Mental break

 

I haven't made a single click during this holiday weekend so far and to be honest, I don't even feel bad about it. We enjoy the beautiful weather with some kayaking, reading, and keeping a couple dogs happy. I try to stay away from my computer as much as possible. The weather is just too nice to be inside, even if I have some photography projects that I like to move forward. Well, none of them will run away and having a mental break is all what I'm looking for this long weekend... Enjoy your Sunday!

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...

Almost ready to leave the nest

 

It might be annoying for some people but I have no problem at all waking up every morning by the song and flutelike melody of the House Wrens that have their nest in a bird box just in front of our house.

They are extremely busy lately because their offspring needs a lot of food. Both parents care for the baby birds and bring grasshoppers, spiders, and caterpillars to the nest. The size of the pray becomes bigger as the young birds grow.

They stick their little head out of the hole and even if one of them had just received a meal they ask immediately for more as you can see in the third image. We don't know exactly how many baby wrens are in the nest. I have seen at least two at the same time but I believe there are at least three or four in the box. We expect them to leave the nest within the next few days and hopefully nothing will prevent them to grow up. Last year the first brood was destroyed by a raccoon. We have a another bird box behind the house and can hear the offspring of a second pair of wrens in this one as well. The frequent rain lately and the warm weather are ideal for all kinds of insects and the young House Wrens have obviously enough to eat. Beside the raccoons there is another predator around that likes to get a hold of the young birds, but this is for another post...

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... ;-)

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.

A shot on the side

 

The masters and great teachers of landscape and wildlife photography tell you in their books and blog posts, look to your side or to your back while shooting, sometimes the best opportunities may develop right beside or behind you. This happened yesterday while I was concentrating on the pelicans and how they caught the fish out of the river. This Great Blue Heron was actually sitting on a reeling at the lock for the boats that bypass the dam, not far from where the pelicans had their meal. Suddenly it was gone and while I still had my eye on the viewfinder of the camera the heron landed only a few yards away from me on this stone. The water level is still a little high and the stone is usually not in the water. The challenge for this image was to keep a big boat and the bridge over to Wisconsin out of the frame. The heron did what herons do, it stood almost motionless and stared at the water looking for fish. I made a few clicks but was still waiting for more. I hoped the bird would start preening or fluffing at least its feathers. And finally, after waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, it did me the favor! It is nice to see when everything comes together for a shot. The pelicans were still there and I continued watching their action. And yes, I looked to the sides, as I often do, you never know what comes next right beside you... ;-)

Pelicans had a feast today

 

I shot a lot of images this evening down at the Mississippi River at lock & dam #11 in Dubuque, Iowa. It was absolutely exciting to watch the American White Pelicans hunting for fish in a collective effort. They have a great hunting strategy by rounding up the fish and driving them literally into each others bills. There must be a lot of fish coming down the river because they were very successful.

Sorting through all the pictures can be very time consuming but I like to find those that tell the story about a feast at the Mississippi today the best... I hope you enjoy! Wishing all friends and visitors of my blog a great weekend!

An image I had in mind

 

It is not very difficult for us to make a photo of an American Goldfinch. We have them every day in our yard feeding on a thistle seed feeder or just sitting in the trees nearby. There are lots of pictures on the hard drive already of this wonderful finch, which by the way is the state bird of Iowa, but I was still looking for an image that I had in mind and that tells the story about their natural feeding habits much better. Last weekend in the Green Island Wetlands I had my chance and for a few seconds I had this male goldfinch sitting on a thistle. I wanted its face and used the peak of action when the finch lifted its head and looked around for a brief moment to make sure no predator would surprise it while eating. I'm not an "eyeball photographer" and like environmental portraits of the critters instead, but I wished I was a little closer. I'm very happy about this shot that will make it into the Iowa Wildlife Gallery but there is still room for improvement and so a new goal has been set already... ;-)

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.