Nature clicks #41 - Yellow-Headed Blackbird (finally!)

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

I mentioned a little while ago that I found another bird species in the Green Island Wetlands that I hadn't seen before. The first time I saw one was actually on Antelope Island in Utah (see my older post HERE). I was very happy to discover it here in Eastern Iowa as well. It is not easy to get close enough. They search for food in the reeds or sit high up in a dead tree in the middle of a pond. I heard their very loud and distinctive call all the time but all what I got so far was a yellow-black dot ,that with some phantasy someone could identify as a bird… ;-)

I tried very hard last Saturday without any luck. I came again on Sunday and after hiding for a couple hours in my "mobile blind" (my car of course) I got rewarded. One of the beautiful looking Yellow-Headed Blackbirds landed right in front of me beside the gravel road. That made my day!

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…

Nature clicks #39 - Common Gray Treefrog

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, SB600, 1/60s, f/5.6, ISO 100

I knew they are here, even if I never saw one during the six and a half years we live in Eastern Iowa. We could hear their resonating trill, especially after a rain. But despite I peered in every tree and bush around many times, I never saw one of these little guys until a couple days ago. The Common Gray Treefrog seems to be a master of hiding itself (I hate to blame it only on my eyes ;-)  ) but finally I found one at night right on the front porch of the house. This treefrog was less than 40 mm (~1 ½") long, just to give you an idea about its real size.

There was no time for preparation. The  little guy was moving around fast and I was afraid to lose it. While Joan had an eye on it, I ran in the house, grabbed the 150/f2.8, the D200, and the SB600 flash light with a dome diffuser. The 150/f2.8 gave me enough distance to just mount the SB600 to the hot shoe of the camera. I know this sucks, but at the other hand the Common Gray Treefrog is mostly nocturnal and I believe even a direct flash tells this story. Yes, making a picture of this guy sitting between the leaves of a tree or bush would be great but I'm happy to have my first shot. This image will of course make it into my "Iowa Wildlife Gallery", which I invite you to visit by clicking right HERE. Have a wonderful Sunday!

Nature clicks #38 - Both sides of the road

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/320s, f/8, -1 EV, ISO 100

Yesterday I closed my post by mentioning another new bird I saw for the first time. While I worked with these Canada Geese and their young ones at one side of the road I had a look over my shoulder and saw a little heron on a tree above the water on the other side of the gravel road. I knew the geese wouldn't run away, turned the camera immediately, focused, and fired a burst. It was a Green Heron in a nice pose and it gave me only a few seconds before flying away. I have never been disappointed yet by visiting the Green Island Wetlands along the Mississippi…

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/125s, f/8, -1 EV, ISO 100

Nature clicks #37 - Snake in the bush

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 370 mm (555 mm FX), 1/200s, f/8, -1 EV, ISO 100

After a rainy morning the weather became nicer and nicer with every hour today. At noon I had enough from sitting in my office and processing images from the last few weeks. I went to the Green Island Wetlands again. The water was very high, the highest I have ever seen it so far. There wasn't much waterfowl. It seems that many nesting places are flooded and except for two couples of Wood Ducks, a few Canada Geese, and some Pied-billed Grebes I haven't seen much else.

I discovered a big snake hanging in a bush that was standing in the water near the shore line. I believe it is a Black Rat Snake but still need to make more research to confirm it. A few weeks ago a very friendly DNR warden gave me a brochure "The Snakes of Iowa". It says Rat Snakes are rare in Iowa, except for a few locations. However, we had one around the house a few years ago until some dude killed it by driving over it…

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/640s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 200

Despite the snake was moving very slowly or just resting, it wasn't very easy to get a clean shot. Too many little branches blocked the view to the head and eyes quite often. There was only one direction to shoot from because the bush was in the water. It just took patience to wait until the snake moved to a different position.

I had another encounter of a new bird species, but this is for another "Nature Clicks" post. So please stay tuned and have a great Sunday.

Nature clicks #36 - Wildflowers with speedlight and softbox

I like to continue my little series about the wildflowers the we can find in the timber behind our house here in Eastern Iowa.

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, SB600, Softbox, 1/60s, f/8, +0.5 EV, ISO 100

The most remarkable we found today belongs to the orchid family. A nice Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) was hidden under a fallen tree trunk on the slope the goes down to the Little Maquoketa River. I used my Nikon SB600 speedlight with the softbox that I built last winter. I wrote about this DIY project in January. Click HERE for the link to this post. I just laid the softbox on the ground below the trunk, so that the light filled the dark spot.

