Nature clicks #173 - Green Frog

 

The Green Frog is found only in the eastern half of Iowa. I read that they seem to compete with bullfrogs and in Iowa they are rarely found where bullfrogs are common (source: The Salamanders and Frogs of Iowa by J.L. Christiansen & R.M. Baily). However, in the Green Island Wetlands both species can be found. This one here came to the boat ramp where we launched our kayaks. I wished I had a different lens with a polarizer on camera to eliminate some of the reflections on the frog's skin but other than that I was happy with this photo opportunity.

Nature clicks #171 - Tree Swallow

 

It looks like this is the year for making photos of any member in the swallow family we can find here in Eastern Iowa. I'm happy to show you these pictures of the Tree Swallow. It was fun watching  them last Sunday in the wetlands catching insects in flight but also seeing them coming to the ground foraging on spiders and insects. Because of their speed it is impossible (at least with my technical means) to make a sharp image of a swallow in flight but when they land on the ground comes the chance to make a click. Tree Swallows return to their nesting grounds long before other swallows come back. I don't know why it took me so long to present you an image of this pretty bird...?? ;-)

Nature clicks #170 - Common Yellowthroat

 

The books say this is one of the most numerous and widespread warblers in North America. For me it was the first sighting of it during a six hour bird watching and photography "session" in the Green Island Wetlands last weekend. I was actually in position for some other birds (I will post about them shortly ;-)  ) when both, the male and female Common Yellowthroat showed up right in front of me. It was very windy and my photos of the female bird didn't turn out sharp and even this one of the male is at the edge of quality acceptance. Being in my car and using it as a blind was definitely  a necessity to make the click but at the same time it prevented me to move in closer for better focus and closer distance.

This warbler usually stays closer to the ground but conceals in vegetation. The Common Yellowthroat is found all over the United States and most of Canada during the summer. They live in marches, near streams, and in swamps and they are vulnerable to loss of habitat due to wetland drainage.

Nature clicks #169 - Purple Martin

 

The Purple Martin is not an uncommon bird, especially along the Mississippi River. However, I never have made a photo of this bird of the swallow family. I took our little dog Cooper out for a walk to Mud Lake Park at the Mississippi River last night. The campsites were all empty again after the rainy holiday weekend and we had the park and the wetlands all for ourselves. The martins were flying over the water of the marina and the adjacent parking lot but always returned to a big bird house that sits high on a post beside the boat landing. They feed on flying insects, mainly mosquitos yesterday, and catch their prey mid-air.

We still had an overcast and gray clouds are never a good background for any bird shot. I used the SB600 with flash extender again last night to fill in some light and make the colors pop a little more. Not perfect, but it beats the alternative, coming home without any shot... ;-)

Brown Thrasher captured with SB600 and Better Beamer flash extender

 

We had the third rainy day in a row and our original plans to use the kayaks during this holiday weekend had to be dumped. The canopy of leaves doesn't let much light coming through anymore and so it was the right decision to take the SB600 flashlight and Better Beamer flash extender with me when we went for a hike on the Heritage trail this afternoon. For those who are new in my blog, the Heritage trail is on an old abandoned railroad track that ones connected Chicago with St. Paul in Minnesota. It follows the Little Maquoketa River just north of Dubuque, Iowa and is a great trail for all kinds of recreation, including nature photography. Because of the weather all the bicycle riders and runners that are usually on the trail stayed home and we had it all for ourselves.

We saw several warblers, Indigo Buntings, and American Redstarts again and the young eagle that we discovered recently in a nest has grown quite a bit. The best shooting opportunity came shortly after we started our little hike. For the second time this year a Brown Thrasher showed up in front of the lens. You can click HERE for the older post about this bird. I would not have been able to make this photo without the flashlight and flash extender attached to it. I don't care how far I have to carry the equipment. If at the end of the day one image that I like is on the flash card , I know it was worth the effort...

Nature clicks #168 - Cliff Swallow

 

The cold and rainy weather continued today but it didn't stop me from going out and paying a visit to the Green Island Wetlands. It seemed everything slowed down in the rain. You can hear the birds but they seem to stay away from the open water. I tried it anyway and was even blessed with another first sighting of a bird. It was a dark day again with a strong overcast and I knew light would not be sufficient for working with the long lens in the wetlands. Just putting on a flashlight does not do the trick either because the distance between the camera and the birds exceeds quite often the range of a flashlight. The solution for today's shooting conditions was the attachment of a flash extender. This is basically a fresnel lens, made out of plastic, that is mounted about 8 inches away from the  front of the flash head. I'm using the Better Beamer flash extender and this inexpensive device is able to increase the flash output by about 2 to 3 f-stops. Using the flash in TTL mode helps to get the right amount of light to your subject.

