"What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." -Aldo Leopold
American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Lock & Dam 14.
Lock and Dam 14:
Located in the city of Le Claire, IA. Hailed as one of the better bald eagle viewing opportunities in the continental US, each winter hundreds of eagles congregate along the flyway of the sometimes frozen Mississippi River to catch fish that get stunned as they travel through the cascading water passing through the lock.
Hands downs, Lock and Dam 14 is my favorite because it provides closer views of the eagles from the viewing platform. The best light is in the afternoon, although I’ve still gotten some great images in the morning. Get there early to find a good spot on the platform as it gets crowded later in the day (especially on weekends).
While in Le Claire, plan a visit to the Buffalo Bill Museum, or a boat ride with the Riverboat Twilight Tour cruising…
When traveling to a new location it is always interesting to see what gull species is the local equivalent to our Ring-billed Gull. In the case of the Texas gulf coast, that is definitely the Laughing Gull. We found that a really great place to see hundreds at great distance is the ferry ride between the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston. Be sure to check the water as well as the skies if you take this 20 minute boat ride. Steve and I were able to spot a bottlenose dolphin or two during the crossing.
Laughing Gull – Anahuac NWR, TX
After hearing their vocalizations for quite a long period, we can say this species is quite aptly named!
Laughing Gull, Anahuac NWR, TX
In summer plumage, this is obviously one of the easier gulls to identify. Largest of the hooded gulls, with red bill, legs and feet, slate-colored back and black primaries.
Cormorants and Spoonbill – High Island TX – Rookery
Most birders who have had the opportunity to travel will know about High Island, a small township along the gulf coast that is among the most famous of birding locations in the country. This relatively small plot of land, along with other spots within a few minutes drive, can boast bird lists higher than many states, if not whole geographic regions of the country. What surprised me during our visit last May was the diversity in habitat. High Island is mostly famous for its potential for massive fallout during spring migration – migrating songbirds either traveling up the coast or flying directly over the gulf will stop here for a drink of fresh water and to fill up on grub before continuing north to nesting grounds. We realized we were going to miss most of the migration at the end of May, but still wanted to pay a visit. The place is so popular that there is bleacher seating around key ponds to allow for visitors to watch as birds by the hundreds land for a drink and forage through the live oaks.
No Vacancies – High Island TX – Rookery
The numbers and diversity of songbirds across the Houston/Galveston coastal areas we visited were even sparser than we anticipated, but on arriving pre-dawn at the rookery we were quite surprised. Every bit of vegetation on this relatively small island was being used by wading birds. We were in awe by the numbers of Neotropical Cormorants and Roseate Spoonbills that filled the branches as well as the skies.
Roseate Spoonbills on nest – High Island TX – Rookery
Lighting was quite challenging – what little light available at this time of the morning was often coming from behind the subject. Evening may have been better photographically but we had lots of ground to cover. One of the sights that had me the most excited was a nesting Great-Egret. These are birds that are routinely found during the warmer months in Missouri, but finding one feeding chicks was a real treat.
Great Egret Nest – High Island TX – Rookery
Early in the dawn hours we were treated a Common Gallinule (Moorhead) hen bringing her chicks down to the water for a drink.
Common Gallinule – High Island TX – Rookery
Prehistoric looking Spoonbills would sometimes fly right overhead.
Roseate Spoonbill – High Island TX – Rookery
I hope to visit High Island some spring during a nice fallout period one day, but I will be just as excited to watch and photograph at the rookery once more.
Cattle Egret – High Island TX – Rookery
You can see more photos from the High Island rookery and the Texas Gulf Coast by visiting me on Flickr.
It was a pleasant surprise to be able to add two new owl species to my bird species photographed list over my long holiday break. The second owl species and subject of this specific post is the Northern Saw-whet Owl. Although this species can be found in the Show-me State during winter, I heard of a location along with a Radagast like wizard who could conjure up this species upon request within a mere eight-hour drive from our front door. Having waited longer to do this than we should have, Sarah and I loaded up the Subaru and headed for the wilds of west-central Iowa.
Moorehead Park – Ida Grove, IA
Don Poggensee is no mere wizard, but an accomplished photographer, pilot and naturalist who loves spending time during his retirement monitoring the park’s owls and showing them to anyone interested in getting exceptional looks and knowledge about these visitors from the north. Don has been monitoring, helping in banding projects and showing folks (in the hundreds, if not thousands by now) the owls since 1989. Sarah and I met up with Don one morning along with a couple of other birders, including The Birding Project’s Christian Hagenlocher. We grabbed our cameras and binoculars – not that we would be needing these and followed Don to the specific roost tree that he knew the owl would be found.
In the right habitat. Left to right – Don, Sulli, Christian.
Winter weather in this part of the Midwest can be brutal and unpredictable. In the days preceding our visit, temps bottomed out at ~ -25 F. As Don explained to us, colder temperatures and heavy snowfalls often force the owls to find more suitable roost sites that he is typically not able to find. We lucked out and had rather comfortable conditions for the short hike to the owl’s roost tree.
Northern Saw-whet Owl, Moorehead Park, IA
Saw-whets are year-round residents across southern Canada and the northern U.S. but winters across most of the continental U.S. They typically can be found roosting 3 – 12′ in conifers but can also be found in honeysuckle tangles in winter locations where their preferred conifers may not be abundant. Banding programs, made up of mostly citizen scientists have only recently begun to shed light on the seasonal migratory movements of this species. Along with locations and dates, these banding programs have shown that most migrants are females or immature males. Adult males stay on breeding grounds during winter, presumably to hold onto prey-rich territories.
