PEWEE VS. PHOEBE

Eastern Wood-Pewee, Mines of Spain, Dubuque, Iowa, Sep 06, 2025

Today I came across an Eastern Wood-Pewee while making a brief visit to the Mines of Spain Recreation area. Not an unusual sighting and these little flycatchers are not difficult to spot when they perch on a branch and dive down to catch insects midair or sometimes on the ground. They often return to the same perch, a fact every photographer may like.

Two weeks ago I photographed an Eastern Phoebe, right here in our woods, and that gives me the opportunity to show you how much alike these two flycatcher species look. So how to tell them apart? Here are a few details that may help.

  • The Eastern Phoebe has a dark bill, while pewees have a yellow or orange base of their lower mandible, which is very good visible in these two photos.

  • The Eastern Phoebe pumps its tail (the pewee doesn’t). That can help identification if you see for instance the bird just as a silhouette against the sky.

  • The two wing bars are less distinct on a phoebe, while they are almost white on a pewee.

  • And last but not least, if you hear the distinctive ”pee-ah-whee” song before you even see the bird, you certainly know that an Eastern Wood-Pewee is in the neighborhood.

Eastern Phoebe, Little Maquoketa Valley, Iowa, Aug 23, 2025

TURKEYS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Wild Turkey, Little Maquoketa Valley, eastern Iowa

It’s not unusual to see Wild Turkeys around here in the Little Maquoketa Valley, but most of the time they hardly present themselves for a photo opportunity. During last week a gang of four showed up several times on an open grassy spot right here on the bluffs above the valley.

I can’t see them from our house because it is below that particular location, but after seeing them for two days in a row while driving, I prepared myself already at home. Put the camera in my lap, had the car window down, and drove up the short distance to the top of the hill very slowly. A short stop, the turkeys were present again, and a short burst of shots from the car was all what it took to get the photo of this nice looking male turkey.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x,    @840mm, 1/1000 s, f/9, ISO 800

GOING FOR A BIG SNACK

Great Egret with a catch, Mississippi River, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

When you go since a long time and frequently to the same area for wildlife photography, as it is the Green Island Wetlands in the Mississippi Valley, you may start believing, I have seen it all, no big news anymore. But nature comes often up with a big surprise and I learned this lesson again a couple days ago. So here is the little story that surrounds the two photos in today’s blog post.

When I saw this Great Egret standing beside the gravel road in front of the car I didn’t even consider to make a click. An egret standing on the road and staring down the banks on the left hand side towards the lake wasn’t really a shot I was looking for. I approached the bird very slowly, even stopped, hoping it would take off and fly away before the car came close. Usually those egrets are quite skittish and don’t let you come really close. It took me a few seconds to realize that this guy was on to something and didn’t even look at me.

Suddenly the egret pushed its sharp bill into the weeds along the banks and jumped even down. Obviously it had made a catch. I expected seeing a little frog or maybe a locust in the birds bill, but surprisingly the catch was a lot bigger! This Great Egret had caught a young muskrat, one of the four-legged critters that live in the wetlands. While the bird ”handled” its prey, means it killed the muskrat, I asked myself, how is it going to eat that big snack? The critter didn’t move anymore when I shot the first image and the time stamp on my files revealed that seven seconds later the bird had swallowed the young muskrat completely. Nature can be brutal but as a wildlife photographer I try not to be biased. It was an amazing experience and I’m glad I had the camera in my lap and was ready to document the unexpected.

STORY TELLING OVER PERFECTION

I’m a big advocate that story telling in a picture takes priority over the ”perfect shot”. This photo is probably a good example for this claim. If the American Goldfinch would be totally separated from the flower right behind it, this would be a bit better. However, a different angle of view was not an option at this location. Let’s look at the story in this photo. We are close to the end of summer and it’s time for the seed eaters, like the goldfinches, to feed their offspring or just to put some weight on for the upcoming cold seasons. The Purple Cone Flowers in the front yard, and anywhere else, are on their way out and provide plenty of food for the finches. The picture tells pretty much this story and of course, a male goldfinch is one of the prettiest birds around here…

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light,  @ 840mm, 1/1000 s, f/9, ISO 1250, slightly cropped,

MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES 2025 #5 - SUMMER AT ITS BEST

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S,   @ 1/2000 s, f/8, ISO 500

