Nature clicks #251 - Trumpeter Swans

 

I did not want to end this year without having another visit in my favorite wildlife area here in eastern Iowa, the Green Island Wetlands. I have not been there since July and it was good to be back. It is the most quiet time of the year now after the duck hunting season is over. Due to the mild temperatures lately there was only a thin layer of ice and even spots with open water. With some patience you may see a few Bald Eagles and some hawks flying over. I could tell that I’m out of practice shooting birds in flight. It is probably a little like playing golf, if you don’t practice all the time your results suck, and my pictures of two hawks and an eagle were definitely just good for the trash can today…

The best surprise was the encounter of a “school” of 27 Trumpeter Swans. They were in company with 16 Canada Geese. These numbers are a great example of successful wildlife restoration. I remember when I wrote here in the blog about the first pair of swans that raised successfully a cygnet a few years ago. They all seemed to enjoy the sun today and I watched them for an hour and a half at the same spot.

Beside resting on the ice the swans moved slowly around and you could hear how they cracked the thin layer of ice in order to keep the water open and feed on aquatic plants.

As soon as the sun disappeared behind the hills all Trumpeter Swans got out of the water, lined up in a queue, and finally took off towards the Mississippi River. The river is not frozen over at all, although the temperature dropped quite a bit last night for the first time in weeks.

I strictly exposed for the highlights and rather let the shadows go instead of having the white feathers blown out completely or in part. I do not like the look of wildlife pictures where the shadows are overly restored like in an HDR image. A little bit is ok but too much looks unnatural to me. Unfortunately it is a trend these days to make photos look like paintings… Well, I’m glad trends come and go… ;-)

Emotional attachment

 

I have to admit I have a little bit neglected my old friends the Trumpeter Swans this year. Those of you, who followed my blog during the last three years, may remember that I documented the restoration of the swans at the Mill Creek Ponds between La Motte and Bellevue, Iowa for quite some time.

In 2011 I was able to report that one cygnet was in the nest and had been raised successfully. Last year I made photos of three young Trumpeter Swans, proof  that the program to bring the Trumpeter Swan back to Iowa seems to work very well. 2013 I stopped only once in early spring at the ponds and saw the swan couple again. So until today I didn't know what happened during this year's breeding season. It made me really happy to see that two cygnets were in company of their parents when I drove around the corner and looked at the pond.

I have a very emotional attachment to the Trumpeter Swans for two reasons. First, I really think it is a wonderful majestic bird, and seeing their numbers grow over the years is just cool. Not just for my generation but knowing that our kids and grandkids may have a chance to enjoy them as well is a good thought. The second reason is that working with the swans and making photos of them has taught me so much for my wildlife photography. I spent countless hours at the Mill Creek Ponds during the last three years. Many frustrations started here (how would you feel after shooting 500 pics and all of them suck because lack of sharpness...??!! ;-)  ), but coming back over and over again and working with the same subject made me seeing some progress, slowly but surely. Do I have the perfect image of a Trumpeter Swan yet? Hell no, I may never have it, but the swans played a big role for my decision to focus on wildlife photography and I'm thankful for that.

If you like to see some of the older blog posts about the Trumpeter Swans just type "trumpeter swan" into the search field in the side bar on the left hand side of this blog, hit the Enter-key, and you will see all of them.

Family of five

 

I like to interrupt my little report about our adventures in the Rocky Mountains for an actual update on some birds I have written about many times here in my blog. I'm talking about the Trumpeter Swans at the Mill Creek Ponds 30 miles south of here. I haven't been there since June 2, when I found the female sitting on the nest. To my surprise I found yesterday a whole swan family swimming on, what was left of the pond. The size of this little lake has shrunk by about 60-70 percent. As you can see three young swans have been raised during the last three months. I was thrilled to see that they all looked healthy. The only advantage of the dilemma with the drought, and as a result a much smaller pond, is the fact that it was much easier to get close to the Trumpeter Swans. With other words, no really need for cropping any images... :-)

Nature clicks # 58 - After 83 days

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

A brief update on the Trumpeter Swans. I stopped at the Mill Creek Ponds on my way to the Green Island Wetlands (see my post from yesterday). The young swan has grown quite a bit in its 83 days of life. All three seemed to be healthy. It is so nice to see that the parents successfully raise their young one this year. If you click on the "Trumpeter Swan" tag below, you can see my older posts about this swan couple and their cygnet.

The sky was covered with gray clouds. That made the light relatively soft but the colors look a little washed out. I couldn't get any closer than this. The Sigma 50-500 was fully extended. The image is not cropped.

Nature clicks #48 - Four weeks old

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 420 mm (630 mm FX), 1/180s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 100

I checked on the Trumpeter Swans again today. The cygnet is now four weeks old. Time seems to fly. The first step is always to locate them by driving very slowly along the Mill Creek ponds. After I did that four times I still could not find them at all and started to worry about them. I decided to hike to the backside of the ponds to see if I had better luck. It had rained last night and so it was like entering a jungle. With other words it was hot, very humid, and mosquito infested. It paid back that I carry bug spray in my photo backpack during the summer. And there I found them. The reeds are now so tall that it was impossible to see the swans from the gravel road. The cygnet had grown again and all three seemed to be in good condition.

It was the closest I have been so far to the young swan and this time I didn't have to crop any of my pictures. Getting closer leads also to more sharper images because it is easier to place the AF sensor.

Nature clicks #46 - One week old

 

Did you look at the Trumpeter Swan cygnet last weekend? Yes, I did! It is amazing how much it was grown already within the last week. The swans were in the middle of the pond. Not really in a great position for photography, but the important thing is that all three looked very good and hopefully we will see a new generation of Trumpeter Swans growing up here in Eastern Iowa.

