Nature clicks #181 - Common Loon

 

I spent the weekend in Northern Wisconsin and worked on a project that I had in mind since a few years already. My plan was to photograph ospreys, also known as "fish hawks", at a location that I had bookmarked during previous visits. The nest can only be reached by boat and I used my kayak to get there. To make a long story short, I saw the ospreys but rain and other circumstances did not allow to claim victory and come home with some good images. With other words, I got skunked! Wildlife photography requires sometimes a lot of patience and so the project remains on the list for another try maybe next year.

It wasn't all bad, I saw Bald Eagles, a Belted Kingfisher, and just before I returned to the boat ramp a family of Common Loons came out of the reeds. The male positioned himself between me and the female with her two chicks and he made a hell of a noise. The call of a loon is very loud and impressive. The light situation was everything but good. Behind me were huge thunderstorm clouds moving in and the only chance to make the click was to shoot into the sun. In order to maintain a fast shutter speed I dialed in ISO400 (as you know not my preferred way to photograph wildlife). A fill flash would have been helpful but because I try to take as few items as possible into the kayak, the flash light was, of course, in the car... :-o It was the first time that I had the Common Loon during summer in front of my lens. The only pictures I had so far were made during the winter season in Southern California. Their plumage looks much nicer during the breeding season and just watching them was very exciting. Both images are not cropped and the low perspective and clean background make them good keepers in my books.

I wished I would have had more time with these beautiful birds but the thunder was already rolling and I just wanted to get off the lake. Playing it safe is mandatory and dying for a picture isn't worth it...

Nature clicks #180 - Red-spotted Purple

 

So far it has been a year with very few butterflies. I wonder if the draught last year plays a role in it. A few days ago one of my favorites showed up feeding in our yard, the Red-spotted Purple. They never sit still and it is a challenge to make a good click. It is always an act of balance what aperture to choose for this kind of an environmental image. If you open the lens all the way up to f/2.8 you may get a good shutter speed to freeze the action of the butterfly but depth of field is so shallow that only a small part of the insect is in focus. At the other hand if you stop down too much it's not just difficult to get a sharp image but also the background becomes way to distracting. If a butterfly moves around there are not too many choices for choosing the background. Now the technical geeks may say, why not pumping up the ISO into astronomical heights? Well, for me part of the challenge is to shoot in the basement between ISO100 and 200 in my wildlife photography. Of course, this doesn't work out always but on a sunny day I will stick with ISO100 for a maximum of detail. The alternative is not making the click at all, and this is not really an option... ;-)

Nature clicks #179 - American Beaver

 

It was my dear wife Joan who discovered the beaver family in the Little Maquoketa River down in the valley during a bicycle ride last week. I knew it would be sheer luck to find them at the same spot. Nevertheless I tried it and spent an hour waiting, and endless slaps for the mosquitos, but to my surprise the beavers showed up again. The beaver parents took care for four young ones and I was really happy to see them.

Camouflaged well by surrounding trees, the river was between me and the beavers and the remaining light made for camera settings like ISO 400 and 1/50s exposure time. The only way staying in business and using the maximum focal length of 500 mm (750 mm on the D300s) was to use the peak of action. The beavers moved most of the time and just having the shutter going while they had those tiny breaks of action sometimes led to a halfway sharp image. I used the term "halfway" because none of my shots was tack sharp.

I know, in some areas beavers are seen as a pest because of some trees they may take down in order to feed and establish their life. It takes a smarter approach to see the whole picture and the role the American Beaver can play in a healthy environment.

The Little Maquoketa River is not very long in comparison to the big rivers that cross the US from north to south. However, I really believe it is important to realize that even the smallest stream plays a role how things turn out when the water finally hits the ocean. Watching beavers only a few miles away from the Mississippi River is just a wonderful experience and I hope I can see them again soon in our valley.

Nature clicks #178 - Wood Duck - juveniles

 

If there is anything special about the first image it is just the fact that I was able to make it and as a bonus, making it with killer light. Wood Ducks are extremely shy and it is very difficult to get close to them. It was already 7PM last Saturday when I saw these three juveniles down below the levy in the water. There was obviously no mother nearby and they just stayed and tried to camouflage with the mud and algae carpet on the water surface. As good the algae and water plants might be for the ducks, they kill an image like this. Background is key for a good wildlife photo and this one looks just yucky, despite the great light on the young ducks.

I was wondering if I saw the second brood already when I watched only a few minutes later this female Wood Duck with twelve tiny ducklings swimming across another pond in the wetlands. Water fowl lives a dangerous life and many predators, from hunting birds to foxes and big fish that try to catch a young bird from down below, can have an impact of how many birds will make it into an adult life. Finally the hunting season in the fall is not helpful for some of the bird species that are in a decline anyway. It makes me sometimes sad to see that only two or three ducklings survive but I know it is part of understanding nature in its whole complexity.

Earlier in the spring this year I saw very few Wood Ducks in the Green Island Wetlands and wondered if this was the result of the dry summer with low water levels in 2012. I guess they were just hiding better than other years... ;-) I'm very happy now to see all the "Kindergarten" activities in the lakes and ponds along the Mississippi River.

Nature clicks #177 - Pallid-winged Grashopper (nymph) ???

 

The last day of this holiday weekend became a very warm one. The bird traffic in the yard has slowed down and usually days like this are good to look for butterflies in the garden. This summer is different. We had very few butterflies so far and even the omnipresent Hackberry Emperor hasn't been seen yet. I saw a couple swallowtails earlier this spring but have not seen any lately. We wonder if the draught last year plays a role in this pattern.

