Category Archives: Birds
Red tail over the Ridge
Friends, went to my photo club meeting last night and each month we vote on our favorite photo for the month. The theme was wild outdoors, and my redtailed hawk won for the month of January. That means that it will be published in the local paper. This redtail was released from Hawk Ridge in October and she had lost two tail feathers that are regrowing. This image was captured as she rose and turned her back on me, then flew back across the ridge. Maybe I have used this image in a previous post, but it bears another look, til Tomorrow MJ
Nuthatch
Friends, been computer-fixing for two days, ugh. This white breasted nuthatch waited patiently til I finished my swearing cussing and kicking the tires. Finally I got this blog to work again, something about the Java program not being up to date. Don’t you just love computers??, But i remember well the darkroom days and this digital photos are cleaner and created in the light. til Tomorrow MJ
Blue Jay
Friends, this blue jay is a shy guy who visited the suet feeder briefly then flew away. I sat for 1 hour waiting for him to reappear, and he eventually came back. The cold weather has made the birds hungry and they are visiting the feeders. The cold weather has me shivering after an hour and my hands and camera refuse to work. til Tomorrow MJ
Brown Creeper II
Friends, again I am showing a Brown Creeper from the northern Minnesota bog.This is a very tiny bird and get most of his food by probing the bark of mature trees. He starts at the bottom of the tree and spirals around the trunk until he reaches the top, then he flies back to the bottom of the tree to start again. This bird is resting briefly before he starts another upward foray. I like his slightly curved beak and camo coloring that blends with the tree bark. Enjoy, til Tomorrow MJ
Osprey
Friends, this osprey was flying over Hawk Ridge this fall during the fall migration. Most of the birds were flying south along the ridge, but this wayward fellow was flying north. A puzzle? He flew very close to the birders on the ridge, and gave me an opportunity to get this flying shot. til Tomorrow MJ
Pink or Red
Friends, this pretty pink bird is a male Pine Grosbeak found in the winter bog. His beak is designed for seed eating and he loves sunflower seeds at the various feeders found in the Sax Zim bog . These birds are migrants from further north and there seems to be more of them in the bog this year than in previous years. Just my reflection not an actual fact. I don’ like the background so I have added an image with edited background, i think it is better for the bird colors. What do you think? til Tomorrow MJ
Peanut Butter Bird
Friends, this Gray Jay is popping pieces of frozen peanut butter like popcorn. I laughed out loud when I saw this image. This image was taken at a bird feeder station where all kinds of birdie treats were put out for the northern bog birds. The Sax Zim bog is famous for winter owls that migrate here from the northern regions and is located west of the mighty Lake Superior. The larger birds are attracted by the abundance of smaller game and the seed-eaters are attracted by the coniferous trees that produce cones filled with seed. til Tomorrow more bog birds, MJ
Immature Eagle
Friends, This immature bald eagle was trying to have a little snack on a roadkill, but i was patiently sitting across the road and he remained in this tree until i went away. smart bird, but he was still snacking a few days later when i passed again, but I had taken this image so I did not stop. The ponds and lakes are all frozen this time of year so his fishing food source is not available. Bald eagles will scavenge what food is available and an occasional deer carcass means survival. His varied feathering marks him as a juvenile bird. The bald eagle gains his all-white head and tail over a period of five years His pate is turning a white but still has a strong eye stripe and a dark bill. I am not a birding expert so I will not venture a guess at the age of this eagle. til Tomorrow MJ
Motorboat Mallards
Friends, this image did not need much in the way of photoshop and i loved the wake behind and ahead of the birds. They are swimming very fast after a fellow mallard who got some bread from people feeding the ducks. Reminds me of the saying, “be like a duck, calm on the outside and paddling like mad under the water” My father always thought that was a wise saying and as i was a wall flower when i was growing up, I took faith that the paddling would get me where I needed to go. so I am still paddling. til Tomorrow MJ
Beach Cleanup
Friends, this male Mallard was crusing along the edge of Lake Superior that in January is still not ice-covered. The mallards don’t seem to mind the icy weather. I didn’t like all the leaf debris among the ice so i deleted it with several Photoshop tools, mostly the patch and spot healing brush tools. Sharpened with Color Effex Pro 4 detail extractor tool. I think the image is wilder and the absence of debris is less distracting. To each their own, til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 