Nature clicks #154 - Spotted Sandpiper

 

This image is already almost a week old but posting about the foxes and the owl put some of the other birds I saw lately a little bit on the back-burner.

The Spotted Sandpiper is not an uncommon bird but for me it was another first sighting here at the Mississippi. At least I have never identified one before. It moved fast along the river shore in constant search for insects, worms, or even little fish. I admit, it isn't a tack-sharp photo but foreground and background are ok. Usually the shore is a cluttered mess of stones, drift wood, and sometimes even garbage but when the sandpiper started walking on this log in the water I thought I have my chance to make a good click.

Fox and owl stories (brief update)

Before I go on a business trip tomorrow, with probably no opportunity for nature photography, I like to give you a brief update about the animals I follow very close at the moment.

Yesterday I was very concerned about the well being of the little foxes in our woods. A big Barred Owl was sitting in a tree within sight of the den. This was the first time that I have seen a Barred Owl during real day light. We hear their call "Who-cooks-for-you" all the time but have seen it only at dusk or at night. The owl flew away when it saw me. We had seen only one pup outside of the den lately and I was wondering if the owl was a successful fox hunter. Today I definitely saw two different fox pups. One has unfortunately a heavy injured eye and is probably half blind. It acted normal but I have my doubts that this little fox will have a very long life. The second one looked very healthy but peeked only briefly out of the den.

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

Yesterday evening Joan and I went to Mud Lake at the Mississippi River but we were not able to find the young Great Horned Owl. I looked at every tree in the neighborhood of the eagle's nest where the owl was born but with no success. I went back today after 7pm and found it immediately sitting on a low horizontal branch near the water. The last sunlight was falling on its right eye and I was able to make a few clicks. That was the best unobstructed view of the owlet so far.

Nature clicks #153 - White-throated Sparrow

 

This is another bird that is just on its way north these days. I have seen it ones before in our woods in 2008. The interesting fact, at least for me, was that it was exactly the same day, April 27, when I saw it. There were three of them this time that stopped here for a few hours and enjoyed feeding on sunflower seeds on the ground that were spilled by the squirrels. The White-throated Sparrow is very pretty and I'm glad I can now replace my blurry picture from 2008 in my Iowa wildlife gallery (click HERE) with a better one this time.

Owlet in full size

 

I checked on the young Great Horned Owl again today. First I couldn't even find it, neither in the nest nor in one of the tall trees around it. While still walking around with my binoculars I suddenly discovered it right in front of me in a very small tree. We were looking at each other from eye to eye for quite some time. The owl didn't move a bit and even closed its eyes a few times. There was only a small gap between branches to get a picture without that a twig covered one of its eyes. I moved in very slowly in order to make this click. Calling the about six weeks old bird a "little owl" is kind of an understatement. My guess is that this owlet is about 20 inch (0.5 m) tall already. The background of this image is a nightmare but this doesn't bother me much this time. Having the owl in its full glory in the frame was another highlight this week for me.

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 #152 - Yellow-rumped Warbler

 

To make it clear, this picture would normally land in the trash can because it is not really sharp and I had to crop it quite a bit to make it halfway decent. I apply an exception to the rule if the animal is a "first sighting". While checking the fox den early in the morning I saw this Yellow-rumped Warbler in the woods behind the house a couple days ago. Whatever I tried, I couldn't get it in focus. The little warbler was flying and jumping around, trying to catch insects. This bird comes through only during migration and I was very happy to see this wonderful looking bird here in the woods. During the winter, that they spent in the southern part of the US southwards into the tropics, they eat particularly wax coated berries of bayberries and wax myrtles. They have unique gastrointestinal traits that allow them to subsist on this unusual food source. (source: iBird Pro app).

While I tried to make a photo of this one I also saw a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, another first sighting, but no image can be presented here because my results were even worse. Well, next time...

Mama comes home

 

Two nights ago I spent two hours laying on a cold rock behind a fallen tree near the fox den but none of the little pups stuck its nose out. I had the camera on the tripod very low to the ground. It was almost 7pm when suddenly the female approached me in a straight line. Just before she reached the big rock, under which the den is located, she sensed my presence by smell and stopped. When the shutter of the D300s started rattling she came even closer but finally turned around and showed me her wonderful profile. I was at the limits again with my shutter speed. The metering at ISO400 required already 1/60s, which is normally beyond my lens handling capabilities for a sharp shot, but somehow I managed it. I moved out quickly and quietly in order not to disturb the fox more than I already did. What a great moment that made me forget the long waiting time in the cold easily.

Nature clicks #150 - Bald Eagle

 

This is the image I had actually in mind for yesterday's post but then the encounter of the little foxes made the news first. This Bald Eagle has its nest near Mud Lake at the Mississippi River. I have seen the bird several times already and got an idea where the new nest is located up in the hills. As you might remember, the eagle nest at Mud Lake is taken by a Great Horned Owl now and my guess is that the eagles just chose another location for their nest.

Nature clicks #149 - Red Fox pups

 

Today a photographer's dream became true. I wrote here in my blog about the Red Fox who comes through our yard every day and tries to get a hold of a squirrel or a bird. I always thought it would be totally cool if I ever would find the fox's den and see a pup. I was dreaming for several years about this...

Our neighbors saw the fox with one pup in our backyard earlier today. That was actually great news for me. I went onto our bluffs in the woods behind the house and tried to help finding their two little dogs, who were missing since several hours. I didn't find the dogs (still missing as I write this) but discovered four little fox pups outside their den on the steep slope of our property. I was thrilled! There isn't much light left at 7pm in a forest and getting this picture pushed me to the limits. My camera doesn't deal very well with ISO800, noise is inevitable, and shooting a 500 mm lens (750 mm on a DX sensor) at 1/60s is not really the key to success. However, I held my breath and got a shot that I like to show you. I hope I can say, more to come...

Nature clicks #148 - American White Pelican

 

The tip came from the blog of my photography friend Dave Updegraff this morning. He shared that a large number of American White Pelicans were at the 16th Street Basin in Dubuque. I thought I give it a try and went there even twice today. I'm actually not a big fan of this pond, it is surrounded by busy roads and therefor a very noisy location, but it was worth both trips. Have a look and enjoy these majestic birds...