Nature clicks #231 - Semipalmated Sandpiper (?)

This Semipalmated Sandpiper should be in the lower Arctic regions by now, where it usually breeds during the summer. Nobody probably knows what inflicted the large wound below its left wing. This could be the reason that the little guy was left behind during migration. It may have been a bird of prey or any other predator the sandpiper maybe managed to escape from. However, it seemed to do OK and the bird enjoyed a bath and the following drying and preening process of its feathers at the boat launch of Finley’s Landing at the Mississippi.

As always, sandpipers are not easy to identify (at least for me). There are many combinations of feather patterns and color changes, and that’s why I put a question mark behind its name in the headline of my post. If you have another idea, please let me know. I’m always open for suggestions and like to learn the differences.

Nature clicks #230 - Green Heron

 

I guess I never get my warbler stories finished, too many new things happen in the great outdoors these days… ;-) Jenny, the naturalist from the County Conservation Board, gave me the hint last Sunday to check out the nature area of Finley’s Landing, a popular beach, boat launch, campsite, and marina at the Mississippi River. I have been at the beach before but didn’t really know that there was a nature preserve adjacent to the marina and campsite. Nobody was at the campsite and the marina this evening and I had it all for myself, ideal for wildlife photography. Pretty soon I saw a Belted Kingfisher, a couple muskrats, several dragonflies, and I watched a raccoon crossing a creek on a fallen tree. As I was about to leave, a bird flew under one of the boat docks. My excitement grew when I realized that it was a Green Heron. I have made pictures of this bird before but still didn’t have a shot that I really liked. They are not uncommon here along the Mississippi but we don’t see them as much as the Great Blue Heron. I just read that the Green Heron is one of the few tool-using birds that sometimes drop bait onto the surface of the water and go for the small fish that might be attracted. I didn’t see this kind of behavior today but I thought it is an interesting fact that I will pay more attention too the next time I see a Green Heron hunting for fish.

Nature clicks #229 - Nashville Warbler

 

I still have a backlog of photos that I like to show you here in the blog. Not so much because of image quality but I like to wrap up my series about the warblers that we have seen in our woods in May. The Nashville Warbler is one of them. I had three sightings between May 12, and May 19 2014 but none of them ended with a photo that I’m halfway satisfied with. I just could not get it sharp. The photo may work here in the blog but if I would try to make a larger print there is just not enough sharpness.

It was the first time that we saw this bird but I guess we have to wait until next year, or maybe the migration in the fall, to make a photo with a little more detail. For now we are at least happy that we have seen the Nashville Warbler, the jinx is broken ;-) …

Nature clicks #228 - Eastern Kingbird

 

I spent some time this weekend in the “Swiss Valley”, a nature preserve that features 476 acres (193 ha) of woodlands and prairie, just a few miles southwest of Dubuque, Iowa. Catfish Creek meanders through the valley and the whole preserve is a great area for watching wildlife, fishing, or other outdoor activities. I have been there before but mainly in late fall or winter. The preserve has also a nature center with many nice displays about wildlife, ecology, and history of the area and the Dubuque County Conservation Board has their administrative office there.

I had some nice conversation with Jenny, a Naturalist of the County Conservation Board, and within a few minutes I learned a lot about the possibilities that the preserve may have for wildlife photography. I don't really know why I have neglected this area in the past...  :-?

I hiked a little on both days and it didn’t take long until I saw a Yellow Warbler and an American Redstart. I have introduced both birds here in my blog recently. While crossing the creek on one of their small suspension bridges I saw this Eastern Kingbird perched on a branch of a big oak. It is one of the larger flycatchers and with all the insects near the river Swiss Valley seems to be a perfect habitat. Despite its name the Eastern Kingbird can be found almost from coast to coast in the U.S. and Canada.

Let’s talk photography. The photo has a little bit of a background problem. I was shooting without a tripod through a gap between some other branches and didn’t have much space to change my position. I’m not a fan of the bright spots between the leaves of the oak. First I fired a few shots without flash and then the Kingbird didn’t move and gave me some time to mount the speedlight to the camera. However, I finally liked this photo, which was made without flash, the best. Not so much because how the bird was lit, but because of its gesture, with the head turned to the side.

Nature clicks #227 - Milk Snake

 

Sometimes it is just bizarre how close the good things are situated to the sad moments. Yesterday I found for the first time a Milk Snake here up on the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa River. I’m always happy if I discover a new species that has its habitat in the woods around our house and if you followed my blog since a while you know that I get excited about it. The snake was laying on the road just in front of our driveway. Pretty soon I found out that it was dead. There is probably nobody to blame ( I really hate the thought that somebody drove over it on purpose!). Our road is a private loop and not very busy. The survival chance if a critter crosses the road is probably a lot higher than at any other public road. There was no visible injury, but if somebody accidentally drove over it it probably would have killed the Milk Snake.

I was hesitating if I should post this image. It’s not really wildlife anymore but at the other hand my blog is also about documenting what happens in our environment and how human intervention influences the nature here in Eastern Iowa. I placed the snake on some of the rocks we have here and made the click. Oh no, I’m not proud, I’m just dealing with a sad reality and I pay my tribute to a critter that deserves a much better display than this...