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, SB600, Softbox, 1/60s, f/5.6, ISO 100

Another, much more common flower we find here everywhere is the Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum). The camera was on the tripod for all pictures. Here I focussed manually because it was a little windy in the woods. The camera was in commander mode and I used the flash of the D200 as a master flash in order to trigger the external flash with the attached softbox. I just stand beside the flowers and directed the flash unit.

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, SB600, Softbox, 1/160s, f/4.8, ISO 100

Jack-In-The-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) can be found here at several locations on the rocky slope. They are in full bloom at the moment and easy to identify.

If you like to read the older entries, just click on the "Wildflowers" tag at the bottom of this post.

Nature clicks #35 - Rain and magic light

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 420 mm (630 mm FX), 1/125s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 200

A lot of work limits my radius of action at the moment and thats why I take advantage of the wide variety of wildlife in and around our yard. This shot was taken just from the front porch of our house. The light had unfold its magic when the rain came down and this American Goldfinch was backlit by the low sun.

Nature clicks #34 - Scarlet Tanager

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 420 mm (630 mm FX), 1/125s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 200

Joan and I keep track about the wildlife, especially the birds, that we see in our yard or in the woods surrounding it. She saw it already last spring. I discovered the Scarlet Tanager a few days ago for the first time. Yes, it became only a "feeder image", and the photo is not really tack sharp, and his bill is covered with suet from the feeder, and, and, and…. But I'm OK with that for now. I'm glad I was able to document its appearance here in our neck of the woods.

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/160s, f/6.3, -½ EV, ISO 200

I started the same way with the Baltimore Oriole. First I had only pictures that showed the Orioles at our hummingbird feeders. Now, six years later, I try to get shots that show the Oriole at different locations, with no feeder in sight. It may become a little more difficult with the Scarlet Tanager. But I'm hoping for more since we saw him again today  high up in the trees. It just doesn't hurt to set new goals for our photography…

Nature clicks #33 - Eastern Black Swallowtail

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, 1/320s, f/4, -1 EV, ISO 200

Today we got the rain that nature needs so much here at the moment. As a result and also because of a busy working schedule I have not made a single click today. A big advantage of working from a home office in the middle of the woods is the fact that I can have my camera always nearby and ready for shooting. Usually it is mounted on a tripod near the door. Quite often I just run outside if anything interesting shows up in the yard or the surrounding woods. Yesterday morning, while filling the hummingbird feeders, I saw the first swallowtail butterfly of this season. It was a male Eastern Black Swallowtail, just sitting near the ground and still very sluggish. This gave me all time in the world to go down on my knees and make two dozen clicks.

Nikon D200, Sigma 150 mm f/2.8, 1/125s, f/5.6, -0.5 EV, ISO 200

Today, when I looked in my image catalog, I found out that I haven't made a good picture of a Black Swallowtail since 2007. I manage my photos with Adobe Lightroom and I apply keywords to each single image. It is sometimes time consuming, but this is when it pays back to use keywords. It is so much easier to find photos about a particular subject and allows a review and learning from older images. Yesterday's photos of the Black Swallowtail will replace the old picture in my IOWA WILDLIFE GALLERY (which needs an update anyway ;-)  ).

Nature clicks #32- Red Fox visit

Baltimore Oriole

Before I continue to write about my recent trip to Utah and California I like to give you an update about what happens her in Eastern Iowa right now. It is the best time of the year for bird photography. All the birds that migrate south for the winter are back. Despite I still have to go through lots of images from my trip, I follow the good advice of the masters of wildlife photography, like Moose Peterson, and shoot every day in my own yard. Last Sunday I had my lens pointed to the numerous birds in the front yard. Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Hummingbirds, Goldfinches, and many others make it easy to find a target.

The light was great in the morning. While I focused on a Grosbeak, suddenly a Red Fox came down our drive way and run directly towards the birds in front of me. I quickly changed my focus and started firing. This image shows the moment when the canine discovered me. It is the only picture that is tack sharp on its eyes. The other ones were ok, but the sharpness is not as good as on this one. It took the fox only a second to figure out that he or she will have no hunting luck and it went sideways into the forest. The birds were already gone in panic.

I have seen this fox a couple times during the winter crossing our backyard and I was wondering if I ever would have a chance to make a click. I guess this was my chance, and I tried to make the best out of it…

All images Nikon D200, SIGMA 50-500 @ 500 mm (750 mm FX)