Field Guide – Linda & Robert Scarth

In the last couple of weeks we have photographed at two Great Horned Owl nests. One is in a tree in the middle of a small town. A resident told us that parents have nested there for at least ten years. The second nest is in a cave on a cliff in a nature preserve. Owls have nested there for almost twenty years.

The youngsters at both nests appeared to be about six weeks old at the times we saw them. The one above, which we photographed a week ago, is high in a cottonwood tree. The large snag at the end of a big branch is hollow enough for a nest. If offers protection from the winter elements for the parent on the nest in January and February. We saw only one of the three youngsters.

There was natural light – sun in a hazy sky – on the nest snag at mid-afternoon and some fill flash was used. There are catchlights in the eyes, but the young owl’s bushy eyebrows shaded its eyes more than we liked. The general exposure was acceptable. Here is where converting a raw file with ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) came to the rescue. Because it was a raw file, adjustments to exposure around the eyes could be made with the adjustment brush without changing the overall exposure. Opening up the light on the eyes improved the image. Except for the eyes, the rest of the owl is well camouflaged in plain sight.

Yesterday we spent several hours observing the two youngsters (below) in their cave.  The cave is visible and at a good angle for observing from a bridge across the creek to the side of the cliff. Here the flash extender proved very useful. When we arrived, one of the twins was out on the ‘porch’ of the cave. It was a cooperative subject for full frame images while it napped, watched hikers across the creek and a insect flying around it, glared at a small child who stomped on the bridge, and sometimes looked at us. The flash and extender put a bit of light on its left eye which would have been shaded because natural light was coming from its right (left side of the image.)

When several boys in kayaks came quietly down the creek, the young owl considered them for a moment and retreated into the darkness at the back of the cave. Though in the  dark, we had seen movement from the second owl. We could see both of them moving about but could not see any details in the gloom. The overhang also obscured the scene.

We moved back along the bridge to change the angle of view and include both owls. In fact, we moved the tripod several times until the angle of view was perpendicular to the owls after they had settled into this pose. One of the youngsters dozed against the other.

The flash and extender overcame some of the darkness as the alert chick watched us with wider pupils because of the dim light. The sense of the setting would have been lost had the image been brighter  -  more flash exposure. The minus 1/3 flash exposure fill light kept the scene more natural while allowing us to capture the birds. Usually fill flash exposure is lower at minus 1 or more. By the time we made this image we were probably close to 90 feet away from the cave. Light from a flash diminishes at a distance.

As we often say, photography is always a compromise with light, camera settings, subject location and nature itself.

Yesterday we attended the 5th Annual Day of Insects at Reiman Gardens in Ames, IA. This yearly gathering of bug enthusiasts, researchers and naturalists is one of short topical presentations, long breaks for visiting and a bit of time to enjoy the Butterfly Wing and indoor gardens.

With only a small point and press camera in a pocket and little time to wait for the perfect butterfly, we did not photograph much. These sat still several times.  Both are longwings. The one above is probably a Doris Longwing (Heleconius doris). They are long lived for a butterfly so are popular in tropical butterfly exhibits. Longwings are found in Central and South America.

This one is probably a Sara Longwing (Heliconius sara). Longwing butterfly species have many similar wing patterns and colors.

The 15 presentations were as diverse as nature itself. From tiny parasites on wasps to government regulations on agricultural pests, the discovery of an Ozark dragonfly species  on a northern Iowa river to changing fire management strategies, citizen scientists monitoring water insects to assess streams to observing the lives and companions of digger bees under a porch, there was much to learn. We also enjoyed the insights and images of several photographers.

The most important concept presented was the idea that climate change is a meta-disturbance. As weather patterns change the disturbances are greater and more complex than often realized. The disturbance becomes a long term environmental influence rather than a passing event.

Today is just one day in our continuing concern about water, the basis of life. Water quality, availability and management are interlinked with human contributions to a rapidly changing climate. The United Nations designated today as one special day in its International Year of Water Cooperation.

This image came to mind when thinking about one to represent water is various forms. The iceburg is sitting high and dry at low tide along the the southeastern Alaska coast. Iceburgs are produced when glaciers calve. They are fresh water in solid form.

The salt water channel along this rocky coast is behind islands that face out to the Pacific Ocean. We were in a rubber inflatable boat cruising among small iceburgs. Water can take many shapes.

The clouds are water vapor droplets suspended in air. There were many cloud types as the altitude increased. These fragmented ones close to the surface are mostly the remains of an early morning fog.