I haven’t posted another ”Mississippi River Story” since May but I like to do so at the height of the summer. The heat and very high humidity during the last weeks has been replaced by cooler temperatures, a bit of wind, nice puffy clouds at times, but we still had plenty of sunshine. All good reasons to get the kayak out for a couple paddle trips in the backwaters of the big river. The vegetation is lush and green and some flowers can still be found between the arrow heads and water lilies that grow everywhere in the Mud Lake area. The breeding season for most birds is almost over, it is a lot quieter on the water, and I had a lot less photo opportunities for wildlife. But there is always room for a surprise and a couple Great Blue Herons posed nicely within the range of the lens. I caught the first heron standing motionless in the water, like in the picture below. But the bird moved on and I missed the shot. At the second opportunity the wind pushed me almost too close to the bird but by reading its body language I knew a second ahead of time when the decisive moment would happen. This time luck was on my side.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S,   @ 1/2000 s, f/8, ISO 500

Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa,

Nikon Z6III, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 55mm, 1/320 s, f/11, ISO 100

I came back to the entrance of the marina at Mud Lake Park in the evening, hoping to get nice warm light on the puffy clouds we had all day long. Unfortunately the clouds dissolved very quickly due to the air getting drier. The blue boat came at the right time to rescue this photo. A couple minutes later the cloud show was over…

BLURRY WINGS

Adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

It is a good problem to have not knowing what to post first, because many things wrap around my mind and most important, plenty of clicks have been made recently.

I’m still learning the ins and outs of my new designed ”Small Bird Rig”. If you haven’t followed the blog lately, click on the link to see what I try to accomplish when photographing small birds https://exnerimages.net/blog/2025/7/8/gear-talk-testing-a-new-small-bird-rig.

Talking about small birds, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the smallest we have here in our neck of the woods and across Iowa. I shot plenty of images without applying a speed light in the past, but it is the subtle hint of extra light that reveals the colors of this beautiful hummingbird (German: Kolibri) much better and can make the difference between a mediocre photo and the ones I like.

Juvenile male

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds beat their wings between 50 and 80 times per second according to some sources, reaching speeds up to 200 times per second. The aspect of story telling in my photography leads intentionally to pictures that have some blur in the wings. It’s just the way we see the bird and I don’t really care about an image that shows frozen wings. It is the humming sound we all love about these birds and I think our photos should reflect this aspect.

Technically I think it’s not difficult to walk away with an image where the bird has frozen wings. Employ a higher shutter speed, mostly accomplished with much higher ISO settings and by using the speed light as your main light source, and you will get there… Well, the story about this tiny little bird may not be told that way, so feel free to bare with the blurry wings in my photos…. 😊

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light,

PADDLING IN THE NORTHWOODS

This juvenile Common Loon was still fed by its parents, but not every dive for food was successful. First time that I was able to make some clicks of loons with their offspring. Fay Lake, Florence County, Wisconsin

I’m back from two different trips to the Northwoods. The second one led to well known territory in northern Wisconsin. Most of the time I have been there for little ice fishing adventures with friends each year in January, but this time the kayak was on top of the car roof while traveling.

I like to share some photos from last weekend that were shot during three paddling trips. The wildfires up in Canada made for unpleasant air conditions and I didn’t really like how most of my landscape pictures turned out. However, there were some good encounters of wildlife, mostly birds, and I saw even a bear crossing the road. I hope you enjoy!

A pair of Trumpeter Swans navigated their five cygnets through the weeds into shallow water near the shore of Fay Lake.

Juvenile Spotted Sandpiper, Wabikon Lake, Forest County, Wisconsin

For almost four hours I enjoyed a paddling trip on the Popple River, deep in the woods of Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. No humans, no men-made noise, just the tranquillity of pure nature. It doesn’t get much better… 😊

FEEDING A HUNGRY BUNCH

Second brood of House Wrens in the bird box

It’s not just the bluebirds that raise a second brood in our backyard. As other years before the House Wrens feed young birds again. About a week ago I checked the bird box and counted six eggs in the nest. I checked again yesterday and it looks like all have hatched, although it was impossible to count the nestlings in this little bowl of feathers.

In this humid and warm weather here in eastern Iowa at the moment there are plenty of insects and larvae. Both parents feed with high intensity. Here the female went into the box with food in its bill. A few seconds later the male often shows up and passes his catch to the female. In this instance the female didn’t take it but the male House Wren went to the nest after the female had left.

It amazes me always how big of a prey these baby birds can swallow. Look at the size of the bug in the male’s bill!!

AT THE MARTIN TOWERS

Purple Martin tower at Mud Lake Park

I had an opportunity this morning to watch the counting of eggs and nestlings of the Purple Martins down at Mud Lake by the Mississippi River. Together with some staff from the County Conservation and their kids we were invited to see how the nest gourds are maintained and kept clean during and after the time of incubation.

Ry, on the right, had lowered the gourd rack to the ground and then opened each one briefly. The kids helped counting and put the results in a tracking list for later evaluation. I was allowed to point the camera into the opening of one of the gourds so I can show you now how it looks inside with most of the martins already hatched.