When I saw the Cliff Swallows flying around my "car blind" I was first a little confused. I saw swallows with squared tails and I also saw swallows with deeply forked tails. It wasn't until some of them were sitting down in a bush right beside the water that I realized that some Barn Swallows were among the Cliff Swallows as you can see in the second image.

It is 9:30PM and I just checked the weather forecast for Memorial Day. It looks like it is not a good idea to stow away the flash extender, and oh, there is a "flash flood watch" in effect for our area.... What a lovely holiday weekend.... ;-) Enjoy yours anyway!

Nature clicks #167 - Palm Warbler

 

This photo is already three weeks old but because it was a first sighting for me I still like to show it here in the blog. This little guy was up on its way to Canada where they spend the summer and raise their young ones. They have the habit of tail-wagging which helps to identify this bird. Palm Warblers feed on the ground more than other warblers and eat mostly insects during the summer. The image was made at Mud Lake, a backwater lake connected to the Mississippi River. I hope you enjoy the rest of Memorial Day weekend. My German friends had all their May holidays already (3!!!) and should not be jealous that we have Monday off... ;-)

Nature clicks #166 - Ruby-throated Hummingbird

 

I easily could blame the rainy weather of the last few days for not shooting as much as lately but I actually believe that rain creates a lot of possibilities to make some good nature photography. The truth is that I had a busy work schedule and also have been working on a photography project that I will reveal here shortly.

As every year the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds showed up by the end of April. They never arrived later than May 2. We have several feeders placed around the house but they are also feeding on the blossoms of flowers and bushes that Joan has planted already years ago. The males are very territorial at the moment and sit on a small branch or like in these images on the wire that will very soon covered by the ranking vine that rapidly climbs up the balcony.

One of the advantages having them so close to the house is that I can use my Sigma 150/f2.8 lens. It delivers a tack-sharp image if properly handled and is my favorite lens to shoot hummingbirds. I made several sharp images of the birds hovering at the feeders but was not able to keep the feeder out of the frame and so they will not make it into the blog. The season is still long enough to work on this and hopefully I can present some more images of the tiniest bird we have here in Eastern Iowa.

Nature clicks #165 - Indigo Bunting

 

This is an image I was hoping for since a long time. We see the Indigo Bunting mostly in late spring and early summer here. I have never been able to make a picture of it away from a bird feeder until this morning. Indigo Buntings are actually black. The diffraction of light through their feathers makes them looking blue. This explains why the males can have many different color shades from turquoise to black. The Indigo Bunting is a migratory bird and spends the winter in Florida and in the tropics. They use the pattern of stars for guidance and migrate at night (source: iBird Pro app). This evening three of them were feeding in the grass here but the light was not sufficient anymore to make a sharp image.

Nature clicks #164 - Belted Kingfisher

 

Joan and I went for a walk on the Heritage Trail down in the valley of the Little Maquoketa River this evening. We had our little dog Cooper with us and what actually was planned to be a "short dog walk" ended up to be a great bird watching event all evening long. We discovered another nest of a Bald Eagle and were very excited to see a young eagle sitting in there. We had two new first sightings, an American Redstart and a Harris Sparrow. Many Baltimore Orioles were feeding and singing high up in the trees and Goldfinches and Red-winged Blackbirds were everywhere. The low sun and some dramatic clouds made all the colors even more spectacular. It is definitely the best time of the year here in Eastern Iowa, at least in my humble opinion... :-)

My personal highlight was this Belted Kingfisher, a bird I have tried to photograph many times before with very little success. Distance was a bit of a problem again. A fenced pasture between the trail and the river did not allow to get closer to the bird and that's why I cropped the image quite a bit. It is not difficult to find a kingfisher at the Little Maquoketa River, quite often you can hear them before you see them, but they are very skittish and don't make it easy to get close even under better circumstances. However, it is the best shot I was able to make so far and it will make it into my Iowa wildlife gallery until I can make a better photo.