Our home area suffered a drought last year which may continue. Our city is preparing for that possibility. It is dependent on the aquifer beneath a major river valley for water. It is good water in a state with many impaired rivers. Water is everyone’s business and today is a good day to think about how each of us uses, protects and conserves this most precious element.

Three Cheetah (Acynonix jubatus) brothers have been patrolling the concession around Kwara Camp in Botswana’s Okavango Delta for a number of years. We first saw them asleep like kittens in a pile in the middle of an open grassland. They disentangled and continued their post-meal nap, only occasionally providing a classic pose and image.

They were the centerpiece of a day that included 2 lionesses, a cub, a male lion and a leopard. All three species in one day was a thrill. We thought it might not get any better, but it did continue to be wonderful as our safari progressed.

We photographed the cheetah while they slept and then retired some distance away behind some trees to have some tea. When we returned they still mostly stayed stretched out flat. When they did lift their heads to yawn or look into the middle distance, they paid the truck no attention. We were able to capture a few images with our longest lenses that show the poise and elegance of this very special cat. We hoped they would go back out on patrol, but after a long wait we returned to camp.

Our fervent hope is that images like ours contribute to awareness for protecting these important predators and their environments. The government and people of Botswana seem to be an example the rest of us should follow.

This morning the message from The Writer’s Almanac included a poem by Maxine Kumin titled “In the Moment.” Written imagery can be as wonderful as visual imagery. The poem is replete with engaging mind pictures. There is one line that flew off the screen to deliver a memorable idea:  “… live in the moment, pursuing that brilliant dragonfly called pleasure.”

That sent us to look at some of our dragonfly images. There is much pleasure in photographing dragonflies. To see the metaphor of equating these fierce hunters with pleasure, speaks of the persistence needed in hunting and photographing dragonflies and the pleasurable reward when one makes a good image.

This Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is probably a female. Immature males and females lack the white bands of handsome mature males with their whitish powdered abdomens (pruniosity). She does not appear to have claspers at the rear end which would be there in a male. The brilliant golden yellow streaks down her sides are like little stacks of gold bricks.

Though the poet was describing dogs, we photographers can benefit by living in the moment, especially when enjoying the pleasure of pursuing a dragonfly.

Bloom times are getting earlier here in the upper Midwest. This year Wood Lilies (also called Prairie Lilies) are about three weeks early. Yesterday we climbed a bluff along the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River to see one of our favorite native plants. Scattered along this vertical prairie were our target species – Lilium philadelphicum – and another favorite, Pale-spike Lobelia. The lobelia were the tallest we have seen of this delicate species. Compass plants, leadplant, harebells, paintbrush and more were among the native grasses.

This part of the preserve faces north and drops to a creek for which it is named. The prairie is so steep that it is protected from direct sun until after 9 a.m. even in early June. The light bounced off sky and the trees at the lower parts of the bluff. The colors of the the Wood Lilies were modified and intensified by the light. This influenced the colors recorded by the camera sensors, the way the RAW files were converted by ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) and the final files uploaded here. Color is in the eye of the beholder, whether human or machine.

The views of the Mississippi River and Iowa across the way were both serene and powerful as the river made its stately way to the Gulf of Mexico. The wet foliage and dew spangled spider webs held the members of a recent mayfly hatch. These were mostly a soft yellow-green color.

At times it seemed that we each needed three hands – one to hold onto a bush; one to keep the tripod in place and one to press the shutter release cable.  Specimens and details required many position adjustments of cameras, tripods and our crouching bodies. These two images tell the story of our pleasure.

We hope our images remind viewers that there is much that is beautiful that needs protection because it is important to the environment as well as lovely to see. We were able to record this beauty because of the directions we were given by a generous ecologist.

Today was the anniversary of Aldo Leopold’s birth. It was also another day when a single Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) came to visit our back garden. It has been coming for weeks – usually mid-morning. We have been noticing her visits to get a drink, forage a bit and to sometimes nap in the crabapple tree. This is only one of two images of twelve where her eye was fully open yesterday.

Aldo Leopold was a dedicated phenologist. Among the species he observed were migrating birds. He kept track of the migration dates and recorded specific behaviors.  In fact, he was meticulous about his observations of bird song during migration and as nesting began. We recently found an article online about “Aldo Leopold’s Avian Phenological Observations in Dane and Sauk Counties, Wisconsin” by Sumner W. Matteson.

A look at a current range map for Mourning Doves has them as year round residents across southern Wisconsin up to the area where Leopold and his family had their “Shack.” They may not have been winter residents when he was observing them, but they now are.