Some of the chambers required a little more maintenance. When the nesting material was infested with bugs and possibly parasites, Ry carefully placed the young Purple Martins in a bucket for a short time, emptied the gourd, and replaced the old infested nesting material with new wood chips, or sometimes uses pine needles. This all happens calmly and relatively quick, so the gourd rack can be cranked up and the parents are able to feed the hungry bunch in the nests again.

It was an exciting experience, including some good conversation with everybody who was there. Thank you to Ry for a good explanation of the process and to Mike for inviting me!

Purple Martins at Finley’s Landing, 07/15/2025

SOCIAL LIFE AT THE MARTIN TOWER

Male Purple Martin returning to the nest

This is the photo I was hoping to get during my last two visits at the Purple Martin tower at Finleys Landing down by the Mississippi River. The Purple Martins are beautiful looking birds, elegant flyers, and it is very interesting to watch their social behavior. The young martins have hatched and it is such a great joy just to watch the interactions at a breeding tower.

For most of my wildlife photography I try to keep any men-made elements out of the frame, but here I make an exception, supported by a note I found on the Cornell website (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Purple_Martin/) :

Native Americans hung up empty gourds for the Purple Martin before Europeans arrived in North America. Purple Martins in eastern North America now nest almost exclusively in birdhouses.

With other words, we enjoy wildlife that has adapted to men-made nesting places since a long time. The towers hold 18 chambers for a Purple Martin nest and at Finleys Landing it looked like almost all were taken. These towers with their plastic gourds may look not very pretty, but the practicality for maintenance (cleaning after the breeding saison) and doing research studies (counting eggs, etc.) is proven. Well, most importantly the Purple Martins must like them and it is so exciting to see how quick the birds accepted the relative new tower at this location.

The nestlings peak out of the box but after the female on the left departed for catching more food, the male on the right pushed them back into the box with his head, I guess using his parent authority…

It seemed like some of the juveniles had already left the nest but this is a matter of interpretation. The juvenile Purple Martins look almost identical to the females that tend them. I’m not sure if this is a jealous female or a young one begging for food. Its clumsy behavior made me believe the latter.

Purple Martins are supposed to be monogamous but that doesn’t mean they can’t be jealous. The male in the center had a happy life until another male didn’t like it, flew in and used its bill vigorously to end the affair. It took less than two seconds and I shot this scene in high-speed shutter release mode with about 14 frames per second. Everybody left the scene uninjured… (June 28th, 2025)

TENDING A SECOND BROOD

Male Eastern Bluebird

It’s exciting to report that our pair of Eastern Bluebirds at the edge of the woods behind the house is working on a second brood. The first one in June contained 4 eggs and I saw three of the juveniles in the backyard on June 28th. I read in the book ”Bluebirds!” by Steve Grooms & Dick Peterson that about 65% of the eggs hatch. With other words, counting three fledgelings after they left the nest seems too be a success.

Shortly after the first brood I had cleaned out the nest box but a few days later one of the male House Wrens had filled it with small twigs and sticks to claim it for himself. I cleaned out again and and a couple days later the female bluebird had built another nest from grass and other soft material. About a week ago I checked the nest again and four eggs were laid. This morning another check revealed that five eggs are in the nest box and none had hatched yet. Looking inside takes only a few seconds and I only do it when both parents are not present.

Female Eastern Bluebird

This was a good reason this afternoon to sit in a camping chair away from the box and watch the bluebirds tending their nest. It was quite warm again today and the female retuned to the nest every 15-20 minutes and spent about 1-2 minutes in the nest box. The male bluebird guards the place from nearby trees and sometimes comes to the roof of the box. The incubation of the second brood takes about 13 days and I’m sure we are not far away from having the babies cracking the egg shells.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light,   @ 840mm (1260 mm equivalent in DX mode), 1/125s, f/9, ISO1600

It was a great opportunity to work with the ”Small Bird Rig” again (see my blog post from June 8th for details on this new setup). The Westcott FJ80II speed light was set to manual mode (range 5) and this very subtle hint of flash reveals the colors beautifully in this ambient light situation with the sun muted by the canopy of the trees.

I have been asked by a photography friend a little while ago about the sharpness of the Z 600 f/6.3 lens combined with the Z 1.4 teleconverter. Well, here is a photo I created today with this combo and also shot in DX mode, means with a smaller part of the sensor. This makes it an equivalent with a focal length of 1260 mm. The photo was shot at 1/125s from a tripod and is not cropped. The low resolution image here in the blog may not reveal every detail but comparing the original RAW files with each other I can’t see any decrease in sharpness by using the teleconverter. This was not always the case with older equipment I used to own.