Nature clicks #226 - North American Deer Mouse

 

We have a critter here that we can find all year long but I still have not been able to make a photo of it until this week. The North American Deer Mouse occurs over a large geographic area and in many different habitats. More than 100 subspecies have been described according to the “Audubon guide for mammals” app that I used for identification. They live in the woods around here but take sometimes advantage of bird seeds they can find around our house. Most of the time we see them only for a second or two before they disappear. This one sat at the edge of our driveway and just watched us for several minutes.

The only way to make an image that is halfway interesting was to bring the lens down to its eye level, means laying flat, belly down on the asphalt…

Rewarded patience

 

I haven’t been out shooting for the last two days. A busy work schedule and another, not photography related project needed to be finished. At least there are a lot of things left from the last three weeks that I can post.

The big wave of warblers that came through here during there migration is history but some of the warblers stay here in Iowa during the summer. The Yellow Warbler is one of the most widespread warblers in North America during the summer, which does not really mean you can find it at every other corner. However, last weekend, after making the photos of the Cliff Swallows, I spent some more time in the Little Maquoketa Valley. The public trail that follows the valley was an old railroad track and is now used for all kinds of recreation activities. Having mostly private land on both sides, that is usually zoned by a barbed wire fence, doesn’t really allow to follow a bird very far, unless it stays near the trail. After spotting two Yellow Warblers a couple times at the same location I simply put the tripod legs in the ground and waited for another opportunity. Finally my patience was rewarded. The fence prevented to get closer but I believe this environmental portrait of the warbler tells the story about the lush growth that takes over the bird’s summer habitat.

Iowa Landscape: Storm chasing

 

Yesterday was a very muggy day. In the evening some thunderstorms moved though our area. We only got a few brief showers and some thunder was rolling but it was a great chance to chase some clouds and thunderheads.

I gave myself an assignment for this storm chasing trip. First, I wanted to use only one lens, the Carl Zeiss Distagon T*, 35 mm, f/2 ZF. This lens has manual focus only. And second, the main subject had to be a cloud, cloud formation, or thunderhead. Any other element in the picture had to be there only to complement the main subject. Except for some slight straightening of the horizon line in some images no crop has been applied. The goal was to get it right in camera.

I didn’t shoot with a tripod because of time. The clouds moved very fast and the scenery changed constantly. Sometimes it wasn’t easy to find a place to park the car safely, so it was key to be fast in and out in order to make the click.

As always, I made many mistakes and some shots where I thought I had nailed it turned out just to be, hmm, not so good ;-). It is the mistakes that can make us better photographers as long as we try to learn from them. I had great fun on this little storm chasing tour above the Mississippi Valley and down at the river. Can’t wait for another one… :-)

Nature clicks #225 - Cliff Swallow

 

Back in early May I reintroduced you to several of the swallow species that we can find here in Eastern Iowa. If you missed this post but still like to have a look, just click HERE and a new window will open and will bring you back to this post. One species was missing, the Cliff Swallow, although I had seen it in 2013. Luckily a few days ago I recognized some swallows flying under one of the bridges that cross the Little Maquoketa River down in our valley. Pretty soon I identified them as Cliff Swallows, mainly by the distinctive spot on their forehead. I came back last Sunday, prepared to climb under the bridge into the mud of the river bed. They were in process of building their nests out of the mud that they can just find below in the river.

I think it is fascinating to watch these little architects how they do this. For them the structure of the bridge is a perfect place and a great habitat to raise their offspring. The building material is right below, the bridge protects them from predators and weather, and they have plenty of food available because of all the insects that call the river bed home. The only concern that I have is a big river flood, as we have seen it before, when the water level may reach the lower parts of the bridge. This would cut them off from the nest and may put their chicks in danger.

I shot these images in an awkward position on a steep slope under the bridge for about thirty minutes. The mosquitos were biting, it was muddy and slippery, and I was concerned, not so much about myself, but about my gear falling into the river. At the end I was very happy about to see the Cliff Swallows again and bring home some decent photos that tell a little story about these master architects.

Nature clicks #224 - Yellow-throated Vireo

 

Yesterday I mentioned my first sighting of a Yellow-throated Vireo in the Green Island Wetlands. I didn’t plan to show you this image because the bird was too far away and I cropped the heck out of it. The tree was on a little island in the water and I had no way to get closer, but it was important for me to make the click in order to find out what kind of bird it was. However, my friend Jeanine from Johannesburg in South Africa was asking if I had made a photo of the vireo since she had never seen one either. So here it is, not much detail and sharpness, and as I said before, it is cropped to death so you can at least see the bird in this photo. I have a second picture that shows the Yellow-throated Vireo more from the side but a shaking branch in front of the body makes it only useful for identification purposes. Well, this is how it goes in wildlife photography. Sometimes it takes several years before another, better chance comes again but if you don’t try again and again , you will never make the photo of your dreams…