Nature clicks #43 - Happy day for the Trumpeter Swans

 

I didn't make a single click during the last week. Shame on me, but a busy work schedule and a project at home prevented me from being behind the camera.

Today I just had to go out. I checked the pond at Mill Creek first. One Trumpeter Swan was sitting on the nest, while the other one was swimming on the pond. This gave me some hope that the female was maybe sitting on eggs. That was about 10 AM and I didn't know that I would find out about it just four hours later.

I moved on to the Green Island Wetlands, hoping to get a better view on the Moorhens that I saw a couple weeks ago. I heard their call but they were hiding in the reeds. A pair of Killdeer kept me busy for some time and I will show some pictures in another post this week.

I didn't expect much for my photography on the way home. The light was just harsh and awful but I always see some wildlife in the Mill Creek Valley. An that's why I went back to the swans again. And the big surprise was just waiting for me. Both swans were at the nest and there was something else… Oh yeah, a little cygnet was with them. What a great moment to witness! I had chosen the right day for another visit of the Trumpeter Swans. Did I say already the light was awful harsh? What the heck, I had to make some documentary shots…

Instead of going straight back home I went to the Hurstville Interpretive Center in Maquoketa and reported my discovery. Thank you to Ann at the interpretive center, who allowed me to take some close-up pictures of the Trumpeter Swans that they have in a protected area behind the building. The swan couple there was also taking care for a cygnet.

Nature clicks #40 - Return to the Trumpeter Swans

 

I felt bad for Dave after our shoot together last Wednesday because light wasn't in our favor and we didn't get any decent pictures of the Trumpeter Swans. I went back twice on Saturday to the pond at Mill Creek. Late morning both swans were searching for food together and were cruising across the pond. There are many Red-Winged Blackbirds around and I saw how one of the swans got attacked by one of them. It was obviously too close to the blackbird nest. You can tell by the colors that we had an overcast but I like the graphic appearance in this image.

I took a few shots and moved on to the Green Island Wetlands, where I spent all afternoon. On my way back home in the evening the sun came finally out and so I returned to the pond again and gave it another trial. One swan was sitting on the nest site while the other was at rest on a little island in the second pond. The light was really good. What a difference to Wednesday and also Saturday morning. I spent the whole evening watching the Trumpeter Swan on its island. Other birds, like a Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher, Yellow Warbler, two Pileated Woodpeckers, and a Gray Catbird came by and time was just flying… More to come…

Hot and humid wildlife shoot

Nikon D200, Nikkor 24-70 mm, f/2.8G AF-S ED

Yesterday evening I met with my friend Dave Updegraff for a wildlife shoot. I know Dave since last year's Worldwide Photowalk. He organized and led the walk in Dubuque, Iowa. We have been in contact since and I'm a loyal reader of his photography blog. We met at a pond near La Motte, Iowa and some followers of my blog may remember, this is the location where I shot pictures of Trumpeter Swans many times before.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

I was there a little earlier and scouted the area for wildlife. The swans were unfortunately not really close and I had to shoot completely against the sun to make the click above.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

Sometimes it just helps to turn around and look for other things. While I was still waiting for Dave, this male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail was foraging on the clover along the gravel road. I did something I had never done before. I used my Sigma 50-500 for working a butterfly. The picture will not win the price for best sharpness (the 50-500 just can't keep up with the Sigma 150mm, f/2.8 that I use normally for macro shots) but I did not want to miss this opportunity because of a lens change. The hazy light of this hot and humid summer day was perfect for the shot and even if this lens is not known for a good bokeh, I liked how it turned out in this image.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3

Dave and I decided to walk to the other side of the pond and try to get the glass on a pair of ducks. I have never seen this kind of a ducks before and none of my books gave the answer. I believe they are hybrids and hope to find out by doing more research. A dark weather front moved in quickly and pretty soon Dave and I were running out of options for a fast shutter speed. Dave shoots with the Tamron 200-500, and like my Sigma 50-500 the maximum aperture is 6.3. As written in other posts before, I don't like to pump up the ISO above 280, because of the limited noise handling capabilities of my Nikon D200. The picture above was made at 1/25s and I'm surprised I had at least one shot I'm able to show here.

Dave let me try out his Nikon 24-70, f/2.8 for some test shots. I can't rave enough about this lens and the picture of him behind his D700 was made with it.  I had a great time shooting and having conversation with Dave and I hope we can do it again soon.

Did I mention how hot and humid it was yesterday during our wildlife shoot? Read Dave's post and you will know… ;-)

Nature click #18 - Swans, Meadowlark, and moon...

There were three things in nature today that put a smile in my face and made me happy. First of all, the Trumpeter Swans are back! I went to the little lake where I watched a couple of them last year several times. (Click on the tag "Trumpeter Swan" below and it will display all my older posts about them.) When I arrived they seemed to great me with their loud call, that sounds like a car horn. What a moment!

I had the 50-500 with me, but no tripod. Despite a grey overcast I ripped through one 8 GB memory card in no time. I used manual focus only. That seems to work better in low light situations as it was today.

On my way back home I saw an Eastern Meadowlark. For some not a big deal, but it was my first one that I saw here in the area. Another bird that will make it into my Iowa wildlife gallery soon. This gallery is one of my photography projects I pursue and that I try to expand and improve.

The last big thing today was the very bright and big moon. It has not been so close to earth since 18 years. I made the click, even if full moon is actually tomorrow. Who knows if we will see it then?! ;-)