Nature clicks #221 - Eastern Wood-Pewee

 

Last week, while shooting little warblers like a maniac, I recognized a flycatcher sitting on a branch not very far from where I stood. First I thought it was the Eastern Phoebe that we see here all the time. I made a few clicks because the bird was much closer than the phoebe usually is, but it wasn’t before I looked at the photos on the computer screen that I realized that this bird was an Eastern Wood-Pewee. Both birds are very similar and have the typical behavior of a flycatcher. They perch on a branch or stick and as soon they see an insect they try to catch it in flight, mostly very close to the ground, and than return to the perch. How did I found out about the pewee? The Eastern Wood-Pewee has a yellow base at the lower mandible while the Eastern Phoebe’s bill is all black. There are some other small differences but for me this is the most obvious one. This is my best photo of an Eastern Wood-Pewee so far and it will definitely make it into my Iowa Wildlife Gallery as soon I will find the time to make an update…

Nature clicks #220 - Orchard Oriole

 

I like to interrupt my series about the warblers for another first sighting we had a few days ago at our house. For the first time we had an appearance of two Orchard Orioles. The birds showed up several times at one of our hummingbird feeders, which also has been used frequently by the many Baltimore Orioles we are lucky to see every year in May. To brake the jinx I made of course a few clicks while they were at the feeder but the goal for me is always to get a shot without it in a situation like this. I used the brief moment when the orioles landed and held on to the grape vines that grow on our balcony. They just hesitate a little before they hop onto the hummingbird feeder, to make probably sure everything is safe, but it is enough time to make the click.  I can tell you, we had three amazing weeks with the birds in May 2014 so far and I haven’t even been able to show you all of it yet… ;-)

Nature clicks #219 - Orange-crowned Warbler

 

When I have a first sighting of an animal I try to make my research about the species with several sources to make sure the critter is correctly identified. Sometimes the photo doesn’t reveal all the distinguishing marks and some doubt is left. It took me a while to draw a conclusion about the Orange-crowned Warbler but now I believe that’s what it is. Many warblers have a variety of color patterns and females and immature birds can look totally different than the male adults.

The photo was made right after a rain shower under low light conditions and revealing the colors required fill flash again. The Orange-crowned Warbler has its breeding grounds in the western part of the US and almost all Canada. The Mississippi Valley is an important migration route for the northern subspecies and so it is no surprise that we have seen it here last week.

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…

Gear testing and great company today

Click in the photo or just  HERE for a larger version of this photo.

Don’t worry, there will be at least two more posts about the warblers that we had here during this week. But before that I like to thank my photography friend Dave Updegraff for shooting together with me today and letting me test some photo gear that he owns. We used the gorgeous weather and just clicked away in our front yard. Birds were here again in abundance and I enjoyed exchanging thoughts, sharing our ways to make a photo, and discuss our workflows and other photography stuff. I had a great time this morning!

I thought this female Ruby-throated Hummingbird is worth a closer look because of the details in its feathers, and so for the first time I publish an image that has a higher resolution and size. If you click on the photo the larger version will open in a new window. I hope you enjoy!

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.