered if this was the result of the dry summer with low water levels in 2012. I guess they were just hiding better than other years... ;-) I'm very happy now to see all the "Kindergarten" activities in the lakes and ponds along the Mississippi River.

Almost ready to leave the nest

 

It might be annoying for some people but I have no problem at all waking up every morning by the song and flutelike melody of the House Wrens that have their nest in a bird box just in front of our house.

They are extremely busy lately because their offspring needs a lot of food. Both parents care for the baby birds and bring grasshoppers, spiders, and caterpillars to the nest. The size of the pray becomes bigger as the young birds grow.

They stick their little head out of the hole and even if one of them had just received a meal they ask immediately for more as you can see in the third image. We don't know exactly how many baby wrens are in the nest. I have seen at least two at the same time but I believe there are at least three or four in the box. We expect them to leave the nest within the next few days and hopefully nothing will prevent them to grow up. Last year the first brood was destroyed by a raccoon. We have a another bird box behind the house and can hear the offspring of a second pair of wrens in this one as well. The frequent rain lately and the warm weather are ideal for all kinds of insects and the young House Wrens have obviously enough to eat. Beside the raccoons there is another predator around that likes to get a hold of the young birds, but this is for another post...

Nature Clicks #174 - American Redstart

 

The first image leaves no doubt about that this American Redstart is very excited about something. It was hopping under the canopy of leaves from branch to branch and changed its position constantly while calling at the same time.

But it wasn't until I saw it with this insect in its bill that I realized that it was me who was somehow in its way and obviously prevented it from going to the nest. It wasn't eating the prey but tried to deliver the food to its offspring.The last thing I want to do while making pictures is disturbing the wildlife and that's why I moved away from the spot immediately.

While retrieving from the place I tried to see where the nest location could be but didn't see any. Suddenly I saw another bird on a branch just above where I just stood before. It was only slightly bigger than a hummingbird. And this was the answer to the question why the male American Redstart was acting almost in panic. It tried to feed the young bird right above me.

I have seen this warbler species a few weeks ago for the first time at a different location but haven't been able to make any good pictures. This time I followed the hint of a friend and went to the Mines of Spain, a popular recreation area south of Dubuque, IA. It will definitely make it into my Iowa Wildlife Gallery. You can click on the link in the sidebar if you haven't been there yet... ;-)

News from the Great Horned Owl and talk about quality of light

 

Both photos were made about the same time, 7pm, just a day apart from each other. Yesterday we had ideal weather conditions for bird photography in Mud Lake Park at the Mississippi River. Almost no wind and warm and crisp sun light. The only problem was the little owl who did not cooperate with me. It hardly peeked out of the nest and most of the time the eyes were covered by some of the sticks from the nest. Just seconds before the last sun was on the nest it came up a little higher and I was able to make a clean shot as you can see here.

Today was totally different. The great news is that the juvenile owl was outside of the nest and was sitting in a neighbor tree. Making a picture was quite a challenge. Strong wind moved everything. The branches were shaking, the feathers of the owl looked like in a wind tunnel, and the light just sucked because dark clouds were moving in. What a difference the quality of light and a little more wind can make!

It is amazing how big this juvenile Great Horned Owl already is. I learned from a retired lady, who is at the nest more often than me and who made photos of the owl as well, that the bird was born in March. As you can see pretty soon the leaves will be out and I wonder if it will be even possible to get an unobstructed view to the bird. The trees are at the edge of a small campground and the season started today. It isn't a busy place but I hope the birds will tolerate the increase of traffic.

Nature clicks #146 - Great Horned Owl

 

Circumstances that were not in my favor prevented me from sharing last Sunday's big thrill with you earlier. After more than eight years living here in Eastern Iowa we discovered for the first time a nest of the  Great Horned Owl. We have heard the hoots of this big owl many times before, especially during their mating time in November-December, but we saw it only ones, and only as a silhouette in a moonlit night. The Great Horned uses abandoned nests of other hunting birds and the one I found near the Mississippi was the nest of a Bald Eagle. First I saw briefly a young bird on the nest and was already happy because I thought it was a young eagle. Can you imagine my excitement when I discovered the adult owl in the nest after getting a little closer?

Here is the warning. All images are heavily cropped, and I mean heavily. This is something I usually try not to do with my wildlife photographs. So please bear with me and the quality of the photos I like to show you today. I spent several hours near the nest. The juvenile was mostly hiding in the nest but the adult kept an eye on me the whole time. It was very windy and the owl's ear tufts were always in motion. Ones in a while the young owl would climb up to the rim of the nest and I tried to capture those brief moments.

After a while the adult took off towards the Mississippi and I didn't see it again that day. The juvenile Great Horned Owl spent most of the next three hours in the safety of the nest, not visible for me. The light became really good in the late afternoon and I was just hoping for another moment while patiently waiting. Well, the little owl didn't do me the favor. Clouds moved in and I just called it a day. And then everything happened very fast. I had packed my tripod, the camera was stored in the car already, and suddenly the sun hit the big tree for a short moment. I looked back and there was the owl, peeking over the rim of the nest. Damn, not enough time to get the tripod set up again. I just took the camera and fired three shots before the little owl disappeared again. And those were the shots with the best light all day long...

P.S.: I went back this evening and the young owl was peeking again over the edge of the nest. Can you tell I'm thrilled about my latest wildlife encounter....? :-)