Among his observations in a 1944 paper on “Bird song Phenology in Southern Wisconsin” was that the only the Mourning Dove, among migrants, sang daily on its arrival in March and April. He also noted that the Mourning Dove was one of three species that ended their nesting period in silence. The other two were the Brown Thrasher and the Northern Bobwhite. 

We recall that a pair of Mourning Doves nested in one of our rain gutters several years ago. They nested twice in succession and were very quiet during the whole process. There were two hatchlings in one batch and a singleton in the next.

The article is a reminder to us all to observe, keep notes and most of all to do so daily. That is a good new year’s resolution.

The road above is one on several that runs through the Hawkeye Wildlife Area (HWA) along the Iowa River in Johnson County, Iowa. It and colored trees were the stage and backdrop for a visit today by Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

Mr. Schweiger was in Iowa to honor the work of ’Ding’ Darling, the Iowan who was the father of the National Wildlife Federation. The NWF is celebrating its 75th birthday. Mr. Schweiger spoke of the impact of climate change on the landscape. He also learned about the impact of extreme weather events on the Hawkeye Wildlife Area from Tim Thompson, DNR biologist in charge of HWA. 

While visiting with Mr. Schweiger before he spoke, we mentioned our visit to the Rachel Carson Salt Pond Preserve in August. Mr. Schweiger then included a comment in his talk about how Rachel Carson had been influenced by ‘Ding’ Darling to become a writer describing what was happening in the environment. One of her first essays was published in a newspaper a few days after hearing Mr. Darling speak.

We sometimes marvel at how the lives and careers of people we admire were and are intertwined. Ding Darling and Aldo Leopold both worked on a study of the Iowa landscape and wildlife in the early 1930s. 

Rob Hogg, our local State Senator, making a comment to Tim Thompson and Larry Schweiger. Rob is a member of the Iowa Climate Advocates and was one of the organizers of the visit by Mr. Schweiger. A bit of the Iowa River is visible under Rob’s chin.

There was not much wildlife around but it was a good day to photograph people who work to keep the world habitable for people and wildlife.

The Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center, northwest of Cedar Rapids, IA, sponsored the 1st Annual Native American Cultural Day yesterday. The ‘Brown Otter Singers’ from the Meskwaki settlement at Tama, IA, performed for a large crowd on a warm late summer day. The young Fancy Feather Dancer, above, wears regalia made with the help of his parents and grandparents. He has been dancing since he was four.

The two young men dancers join two US military veterans in a Meskwaki dance honoring the warrior traditions of protecting home. The performance was on the edge of the large prairie meadow near the nature center. Wickiup Hill is named for the type of winter houses that were often made by the Sac and Fox (Meskwaki) people who have long lived in this area of Iowa.

The Jingle Dress is both visually and accoustically pretty. The young girl wearing this one walked, and danced, in the beauty provided by the music of her skirt.

One of the dancers is also a wood carver. The decorative edge on this bowl could represent eagle tail feathers or tree lines or hills. The bowl and beans are posed against two large gourds. In the visually stimulating scene of color, movement and beautiful craftmanship of a powwow-like setting, photographers can also find quiet compositions.

The Elder whose story telling and dancing captivated the audience. We both found him a fascinating subject. There was a stillness and calmness about him that remained even when gesturing in story telling or moving in vigorous dances.

The last performer of the day was this flute player whose playing provided time and space for meditating on the day and its significance.

Zoom lenses and keeping one’s back to the sun were the two main photographic guidelines for the day. A bit of fill-flash was helpful for the flute player as he was in the shade of a canopy. We also found that shooting from a low angle helped to control backgrounds, lessened shadows on faces, and invites viewers into the images.

The members of the ‘Brown Otter Singers’ who performed at WHOLC. Harlan Brown, their manager, spoke, sang and played the drum (seen here in his hands) for this presentation.

The importance of bees and other pollinators is sometimes an abstract idea when not observed up close. Bumble Bees are large enough to see pollen sticking to their furry bodies and sleek legs. Pollinators have a variety of ways of carrying pollen for their own food and for distributing it to the next plant they visit. We have several species of native flowers including these Grey-headed Coneflowers which serve as good stages for photographing the bees, butterflies and other insects that visit our garden.

One of the organizations working to increase awareness and assist those individuals and groups involved in pollinator conservation is the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. A series of workshops is being held throughout the country, conducted by Jennifer Hopwood, to teach the “latest science-based approaches to reversing the trend of pollinator declines.” (from Xerces Society announcements) The hope is that more people will become involved in improving pollinator habitats and in learning how to conserve pollinators while managing land for agriculture and conservation uses.

We are seeing even fewer bee species and fewer bees in our garden this summer than last. Each one is celebrated. And if we can get a good image, even more so.