Northern Saw-whet Owl, Moorehead Park, IA
In case you are wondering, Saw-whets got their name from the apparent similarities that one of their common vocalizations has to the sounds made by the sharpening, or whetting of a saw’s blade. They actually make at least nine distinct vocalizations, including an ascending wail that is reminiscent of an Eastern Screech Owl.
Vole Cleavers – Northern Saw-whet Owl, Moorehead Park, IA
At six to nine inches high, our typical response is to wish to put one in our pocket to take home. They are quite cute. However, to nearly anything that is their size or smaller, these guys must be regarded as horrifying. While checking roost trees we found a number of their tiny pellets, each with surfaces studded by the stained bones of their rodent prey.
Northern Saw-whet Owl, Moorehead Park, IA
Works used and recommended readings:
Weidensaul, Scott. Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.
Dunne, Pete. Pete Dunne’s Essential Field Guide Companion. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006.
Black Skimmer – Skimming – East End Lagoon Preserve, Texas
Coastal bird photographers, particularly those who have access to areas highly trafficked by humans, have really got things easy. We were consistently surprised at how much luck we had getting close enough to our subjects – and this was with visiting these locations for the first time. I can’t imagine the fun to be had with some time, experience and practice.
Black Skimmer – Houston Audubon Society – Bolivar Flats Shorebirds Sanctuary, Texas
The Black Skimmer just may be one of the perfect targets for the bird photographer. The species is colorful and contrasty, which is so nice for autofocus. This species is rather large. It prefers to spend time in groups that enable the photographer to capture interesting social behaviors. If you are lucky enough to be at the right time and place, the chicks are unbelievably cute. And, if that isn’t enough, they of course have their namesake feeding behavior that can be seen in the image at the top of this post.
Black Skimmer – Houston Audubon Society – Bolivar Flats Shorebirds Sanctuary, Texas
Closely related to the gulls, auks and waders, the skimmers are in the small family – Rynchopidae (roughly translated to beak-faced).
Black Skimmer – Houston Audubon Society – Bolivar Flats Shorebirds Sanctuary, Texas
If you inadvertently flush a group, don’t give up or chase. Skimmers have favorite resting places and will often settle to the same stretch from which they flushed.
Black Skimmer – Houston Audubon Society – Bolivar Flats Shorebirds Sanctuary, Texas
This stunning and large buteo is often seen with the last Texas gulf coast bird featured, the White-tailed Kite. This was one of the birds that Steve and I got a big kick out of finding. Although common and abundant over much of its range in the Americas, the White-tailed Hawk can only be found along the Texas coast and the Rio Grande Valley within the United States. I was doubly fortunate to be able to find another perched in a tree in Fort Bend County when my New-Englander friend, Sam, and I came across it during a few precious hours birding following several hectic days on the job.
White-tailed Hawk, San Bernard NWR, TX
White-tailed Hawks are birds of the air. Pete Dunne (Pete Dunne’s Essential Field Guide Companion) suggests that the species is most often spotted in the air. Steve and I first located a pair at San Bernard NWR on an island of trees within coastal prairie. I paid the price by taking a number of fire ant bites by wading through the prairie trying to get a bit closer. We watched as the pair eventual flushed and rose higher and higher on the coastal thermals, eventually rising to a height where they were almost invisible to the naked eye. Once spotted in the air, there is no mistaking this species with any other bird, with contrasting white body with black-edged wings and striped tail.
Hooded Mergansers First Year Males – Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary – St. Charles Co, MO
The one-eyed man referred to in the title of this post is, of course, the photographer with a telephoto lens sticking out of a well-placed blind. Yes, we are all aware of and use to good effect the mobile blind – our warm vehicles. However, shooting from a car in a place like RMBS leaves a bit to be desired.
Common Goldeneye – Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary – St. Charles Co, MO
From a car, the angle at which the birds are photographed will always be at the same downwards angle that in my opinion is less desirable than being close to eye level, which sitting low in a a portable ‘bag’ style blind can afford.
Hooded Merganser Hen – Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary – St. Charles Co, MO
Although I have owned such a blind for a few years, I have only recently given it some real use with friend and fellow like-minded nature photographer, Miguel Acosta. All of the images from this post were made in our first attempts at this and even with limited light and opportunities, I can already see the potential in using this technique for improving photography of waterfowl.
Hooded Merganser Big Boys – Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary – St. Charles Co, MO
Getting an eye-level perspective yields more benefits than just a resting duck. Catching birds taking to flight from the water’s surface from this angle makes for a more powerful image than from above.
Lift Off! – Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary – St. Charles Co, MO
I’m really glad we tried this out. It is something I’ve been wishing to do for quite some time and I guess it just makes sense that this is the way to do it. Now I just need to think of places and opportunities to try more.
Trumpeter Swans – Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary – St. Charles Co, MO
It is always interesting to find a bird species you are pretty familiar with in a new location or season. Such was the case and pleasant surprise that Steve and I found when stumbling upon the Willet in coastal Texas in May, 2016. This giant puppy dog of a sandpiper is typically a relatively low-key, almost dull bird when spotted in Missouri during its migration. The individuals we observed in Texas, however, were quite conspicuous as they combined long vocalizations with slow flights that really showed off the contrasting black and white wings. They were a pleasure to watch and photograph.
The 275th bird species I have photographed in Missouri and contiguous states turned out to be a special one. This Eastern Screech Owl is definitely the current most famous bird in the bi-state area. Many thanks to Miguel Acosta for the information. A long time coming.
American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Lock & Dam 14. 
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 