I took a stroll this afternoon around the flower patches in our yard with the SIGMA 150/f2.8 attached to the camera. It is my oldest lens but I still like the optical quality of it. It has a nice focal length that gives you some distance for macro work on insects.

Joan and I are not sure about this grasshopper species even after studying all our books and guides about insects. We believe it is the nymph of a Pallid-winged Grasshopper but we are not 100 percent sure. The size (about 3/4") and the little wing buds on its side show that its metamorphosis is still in process.

Nature clicks #176 - Black Rat Snake

 

In my last post about the House Wrens that raised their offspring in two nest boxes around our house, I talked about another predator beside the raccoon that is a threat for the life of the young wrens. I was reading on the porch when my attention was drawn away by the very loud and nervous chatter of the male wren. The cause was a Black Rat Snake that had climbed the trellis at the side of our porch only a few feet away from me. According to the DNR brochure about snakes in Iowa, Black Rat Snakes are rare, except for a few locations. Well, we must live in such a location because we have seen this species here before numerous times. It seems during some years they are more abundant than during others. Black Rat Snakes are up to 72 inches (183 cm) but this one was maybe about 5 foot (153 cm) long. They are adapted to a life in the forest and climb trees. This snake consumes rodents, like mice, but would not hesitate to go for birds, especially young ones. These powerful black constructors prefer relatively undisturbed forest areas and this may tell you much about the habitat we are blessed to have here above the valley of the Little Maquoketa River.

After inspecting the trellis at our porch the snake slid to the ground and moved back into the woods. The wrens calmed down and life went on. After my return from a business trip last Friday night both nest boxes were empty and we now can hear the wrens chatter in the woods. The males started courtship again and hopefully we may have a second brood growing up here soon...

Nature clicks #175 - Yellow-headed Blackbird

 

From the standpoint of being able to present this bird to you the image makes me very happy. From a photographic view, well,  not so much. And here is why. There are ten-thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds here in Iowa. You can find them along almost every road or railroad track and it is not so difficult to make images of them. It is a totally different story with the Yellow-headed Blackbird. I know only one location in Eastern Iowa where I have found them so far. Some birders may know a few more places but what I'm trying to say is, they are not abundant here. Every summer (except last year during the draught) I found one or two couples in a small pond in the Green Island Wetlands. Before you may see them you usually can hear them. Their call is very distinctive, almost like a crow, but they hide mostly in the lower parts of the reeds in this small lake. The problem is the distance that I can't overcome because this blackbird always sits in the same area in the middle of the pond. There is a dead tree in the reeds that is the birds main perch. This tree was down last weekend and luckily it felt towards the shore. The male blackbird still uses the branches to perch and is now about 6-7 feet closer to the best shooting location on the shore. However, this is still not close enough for a frame filling image with a lot of detail. Sure, I zoom in a little bit but it doesn't deliver necessarily more detail in the feathers of the bird. With other words, I still wait for the image I like to make...

I talked with a guy who lived in Green Island in his younger years but still comes back to enjoy the beauty of its wildlife. He told me that in the old days Yellow-headed Blackbirds were found almost everywhere in this area. It is my concern that this beautiful bird may disappear one of these days. My observations tell me that a lot is done to please hunters and fishermen but very little is done to protect bird habitats that really need our attention...

Nature Clicks #174 - American Redstart

 

The first image leaves no doubt about that this American Redstart is very excited about something. It was hopping under the canopy of leaves from branch to branch and changed its position constantly while calling at the same time.

But it wasn't until I saw it with this insect in its bill that I realized that it was me who was somehow in its way and obviously prevented it from going to the nest. It wasn't eating the prey but tried to deliver the food to its offspring.The last thing I want to do while making pictures is disturbing the wildlife and that's why I moved away from the spot immediately.

While retrieving from the place I tried to see where the nest location could be but didn't see any. Suddenly I saw another bird on a branch just above where I just stood before. It was only slightly bigger than a hummingbird. And this was the answer to the question why the male American Redstart was acting almost in panic. It tried to feed the young bird right above me.

I have seen this warbler species a few weeks ago for the first time at a different location but haven't been able to make any good pictures. This time I followed the hint of a friend and went to the Mines of Spain, a popular recreation area south of Dubuque, IA. It will definitely make it into my Iowa Wildlife Gallery. You can click on the link in the sidebar if you haven't been there yet... ;-)

Sure signs of summer

 

Can you tell it becomes summer here in Eastern Iowa? In the wetlands along the Mississippi River it becomes a lot more quiet. The ducks and geese are hardly visible anymore because they raise, feed, and protect their offspring. A sure sign that the hot time of the year is approaching fast are the water lilies that started blooming in numerous places. Looking at them makes you calming down. They are beautiful and the life in the macro world on top of it is abundant. It s hard to imagine that just three month ago the same spot was still covered with a thick layer of ice....

Nature clicks #174 - Double-crested Cormorant

 

The Double-crested Cormorant is a summer resident in the Mississippi Valley. It seems that a few may use the Green Island Wetlands as their breeding grounds. At least I see more of them than during the years before. That doesn't mean it is easy to make a photo of this bird. Quite often they take off as soon they see something approaching, like a car, and many times they were gone even before I came in a reasonable distance for a picture. The grass beside the gravel roads that go through the wetlands is very tall at the moment and maybe this helped to camouflage my approach this time. I was able to make a few clicks while the cormorant was still swimming but it finally took off. At most places in the wetlands you have to shoot from slightly above the water level and if the sky puts nasty reflections on the water the pictures do not look very flattering. Here I was lucky that the cormorant had just entered an area without reflections of the sky.