Field Guide – Linda & Robert Scarth

We went to check on the Skunk Cabbages at Hanging Bog Preserve today. There were just a few peeking out in the little brook that comes off the seeping hillside. The brook was burbling along as it usually does, even on cold winter days. Today it was trimmed with a heavy lace of ice along the edges.  These coalesced into a patterned sheet of ice as the brook spread into the little wetland along the preserve border.

So ice became the subject in the shelter of the hill. One of us looked for abstracts (tan) while the other searched for faces (blue) in the ice. The light played over the surfaces in blues, whites, tans and grays.  The sand and pebbles under the running water added to the colors and textures. We have an interesting group of files to read and interpret like clouds on a summer afternoon.

It was sunny, crisp and so still that we could hear the flap of the crows who flew over. Two Barred Owls observed us from tall trees. A small flock of chickadees came to see what we were doing along the brook. Photography is more than an art. It is a way to really experience the quiet beauty of a winter’s day.

White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) are often talkative birds seen in leafy neighborhoods or along woodland trails. They are very natty in their white, black and gray feathers, with a bit of russet undertail trim. However, there are times when they are very quiet and rather furtive. That is when they are storing seeds for later consumption.

When seen scurrying around tree trunks often spiralling down head first, it is assumed they are gleaning for insects and larva. They probably are, but sometimes they have other plans. Yesterday we watched this one retrieve sunflower seeds from a feeder and then fly to a small tree where it perched briefly surveying the area for possible watchers. In a few seconds it would head down the tree to poke a seed under a flake of bark.

A black oil sunflower seed (small black triangle) is partially visible about one fifth way up the trunk in the top image. It could hear our camera shutters and would look at us. Since we were staying still it seemed to assume we were not paying it any attention and continued saving seeds. When a second nuthatch landed in the tree, this one left. It came back about fifteen minutes later to continue the task.

If you look closely at this image, you can see the gray/brown sunflower seed being pushed under the bark by the sharp, somewhat upward curving beak. It is definitely a multi-use tool. Sometimes it would try several spots and it would take some effort to push the seed into place.

In addition to watching the nuthatch’s behavior, we got to admire the intriguing layered feather pattern of its wings and tail; something one does not see so graphically as it circles rapidly around tree trunks.

The soft background colors are an out-of-focus building – darkish windows, window sill and stonework. Selecting only as much depth of field (DOF) as needed to emphasize the main subject eliminates the need to remove or change backgrounds later. We work to avoid or adjust for distracting backgrounds in camera. It makes for more satisfying images. Frequently out of focus objects in the background will record softer or slightly different colors on the camera sensor than what we see. This is another of the pleasures of the art of nature photography.

Winter brings many delights. One of which is the birds we do not see in summer. The Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) lives in the far north: the tundra of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic. It winters in southern Canada and the northern US. This winter a number have been seen here in Iowa, often in cemetery evergreens and other thickets. A small group was reported coming to the finch feeder in a conservation park in a neighboring county.

Late this afternoon we set up our tripods near the conservation center and took advantage of the permanent benches facing the feeder and tree nearby. We had intended to go this morning but the sky was so gray and freezing fog was mentioned in the morning weather forecast. By mid-afternoon the sky brightened a bit so we packed our long lenses and were off.

We sat for a long time listening to the cardinals, chickadees, downy woodpeckers and other small birds as they went about their business in the thickets and woods. The air smelled of winter touched with a bit of spring. Then, suddenly, there was a Redpoll in the little tree calling “sioux-weee, sioux-weee” even though the bird guides list various other human interpretations. This fluffy streaked little finch is either a female or a first year bird. Adult males usually have pink chests. It, like two more that came later, looked as if it was wearing a raspberry for a hat.

The light was fading even though the sky was still quite blue behind the tree. A Better Beamer flash extender threw a bit of fill light on the bird and branch, brightening it while letting the ambient light show the sky. The light appears more natural because the flash exposure compensation was set at minus 1 2/3. We are using fill flash more often for perched birds and like the results.

Perhaps we will go again tomorrow and take stools so we can place our tripods closer to the tree and feeder.  A full frame Redpoll will bring out the color in its cap.

It is always a delight when a Tufted Titmouse comes to visit. This winter we sometimes see two in the Trumpet Vine on the garage debating who gets first dibs at the peanut feeder or fat feeder. Earlier this week this one stayed still long enough for an image in the shade of the fat feeder. The fresh snow and overcast made for a bright scene.  It is clinging tightly so its pretty orange flanks are hidden by its wings.

This is a crop from a file made by a 70-200 lens. When we saw it, one of us grabbed the closest camera even though a longer lens and some fill flash would have been a better choice.  A catch light in its eye would be desirable. Tufted Titmouse eyes always seem to look a little blurry because of the uneven dark eye ring.

We knew it would stay a moment so the camera was handheld. We hope to be better prepared the next time one or both come back.

Last night we were in the audience as the Quad Cities Photography Club hosted a program by Greg Basco, Deep Green Photography, Costa Rica. It was good seeing Greg again. We were part of a group of photographers who visited Costa Rica in June 2010. Greg was one of the leaders. He made it possible for us to photograph a variety of hummingbirds in several gardens. 

This morning we pulled up the Costa Rica images to reminisce about the locations and creatures we photographed. It feels warm looking at the deep green of Costa Rica while the snow falls outside. The storm is moving on.

Greg’s technique for photographing flying hummingbirds was fun to learn. We also enjoyed photographing perched birds like the Green Violet-ear pictured above. The leaf just behind the one on which it is perched was bleached and dry and offered a way to outline and separate it from the natural out of focus background.

If you look closely you will see several raindrops making faint streaks at the 1/80 second shutter speed. The slight shadow beneath its tail reveals that the fill flash exposure compensation should have been dialed a bit lower. Sometimes the action is so exciting that it is easy to forget to check settings from one bird or situation to the next.