Category Archives: Birds
Summer revisited
Friends, this adult common loon is feeding her eight week old chick, up close and personal. This image was taken in late summer and reminds me of the warm days of summer that are now gone for this year. These birds are sitting very low in the water showing how they can raise and lower their bodies by inflating and deflating an airsac inside their body. The wings squeeze the air from the air sacs allowing the bird to dive or sink into the water. They hunt their food under water and their body is streamlined for underwater life. Feeding the young is a high priority for both adults and they often can raise two chicks each year on main dike in Crex Meadows. til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Renewal
Friends, The bald eagle and other birds get a renewal of feathers every year and some molt twice a year. When I see a wild bird up close and personal, I am renewed by an interaction with the wildness within me. Driving on a two track road back to middle north fork, I was following a mystery bird. When I reached a clearing near the lake, i saw this immature bald eagle perched in a tree. He is almost mature, probably about 3 or 4 years old, as his head and tail are almost white, but still containing some brown. I took this image as he flew from the perch, he circled the lake and landed again in the same tree snag. Must be a good fishing spot, below is the second photo as he departed. I was renewed and continued on my human way. til Tomorrow MJ
Dropping in to say Hello
Friends, today this image means that it is the time of year for friends (and relatives) dropping in to visit. This family is dropping from the sky to join a large group of cranes on the ground. In the background you can see that some of the oaks still have some brown, red brush and lots of white birch trees. So I am dropping in for a visit, short and sweet, I am going to the city today to help my mom, til Tomorrow MJ 
Crane Dancing
Friends, these dancing cranes are busy teaching the baby cranes how to dance. The youngster on the left is imitating his parent who is flying up in the air, with more of a jump than a flight. Imitation teaches the youngster how to dance. Did your parents teach you to dance. til Tomorrow MJ
Blue-wing Teal
Friends, this beautiful duck is a blue-winged teal in Crex Meadows. His blue wing is hidden deep in the feathers, but his head shows a little blue cast. This was a cloudy day but his white was a beacon on the dull colored water. This time of year, lots of cloudy weather gets people down and we have to look far and wide for some color to photograph. Some say to photograph in black and white, but I see in color so I long for any shade of color to brighten my day. Today I am going to Crex, maybe I will find color as the Meadows are full of Greater Sandhill Cranes gathering for the migration south. Or maybe I will find the mature Northern Harrier that i saw last week, that would make a great photo for my hawk book. One can dream and previsualize, but divine intervention is necessary for this to occur. til Tomorrow MJ
A Painting
Friends, this image of a Sandhill Crane spoke to me, the detailed feathering and the green background were very artful, so i played with my photoshop and converted this to an oil painting effect. I am studying feathers and the Sandhills have left their feathers all over the Crex Meadows due to seasonal molting. We have picked up several feathers and they are natural treasures that will help us to remember the autumn days on Crex and look forward to the return of the Cranes in the spring. If you are interested in feathers, I can recommend a good book, Bird Feathers, available at Amazon.com. Lots of info and well illustrated, but scientifically dry, but if you are into research (me), it is an excellent reference book. til Tomorrow MJ
The Smallest Falcon
Friends, this tiny hawk is an American Kestrel found in Crex Meadows. The educators on Hawk Ridge have taught me that this is a male due to the blue outer wing. Females have a red-brown feathering extending from the back out across the wing backs. They are a small member of the falcon family, related to the Merlin and the Peregrine Falcon. When hunting, they will often hover (wings flapping while staying in one place) or kite (wings steady while staying in one place) over a hayfield or other open area. I think this boy was hunting me. til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Geometry
Friends, Geometry is all around us in nature. When I first took this photograph, i loved the way the Common Loon was suspended in a sea of sine waves. Upon further study (sine waves on water), I learned that these waves are more correctly called trochoidal shapes and are narrower at the peak than a true sine wave. A geometry lesson for me. Never heard of a trochoid shape before. til Tomorrow MJ
Little Woody
Friends, this is a downy woodpecker who is perched on a bush along the mighty Mississippi River. This image had no color hence the black and white treatment. I photographed this tiny bird while visiting with a friend in Red Wing Minnesota. This friend is one of the few that i can really photograph with, cause we go separate directions and get lost in our respective visions for an hour or more. Depending on the weather, we eventually meet at the vehicle when we have finished. I am always surprised at the subjects that i choose to photograph as opposed to what she chooses. I am always centered on birds and on this particular day, she was focused on bittersweet, hope she got some good ones. til Tomorrow MJ
The Gull
Friends,this morning I am sharing this gull flying free above the Mississippi River. I have been reading some blogs from a website titled craft and vision and that has opened a question as to why we want to share our images with others. A new magazine is available at this site titled simply Photograph. I will be examining my own reasons for sharing in the near future, how about you? Do you share with an ulterior motive or like me, not sure of the reasons for sharing. When I write a blog about nature and the great outdoors, I tend to write to the person(s) who cannot experience and needs to see the misty mornings, glorious sunsets, flying birds and especially the micro world that exists at our feet. But I realize that while my images are probably sufficient for this purpose, my writing skills need to improve. So I will be exploring the writing of the blog to match my photographic visions. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 