Nature clicks #248 - Eastern Bluebird

 

One of the first things I did after my return from Germany was to attach the long lens to the camera and mount the whole rig onto the tripod. I noticed a lot of bird activities in the “backyard-studio” and some of them are so unusual for this time of the year that I like to share my encounters with you.

To my surprise we had up to six Eastern Bluebirds visiting the bird bath on the balcony this week. I have never seen so many bluebirds here at the same time and our records show that we never saw a bluebird in December before. They are in company with a flock of American Robins and several other species, which I will talk about here in the blog soon. The reason we see them is probably the mild weather without any snow on the ground.

I do not like to photograph the birds sitting on the edge of the bird bath. I have placed several perches nearby but the Eastern Bluebirds don’t do me the favor and use them. They rather fly straight to the water source. Well, still better than no birds… ;-) I hope you enjoy!

Nature clicks # 247 - Woodland Vole

 

This photo, of what I believe is a Woodland Vole, can create mixed feelings in our house. We knew already since the late summer that the critter is back in our yard after a couple years of absence. The recent development of a system of underground runways just below the grass surface, and even some mounds, is a good indicator. The damage in the yard can be tremendous and Joan is already afraid that none of the flower bulbs in the ground will survive. The diet of a Woodland Vole is diverse and according to several sources it includes roots, bulbs, tubers, nuts, seeds, and even animal material.

I saw the vole for the first time November 17th, a day before this photo was made eating under one of our bird feeders. I kept watching the spot and finally was able to make this one image. I “nuked” the shot with the flash since the natural light was not sufficient anymore in the early evening. It is not really flattering, although it is a sharp image, but I wished I had reduced the output of the flash light a little more. Too much work in post processing... Well, next time… I’m glad I can add this critter to my Iowa wildlife gallery.

Colorado wildlife: The Sage Thrasher - a first sighting for us

 

Traveling through bird habitats that are different than what we have here around the Mississippi Valley will necessarily lead to new encounters. The dry sagebrush plaines in the San Luis Valley, not far from Great Sand Dunes National Park, are the ideal place for the Sage Thrasher. There they can find insects, other invertebrates, and berries on the ground and in vegetation.

We saw them on fences, wooden posts, and in the bushes along small irrigation channels in this high-elevation desert. Needless to say that this was a first sighting for us and it took me a while to identify this bird. The Sage Thrasher is the smallest of the thrashers. Generic studies suggest that they are more closely related to the mockingbirds than true thrashers (source: iBird Pro app).

Yard visitors

 

Last Sunday we had again a flock of Cedar Waxwings around here. They were joined by a large number of American Robins. Both species seem to enjoy the heated bird baths for sipping some water between their meals in the red cedars around here. I wasn’t home for the last couple days and don’t know yet if the cold weather has forced them out of the area. We don't have snow on the ground yet but a few snow flurries made clear that winter isn't far away...

Getting the last seeds

 

I still have a few images from our Colorado trip but today I like to show you another, more actual photo. The American Goldfinch has long changed to its winter plumage. It is not as colorful as during the summer but it is still a very pretty bird. Joan left the dried up Black-eyed Susans in the yard so that the birds can get the seeds, and they do not need an extra invitation for this offer…

I tried to make this kind of a shot since quite some time already but did not like the outcome always. It is not so easy to separate the bird enough from other distracting elements, like dried leaves or other plants. Sometimes the head of the finch was behind a flower stem or the gesture was just not right. Today’s photo gets a little closer to what I have in mind, There is even a seed flying through the air, leaving no question about that the goldfinch has some serious business going on…

Nature clicks #246 - Northern Flicker

 

This morning I spent some time behind the camera with the long lens attached and watched the birds in the “front yard studio”. We are happy to see a pair of Northern Flickers again around here. They were mostly digging in the ground for food with their beaks. It came a little bit as a surprise when suddenly the female landed right in front of me on a dead branch. I made three clicks and liked the one you see here, with her head turned back, the best.

