Are you among the remarkable numbers of birders and businesses across the United States and Canada who are transforming portions of their yard to benefit birds and biodiversity? It doesn't take much to make a difference to benefit birds more, especially when you do it little by little, plant by plant, pot by pot, garden by garden. Recently, a new term came to our attention – Controlled Nature – and we thought: Ya, that's really what urban and suburban landscaping becomes as we add and improve yards, neighborhoods, parks, and businesses, school yards, and church grounds with birds as part of the planning and planting. 

In the cloud forests near the peak of remote Mount Kapalatmada on Buru Island, Indonesia (located between New Guinea and Borneo), an expedition team observed and photographed a bird that had only been documented once since its discovery more than 100 years ago – the Blue-fronted Lorikeet. In April, a team of dedicated explorers, biologists, and birding experts embarked on a 14-day trek to search for the small species of parrot that has only been found once before since its original discovery in the 1920s.

Drumming is an important form of communication for woodpeckers, and hearing a rapid rat-a-tat-tat-tat can help you identify which species is drumming. Similar to learning to identify songbird calls, with a little practice you can identify some woodpeckers by the speed, cadence, and rhythm of their drumming. Woodpecker drumming may not be as immediately distinctive as bird songs, but by carefully listening to duration and rhythm of the drumming – even the perceived loudness of the woodpecker with reference to its location – you can still tell many species apart.

Due to road conditions and avian distractions, it was way overdue for me to venture down one of my favorite birding byways – The Lost Road – where I encountered my first Common Nighthawks and Dickcissels of the season, along with exciting prairie birds like Upland Sandpipers, Bobolinks, Orchard Orioles, Western Kingbirds and Eastern Kingbirds, Western Meadowlarks, Rusty Blackbirds, Wilson's Snipe, Marbled Godwits, a Krider's Red-tailed Hawk, and a somewhat out of place adult Bald Eagle perched on a fence post. I also checked on Red-headed Woodpeckers nearby, but sighted 3 single Northern Flickers instead. 

Providing Vibration Control (VC) that allows birders the freedom to photograph without using a tripod, Tamron's 150-to-500 Zoom Photo Lens is exceptionally versatile yet affordable, and it provides exceptional optics that provide sharp photos with natural colors of birds you encounter. This award-winning Tamron Zoom Lens provides the freedom of hand-held photography when using higher magnification settings up to 500mm, and its fast autofocus (AF) speed is a big plus when zeroing in on birds, especially birds on the move and flying.

During this peak period of bird nesting, we can appreciate the elaborate creations of bird nests all the more as they illustrate some of the most impressive constructions made by wildlife. Ranging from intricately woven bowls to cavities excavated into trees, bird nests ultimately are built to hold precious eggs and nestlings during the nesting season, although each species has its special way of constructing nests. This book is authored and illustrated by Stan Tekiela, whose unparalleled photography promises to delight you as he provides an informative look at the surprising variety bird nests.

The 28-inch tall Alpine Pedestal Birdbath features an elegant scrollwork design that adds charm to your yard or garden while providing a functional addition for birds through the seasons. The soft green finish adds an enchanting focal point for birds to drink and bathe. The shallow and wide bowl is ideal for small birds to bathe and drink safely, encouraging frequent visits from a variety of bird species. Crafted from durable polypropylene, this birdbath is designed to withstand the elements, ensuring lasting performance in all weather conditions. The quality base also provides stability to prevent the birdbath from tipping over, even on windy days.

It seems I’ve been on a 3-state tour during the past week, but I’ve slept in my own bed every night – ha. Friday I crossed the Dakota border to enter the South state to take advantage of a sunny evening to check for photo opportunities at Hecla Marsh. The first birds I observed on the water were Western Grebes, including a female that had 3 very young hatchlings riding on her back. The downy hatchlings were often covered beneath a blanket of the female’s somewhat elongated back feathers, popping out of cover one by one at times. It seemed early for the first downy grebes to have hatched, but it was a bright surprise for someone who was itching to give his camera a workout. 

The second surprise was a second adult female with her own trio of downy hatchlings on her back, and each family group was attended by a male that would periodically bring a small fish for the hatchlings and female. Luckily, both females with back riders were positioned close enough to the shoulder of the road for me to park my car near their action point; and the males were even closer as they searched for small fish in the shallows underwater. There may have been 40 grebes in sight, with others probably incubating on hidden nests – so having the only 2 pairs with newly hatched young so close was a treat that kept on giving as the Westies provided an array of photo ops. 

From the start, I mostly concentrated on trying to photograph the cute downy hatchlings when they poked their heads out of the blanket of feathers where they rested and slept, a lot, as expected for newly hatched waterbirds. But at key moments they revealed themselves 1, 2, or 3 at a time – offering some initial photos with the female, some even showing a level of intimacy between the adult and its young. The downy hatchlings became especially alert when they heard the low call of the male as it approached with food. As he met the female there was usually a food exchange between the male and female, and the male would return to fishing. 

In the meantime, the female seemed to get the downies excited by dipping the fish in the water, perhaps to facilitate swallowing it, then holding it above the reach of the hatchlings before repeating the process. Eventually the female permitted the most excited downy to grab the small fish and swallow it, not without a level of difficulty as the tiny grebe downed the oversized fish a number of deep gulping actions. The interactions between the adults and their new hatchlings were especially enjoyable to watch, and to photograph – heartwarming at times. And when an over-enthusiastic hatchling vying for food fell off the female’s back and into the water, it created a humorous moment, which turned to slight concern as the little one instinctively swam around to the tail of the female and clumsily climbed aboard her backside again. 

All the while I was photographing, it seemed I was provided with pretty perfect evening sunlight at a low angle; the kind of natural light I prefer and that works well in almost every case. The tiny images I checked on my camera’s LCD screen looked good, but when I returned home and reviewed the photos on the large screen of my laptop, it was all too obvious that there was a bit of a problem with over-exposure of most of the Western Grebe photos I took. My take on the problem was the bright white neck of the adults compared to their dark gray-brown body plumage caused the white plumage be over-exposed. This was probably because I focused my center-point light meter on the dark body plumage, which resulted in the body plumage being reproduced in true colors or slightly lightened, that shows more color details, but the white plumage shows few details and looks over-exposed bright-white in many photographs. 

In retrospect, I wish I had remembered a lesson I learned when photographing adult Bald Eagles. I tended to focus on the brown plumage on the shoulder of the eagle rather than white plumage of the head. That practice provided nice color details of the body and wing feathers, but it usually over-exposed the white plumage of the head and neck. That result led me to focus on the eye of an adult eagle, which provided a truer color of white plumage that shows some details in individual feathers. This practice also provided a truer color of the brown body and wing plumage that was a bit darker than it showed when I focused on the brown shoulder plumage. 

I wrestled with the white-dark plumage a bit in my mind as I photographed the Western Grebes, and I even tried to focus on the hatchlings on the adult’s back as a median option, which may have helped. In the end, it was a fine-tuning learning experience that only comes with experience, or when we read articles like this. In the end, it was the time alone in the midst of a beautiful marsh on a sweet June evening surrounded by the sights and sounds of birds – a favorite way to get away and enjoy being a part of nature – with my camera. I hope you have the pleasure of enjoying your next photo session with that level of gusto. 

                        Article and Photographs by Paul Konrad

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