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 #93 - Lesser Yellowlegs

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

The Lesser Yellowlegs are on the way to their breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska. I shot lots of pictures of these members of the sandpiper family last Sunday. I'm happy that I was able to watch them because they will not stay here in Eastern Iowa too long.

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

The Lesser Yellowlegs were constantly in search for food in the shallow water and on the mud banks. I saw some of them even catching small fish. They take their prey with the thin bill and bob the front part of their bodies in a jerky fashion. This makes it quite difficult to get a clean shot because they hardly stop feeding or cleaning their bodies.

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

Nature clicks #92 - American White Pelicans, I'm getting closer...

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

What a great day we had yesterday for being outside. I spent seven hours in the Green Island Wetlands. Light was a little harsh in the first half of the afternoon but nevertheless there were lots of good opportunities to watch all kinds of critters. The water level is higher than it was a week ago and some mud banks are flooded again. Looks much nicer. American Coots are in the wetlands in large numbers and with the arrival of Green-winged Teals I had another first sighting again.

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

If you think Bald Eagles are majestic, just watch the American White Pelicans soar high on thermals. It is very impressive to see them flying with their slow and deep wing beats but watching them soaring in big formations is stunning. Another great experience is to see a squadron of pelicans fishing together. The problem at Green Island is that you can't come even close if you rely on your car. I like shooting from my car because, as I have written before, it works like a blind and most birds don't see it as a thread and and they don't fly away. The pelicans need a different tactic. They prefer the lakes in the wetlands that aren't accessible by car. I made a little hike and a very slow approach to a lake shore across from the pelican's resting and fishing place. This was already very late in the afternoon and the light was wonderful.

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

The high contrast between their white and black feathers requires a good amount of exposure compensation in order not to blow out the white completely. I prefer a darker tonality for my style of photography, and dialing in negative values (in this matter -1.5EV) is common practice anyway. It lets the colors pop and I never have to touch the saturation slider in Lightroom or Photoshop.

More to come, stay tuned…

Nature clicks #91 - Northern Leopard Frog

Nikon D300s, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM

Not far from our home is the John Deere Marsh. This marsh belongs to the National Wildlife & Fish Refuge on the Upper Mississippi River. As the name suggests, it is located right behind the big John Deere plant here in Dubuque. The Little Maquoketa River joins the Mississippi in this area and both rivers have shaped the marsh. Joan and I had a little hike there today and beside enjoying the extremely warm weather we were watching out for migrating birds. Beside the always present Mallards, we saw American Coots, Northern Shovelers, and Blue-winged Teals on the lake that is part of the marsh land. We also made our first encounter of a few Northern Pintails. None of the ducks was within shooting range and so it didn't bother me a bit that I left the 50-500 at home today.

Instead I had the Sigma 150mm/f2.8 on camera, simply because I wanted to make pictures of frogs. Mating season is in full swing and there are probably thousands of frogs having a great time at the moment. This Northern Leopard Frog was hiding between old leaves along the levee that surrounds part of the lake. Direction and quality of the late afternoon light was good. I just darkened background and foreground a little in order to make them less busy and less distracting.

Nature clicks #90 - Finally, a pair of Wood Ducks

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

Everything in nature is early this year due to the extremely warm weather we have here in Iowa. Last year I reported my first encounter of a Wood duck on April 11. I had a very obstructed view but was very happy to see this pretty duck for the first time. Click HERE if you like to see the older images and what I had to say about them. Since this first meeting with the Wood Ducks I envisioned an image with both, male and female, and of course in great light. Today luck was on my side. I saw this pair of ducks in one of the canals at the Green Island Wetlands. It took some efforts to get this shot. Wood Ducks are extremely shy and like to hide in the shadow of the trees. However, the birds were actually in backlight and the background was way too bright for my taste. I thought this image was worth the extra work and I used my software mix of Adobe Lightroom 4, Photoshop CS4, and NIK Color Efex Pro 4 to eliminate all distracting lights and "shiny spots" in foreground and background. Why did I use NIK Color Efex Pro? Take it for granted, I don't touch the colors of the animals in my wildlife photography. Period. But NIK's CEP has a filter called "Darken / Lighten Center". This is one of my favorite filters, that allows to darken or lighten the borders or the center of an image. You can set the point of center and also its size. Isn't that the same like applying a vignette to the photo? Kinda, but I think it is much more subtle and can be placed right at your subject within an image. I just can't get the same results by applying a vignette either in LR or PS. The above photo needed a little more than just this filter. The background was dull and blown out. The application of a graduated filter in LR may keep your eye on these wonderful Wood Ducks…

I hope you enjoy. Have a great Sunday!

Nature clicks #89 - Garter Snake, early appearance

I was able to spent some time in the Green Island Wetlands again. Didn't have much luck with birds today but saw lots of Painted Turtles that were out of the water and enjoyed the sun as much as I did. Unfortunately the water level in the wetlands is very low right now and if that persists we may not have the same good shooting opportunities for waterfowl as in the spring last year. We will see.

This Garter Snake crossed my way today. It stopped and gave me the time to get out of the car, to go on the ground, and to make some clicks. Back home I checked my photo library, just to find confirmation that March 16th is the earliest I have ever seen a Garter Snake in spring during the last eight years I lived in Iowa.

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…

Nature clicks #87 - Sandhill Cranes, first sighting this year

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

Let me tell you, I saved the best from last weekend for the last. I watched the first pair of Sandhill Cranes in the Green Island Wetlands last Sunday. It was so nice to hear their unmistakable calls and to see them searching for food in the wet fields and marches. They maintained a pretty good distance between me and them. There is a water filled canal on each side of the dam I was shooting from that can't be crossed and it is up to the cranes to move closer. It didn't happen, although I spent quite some time there.

One of my photography friends wrote me in an email that he hopes the spring shooting season will start soon. For me it has started with the arrival of the cranes, it doesn't need more than this...

Nature clicks #86 - Red-tailed Hawk in flight

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

A long wanted shot made it finally onto my hard drive last weekend. This Red-tailed Hawk hovered over a snow covered slope in the Mill Creek Valley near Bellevue, Iowa. I stopped the car and started handhold panning while standing in a puddle of a muddy gravel road. I didn't really care, the hawk was more important than the condition of my boots at that moment. The hawk scanned the slope almost systematically for prey and came several times back to my location. Not as close as I would have liked to, but at least it presented its body for a brief moment in best light. I will not keep it as a secret that the photo is cropped but it is sharp enough and retained some detail after the crop. I believe it payed back that I have practiced a lot during last month on the Bald Eagles. I was happy to make my first picture of a sitting hawk two weeks ago and now I'm glad to have a few images of a Red-tailed Hawk in flight.

Nature clicks #85 - Female Northern Cardinal

 

Nature unfolded its best reflector today, with other words we had fresh snow on the ground. Not much, but enough to boost light and colors.

This female of a Northern Cardinal is a permanent resident in our woods around the house. I can recognize her easily because her colors are slightly lighter than other female cardinals that stop here. I waited almost motionless near this elm tree for quite some time in order to make this photo. Cardinals are extremely shy and don't come close very often.