Nature clicks #218 - Blackpoll Warbler

 

I’m glad and thankful that you came back to my blog even if I have almost nothing posted but photos and stories about warblers recently. It was an exciting week with many sightings during their migration to the breeding grounds up north or just because of their arrival, since some will stay here in Eastern Iowa during the summer.

The Blackpoll Warbler was another first sighting for us. We saw males and females feeding on little insects for three days. The two shots of a male are pretty much what I saw, with just a slight cosmetic crop. The female image is a long stretch. It is not tack sharp and I had to crop a little more because I couldn’t get close enough. My blog is not just a portfolio platform for the best of my photography, it is also about sharing biological facts or giving hints about wildlife locations. This is why you have sometimes to put up with a shot that is not so great, but still tells a story within the story. This is what the photo of the female Blackpoll Warbler is about today…

Nature clicks #217 - Cape May Warbler

 

The last week taught us again how much we are blessed with the location where we live. Today we counted the 70th bird species that we saw here around our house on top of the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa Valley near Durango, Iowa. No, this post is not about today’s discovery, this has to wait for another blog post :-) .We know the close proximity of the Mississippi River plays a role in having this large variety of wildlife. The Mississippi is a highway for migrating birds but even all the species that are here all year long, or just during the summer, make for a never boring time when it comes to wildlife.

My “warbler week” series continues with the beautiful Cape May Warbler. I have seen this species last spring for a fraction of a minute. My 2013 shots were all blurry and I wondered if I will see this bird again. Last Tuesday came my chance. I saw the warbler from my office window, run outside, and shot like a maniac for a few minutes. We saw it later again but I never got this close a second time.

Rule #1 in wildlife photography is, if the eye is not sharp the image goes to the trash can or at least will not be published. Sometimes I keep a blurry photo just for the sake of identification and documentation within my own photo library. But there is always an exception to any rule and this is what this photo is about. I caught the moment when the Cape May Warbler was about to swallow a tiny little insect that looks like it was glued to it’s tongue. The body of the bird is sharp and the head in its extremely fast movement really tells the story how fast these warblers move and pick up little insects from the leaves.

Nature clicks #216 - Chestnut-sided Warbler

 

If you stop here in my blog for the first time or haven’t been here for a while, this week it’s all about the warblers that came through here during their migration in the last few days. Today I’m happy to report another first sighting for us, the Chestnut-sided Warbler. It breeds in Canada from south-central Alberta east to Nova Scotia and in the US from the Great Lakes region to New England. They feed mostly on insects and some fruits (source: iBird PRO app, which I can highly recommend for any bird lover).

The photos I have shown recently were all made in “sniper mode”, means just a single click, one shot, no continuos shutter release. This is how it was in the days of film, when nobody would rip through with 6 frames per seconds or even faster. One reason why I do this is the recycle time of the speed light that I use for some fill flash, to let the colors pop even in low light conditions. The other reason is that I try to shoot at the peak of action, the short moment when the warbler may stop for a fraction of a second before it makes the next move. Most warblers feed on small insects that they pick from underneath the fresh leaves and they are constantly on the move and seem never to stop. Sometimes you have to follow the bird with your lens while it is behind some branches or leaves. The short moment, when they enter a clear spot, without obstructive objects between them and the lens, is the moment when the shutter release button gets pressed. As you can imagine despite “sniper mode” some images will land finally in the trash can because focus was not obtained correctly or the bird was not even in the frame because the photographer was too slow… ;-)

“Warbler week” is not over yet, although I saw a lot less birds today from my office window, but I still have some more birds to show here in the blog. So please stay tuned…

Nature clicks #215 - Yellow Warbler

 

The Yellow Warbler is not just here in Eastern Iowa during migration time. We have seen them before in previous years during the summer but these are my first photos of this species where I had a chance to get close. Both photos were made in the early evening, right after a thunderstorm went through, two days ago. Using a speed light was necessary because there was really not much ambient light left. The raindrops on the branches and a little reflection here and there help to tell the story about this male Yellow Warbler, gleaning little insects while it still drizzled. I told you it would be a “warbler week” here in the blog, so please stay tuned if you like it…

Nature clicks #214 - American Redstart

 

I can tell you, this is going to be a “warbler week”. I continue this series with another warbler that we have seen before down in the valley but never in the woods around the house here. The first image shows a male American Redstart in its first spring. The tail with its yellow-orange patches makes it easy to identify. I wasn’t able to get that close to the male adult that you can see in the second image. I show this particular photo only for those who are interested in the biological facts, not because of the quality of this picture.

You can see that the younger bird from the first picture has still a long way to go before it looks like an adult, although it is pretty nice too. If I have a new species in front of my lens I take quite often lots of shots just for the purpose of identification. Even a butt shot can sometimes help to identify a bird later on screen and with the aid of books or bird guides. There is more to come, we had several more first sightings, so please stay tuned…

Nature clicks #213 - Magnolia Warbler

 

We were thrilled last week when we had another first sighting here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River Valley. The Magnolia Warbler is probably one of the most beautiful birds that comes through here during migration time. It breeds from British Columbia across central Canada to the northeastern US and also in parts of the Appalachian Mountains.

We had several thunderstorms moving through the area today but the Magnolia Warbler kept gleaning insects even in the rain from the underside of the leaves, that just come out at the moment, or from bark crevices.

Nature clicks #212 - Baltimore Oriole

 

We are out of town this weekend, so no local shooting this time. It doesn’t really matter, the last week offered so many opportunities that can be shared here in the blog. One of the birds we enjoy most at the moment is the Baltimore Oriole. We have seen sometime eight of these fascinating birds at the same time in our yard. They don’t hesitate to take advantage of the hummingbird feeders and we always have some orange halves out on the deck because they really like to feed on them after their long migration from Florida, southern Mexico, or the southern Atlantic coast.

Nature clicks #211 - Scarlet Tanager (yes, again!)

 

Well, I should have waited another day with my post from yesterday about the Scarlet Tanager. I had some better opportunities today and the best thing is that I got an image of both, the male and female Tanager. I have been a lot closer to the birds today and gave the composition some better thoughts (no branch sticking out of a head!… ;-)   ). There is so much action going on here in the woods at the moment. Birds are here in abundance and it is just a matter to decide what bird to focus on. I hope you don’t mind that I chose the Scarlet Tanager again for today’s blog post. Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend!

Nature clicks #210 - Scarlet Tanager

 

The Scarlet Tanager is on my “most wanted list” since I made the first photos in 2011. At that time I made a not very sharp image of this bird sitting on a suet feeder in our front yard. The jinx was broken but it wasn’t a flattering photo. There has been only a small window in time each year that we have seen the Scarlet Tanager. We have this bird here again right now, but despite it isn’t a great photo it is better than the first trial. I cropped it a little because distance was too big and the branch growing out of the bird’s head isn’t a plus either. The bottom line is, there has been some progress but I’m still not 100% happy. Not a bad thing, it keeps me going… ;-)

Nature clicks #209 - Northern Shoveler

 

I can’t resist to show you this photo of a male Northern Shoveler that I made last Sunday in the Green Island Wetlands. It took me several years to get this close to this colorful duck. It was slowly swimming along the shore and foraged by dabbling in the shallow water. They feed on tiny crustaceans, insects, mollusks, seeds, fish, and aquatic vegetation. I had to move my “mobile blind”, the car of course, several times to make this shot finally. It all came together, gesture of the bird, light, and colors…