The other good news is that beside the woodpeckers that are here all year long (Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied Woodpecker) a young Yellow-bellied Sapsucker showed up. I saw an adult sapsucker in April 2014 for the first time here on the bluffs and today’s encounter makes me believe that they had a successful breeding season. The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is usually not here during the winter and I wonder if I may see the bird again in the next few days.

Lots of other birds but this has to wait for another post…

Colorado wildlife: A favorite critter - the American Pika

 

I have written and presented photos of one of my favorite animals, the American Pika, here in the blog several times during the last few years. If you type ‘pika’ into the search field in the left side bar you can see the older photos and blog posts about this cute and highly interesting critter.

We saw them again this year during a hiking tour in the Maroon Bells- Snowmass Wilderness in the Rocky Mountains. If you cross a boulder-covered hillside above an altitude of 8,000 feet you may have a good chance to hear and eventually see them. The pikas were busy gathering grass and other plants as food for the upcoming winter. I guess they know that there is more than just work in life and sometimes they stop for a few minutes and take a sun bath or just watch what’s going on in their rocky neighborhood.

I have quite a few images of the American Pika on my hard drive already but still missed “the” shot that tells the story about their preparation for the winter. It is not so difficult to make the click while the pika takes a break and looks down from a rock, but if they have the mouth full of plants and grass they move darn fast between the boulders. Because of the rocks it is not so easy to follow them with the lens and track focus. Peak of action, the short stops the pika makes sometime on its way to the den was again the key for success.

I got the shot I went after this time but I know there is still room for improvement. Sharpness is not 100 percent nailed and the photo is slightly cropped. I was closer with the Nikon D300s / Sigma 150, f2.8 combo for the second image and it is definitely a tad sharper. The question is always, which photo tells the better story? For me it’s the first one despite the little technical flaws…

They are here for the berries...

 

A few days ago I mentioned that we had some visitors at the bird bath. Like every fall the American Robins flock together in larger numbers and are joined by some Cedar Waxwings.

The waxwings are some of the prettiest birds we see here occasionally. Their main target at this time are obviously the juniper berries on the Red Cedars (which is not a true cedar but a juniper), that grow here between the rocks and on the steep valley slopes.

Finally I got a shot of the female Yellow-rumped Warbler that we have seen several times lately.

Colorado wildlife: Mule Deer

 

I have been asked by a friend, did you make any wildlife photos during your trip in southern Colorado? The answer is yes, although my focus has been really on landscape photography this time. One animal we have spotted almost at every location where we camped was the Mule Deer. Almost every doe had one or two fauns around and it was fun to watch them interact in a playful way with each other. We were wondering why we saw the small Mule Deer herds quite often very close to or in the campgrounds, even if there was open land around as far they eye would go. The predators they have to fear the most are probably Mountain Lions or Coyotes and these guys mostly stay away from humans, hence the deer feels obviously safer in the presence of humans. That doesn’t mean you can walk right up to them and getting out the long lens is still necessary in order to make the click.

I followed this faun for a while as it was munching the leaves from the shrubs and I had quite a few photos to choose from at the end. Why this one? Well, I like how it holds its ears because there is nothing more that says “Mule Deer” as the gigantic ears they have. I hope you enjoy…

Nature clicks #245 - Hermit Thrush, first sighting!

 

I like to interrupt my series about Colorado for the report of a first sighting that I had in our woods here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River. I aimed at some American Robins and Cedar Waxwings that came to our bird bath in the front yard this afternoon when I saw this bird foraging on the ground between the leaves. First I thought it was a Fox Sparrow, which we have seen here before, but after reviewing my photos on screen I found out that it was indeed a Hermit Thrush. The bird is obviously on its way to the southern states were it will spend the winter.

The Hermit Thrush wasn’t the only migrating bird that came through here today. Fifteen minutes earlier a Yellow-rumped Warbler landed on a branch right in front of me but I didn’t nail the shot. We live here now since almost ten years and it is amazing to me that we can still add another species to the list of birds we have seen here.