Nature clicks #238 - Killdeer (on the nest)

 

This isn’t my first image of a Killdeer sitting on eggs but it is definitely the one I always wanted to make. Will talk about this later.

This is in a corner of a big parking lot in the Green Island Wetlands but these birds love to lay their eggs there since I started watching them several years ago. It makes me always very nervous watching this, even if the parking lot is not busy this time of the year. It is mainly used for the trucks and boat trailers during the duck hunting season in the fall. However, beside me other people come out there to watch birds or to fish and it is easy to destroy the eggs without even knowing it.

Quiet often one of the adult birds tries to lure you away by running in a different direction or by sitting in an empty spot and pretending to be on the real nest. This one wasn’t moving and when I approached the bird carefully it lifted its body up and I was able to snap a picture and saw at least two eggs underneath the Killdeer.

The key for the photo was to put the belly down on the gravel and support the lens with a foam roll (“boat noodle”) that I use usually as my support on the car window. I remembered that the background was always the biggest problem with my older pictures and I crawled around the bird until I found the position where I acquired a liking for background and direction of light.

Nature clicks #94 - Killdeer sitting on three eggs

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

Two weeks ago I finished my post "Nature clicks #88" with the words, "I know I still have some work to do with the wonderful Killdeer…". This was due to the fact that I still didn't have the photo of a Killdeer that was more than a simple documentary shot. Last Sunday I made many pictures of a couple Killdeer sitting in a particular spot in the parking lot of the Green Island Wetlands. I thought they were just pretending to sit on a nest site in order to lure me away from the real nest. I was totally wrong. Today one of the Killdeer was still sitting in the same spot. They actually don't built really a nest, they just use a depression in the ground to lay their eggs.

You may ask, how did you find out that it was their real nest site? The Killdeer walked briefly away and I had a glimpse into the little hollow. Wow, I saw three Killdeer eggs! I snapped quickly a few shots and left it alone. The last thing I wanted to do is to disturb the birds while they are breeding. The nest is in the parking lot and I'm now afraid someone may just drive over it without even knowing…

Nature clicks #88 - Killdeer, but just good for my own documentation

I wrote about that I didn't like any of my Killdeer shots from last Saturday and about what the problem was. A friend of mine asked me, are they really that bad? Ok, here is one of them (and believe me, it's one of the better ones). It shows you how bad a background can become if you shoot into the mud from above. In addition there is some glare on the mud that isn't helpful either. Yes, it is acceptable as a documentary shot for my own library about Iowa wildlife but it will definitely not make it into my portfolio. ;-)  I know I still have some work to do with the wonderful Killdeer…

Bird migration - new arrivals

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

This photo gives you maybe an idea what problems the photographer had to face in the Green Island Wetlands today. First, the wind was blowing very strong and even shooting from a car wasn't easy. The wind was shaking the car quite hefty and my keeper rate for sharp images dropped below average. Second, there was always some dust in the air and changing lenses was not really the smartest thing to do. I left my 50-500 on camera all day long. And third, the birds kept a good distance to the levees where I was shooting from.

Here comes the good news. Migration is in full swing and many birds that will spend the summer here in Eastern Iowa have already arrived. I had a blast watching the White Pelicans furiously fishing, even if it was quite a bit away. I saw from a distance a group of Northern Shovelers. Too far for a picture but this will change soon. The image below is from last year.

I worked for an hour along a mud bank with a season of Killdeer. Many clicks, some of them sharp, but I still don't really like any of them. Mud is not the best background and today it reflected the blue sky in a way I didn't like. It was way too harsh. Shooting from the car on top of the levee means you always shoot from slightly above. I was not able to eliminate the reflections by changing my shooting angle. Leaving the car is not really an option. The birds tolerate the car, but as soon you get out they will fly away.

Last not least, I made a first sighting today. It was a small group of Greater White-fronted Geese. I didn't know that until I had a closer look at the pelican photos on my screen at home. The photo above shows three of them on the left hand side. There were actually three more outside of the frame. The original files have enough resolution to zoom in and to identify the birds. They are probably a subspecies, flavirostris, the "Greenland" White-fronted Goose. This subspecies is darker and have an orange bill instead of pink.

On my way home I stopped briefly at the Mill Creek Ponds, west of Bellevue, Iowa. A pair of Trumpeter Swans made it home again, as already during the last two years, and it looks like I can continue my reports about them at this location. I really wonder if this is the same pair (probably) and if their young one made it through the winter? I also saw two male and a female Hooded Merganser in one of the ponds. Looks like new photo adventures are just waiting for us…

Nature clicks #45 - Killdeer protect their nest

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/750s, f/8, -1.5 EV, ISO 100

Last week I promised to show some pictures of a couple Killdeer that I was watching in the wetlands. They showed their typical behavior by trying to lure me away from their nest site. I don't disturb birds on intend and didn't even try to find it, even if I had an idea where the nest was. The female sat down away from the nest several times and tried to make me believing it was sitting on eggs.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 420 mm (630 mm FX), 1/640s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 100

The male made sure I was paying attention to him by running around in circles but at the same time moving away from their real nest. They are fun birds to watch and because the Killdeer is not as shy as some other birds they are a good subject for practicing long lens shooting technique.