NATURE CLICKS #612 - COMMON LOON

Common Loon, Beers Lake, Maplewood State Park, Minnesota

During our recent trip to Minnesota Common Loons were present on almost every lake we paddled, mostly one pair, sometimes even two. As you can imagine I made a lot of clicks from the kayak, which is a very unpredictable process. Loons hunt for fish under water and you never know where they will show up again after a dive. Quite often it was further away and the process of a slow approach with the boat starts all over again. Well, and sometimes the loons lift their head out of the water right next to the kayak, too close to make a picture with the long lens. The reflections on the water play also a big role how a photo may turn out. With strong reflections from the sky it is easy to underexpose the image. Last but not least, a sky with an overcast will lead to nothing but gray in the picture. Some people may say, leave the camera at home if you aim for birds in flight or on the water during an overcast… However, I was determined to come back with some reasonable photos of the Common Loon and there were a few moments when things worked out well. What I can’t present is the remarkable call of the loon that sounds beautiful and very loud across the lakes, but I’m sure you can google for it if you like to hear it.

GEAR TALK: TESTING A NEW ”SMALL BIRD RIG”

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Little Maquoketa Valley, eastern Iowa

I haven’t done a blog post about a piece of gear in a long time, but I designed and built this addition to the wildlife kit and just started testing today. Hummingbirds are the ”ice on the cake” from late April until October and I really love the tiniest of all birds we have here in our woods. Well, today they became my ”test dummies”. There are always new ways to improve photography and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird was a perfect subject to test my new, what I will call ”Small Bird Rig”. Below is a picture of this combination and actually there isn’t that much new in the essential setup. The Nikon Z6III is combined with the Z600 f/6.3 and it is mounted on tripod for this photo. The Westcott FJ80II speed light with dome diffuser attached has been in my arsenal also since awhile. The new part is the flash bracket, designed to fit my already existing equipment. It is very light and allows shooting handheld, on a tripod, or on a monopod. The position of the flash will not change if the camera is turned quickly to portrait orientation or back. Flash works on the inverse square law (remember physics!) and getting it closer to the subject let the light wrap around the birds much better. No, I don’t employ the flash of the FJ80II as the main source of light. The only purpose to use it for small bird photography is to push the colors of their plumage. The light is reflected by the feathers and the colors of the bird become more natural and accentuated under a lush green canopy of the trees or during a day with heavy overcast. Make two pictures, one with and and one without flash of the same scene, and you will be surprised what beautiful difference this can make.

The other change to my previous setup is the use of a Westcott FJ-X3M wireless trigger on top of the camera. This eliminates the cable connection between camera and speed light, which has been often a big limitation for action when out in the field.

Today’s test shots with hummingbirds were all about finding the right settings for camera and speed light. A lot more needs to be done. I know this article is mainly written for my fellow wildlife photography friends and not so much for the visitors that give a dam about the technical part of photography. I hope you still enjoy the photos of this very first test!

NATURE CLICKS #611 - EASTERN PHOEBE

Eastern Phoebe, Maplewood State Park, Minnesota

Eastern Phoebes winter further north than most other flycatchers and they are one of the earliest returning birds after the cold season. Many of the pictures in my library were made in April, some even in the month of March, over the years. Having a pair of phoebes in front of the lens during their breeding time was finally a wonderful experience last month in Maplewood State Park, Minnesota.

I photographed for the first time from a stationary blind, a cabin-like structure above a pond in the woods. While watching the birds on this little lake below the hill was quite interesting, the distance was a bit to long for decent photos. Instead many song birds in the surrounding trees gave me plenty of opportunities for a good shot. The back side of the blind was open and all what I had to do was turning around for the show a pair of Eastern Phoebes gave me during one evening and the next morning. Light, color, and the gestures of these flycatchers made for two great shooting events and it was hard to select a picture for today’s blog post… (I wished I could say that all the time I publish a photo 😉)

CHECKING THE GRASSLANDS

Male Bobolink, Technology Park, Dubuque, Iowa

Hard to believe it has been a month ago that I photographed Bobolinks in the grassland patches at Dubuque’s Technology Park south of the city. Despite the heat and humidity I spent almost an hour in this area yesterday afternoon and saw at least half a dozen male Bobolinks. Most of the time they were too far away for any consideration of a picture but the one I can present today didn’t mind my presence at the edge of the field, came close, and continued feeding in the grass.

Male Red-winged Blackbird

Here in the Midwest of the US most people don’t think too much about the Red-winged Blackbirds because they are here in abundance for most part of the year. The sighting of a blackbird in late winter is often seen as a sure sign that spring is not very far. During the last few years, with its mild winters and a change in climate, I have seen them even in January in certain places here in eastern Iowa. With a bird in abundance it’s easy to forget how pretty these birds really are. They are very adaptable to their environment and any time a strip of grass is available, either along the roads or just like here in the meadows of an urban area, the loud noise of their calls is in the air.