Category Archives: Birds
Talking Back
Friends, this Great Blue Heron is talking back and telling me that he didn’t like the heat of the day, actually he was panting in the 100 degree heat. A panting bird like a panting dog is trying to dissipate heat, he probably could get into the water to help cool his jets. His swollen neck suggests that he just had a rather large lunch and it is still lodged in his crop located in the neck region. The food is stored there and gradually fed into the stomach. He is perched on a rock so you can see his very large feet, good for traveling in mucky muddy footings of his everyday swamp. til Tomorrow MJ
Northern Harrier
Friends, this large hawk is a Northern Harrier, the first one i have photographed, maybe we will see more at Hawk Ridge in Duluth, this one was seen at Crex Meadows, lots of noise, sorry, but pushing the telephoto lens a bit and still practicing my flying shots, til Tomorrow MJ
On a Wing and a Prayer
Friends, this pair of Greater Sandhill Cranes were very near the road and i was too close and working too hard for them to tolerate. They are on the wing and fleeing. I love their graceful wings and all their beautiful feathering. The migration has started and soon there will be thousands on the meadows of Crex, calling and dancing til the winter snows start to cool us off. til Tomorrow MJ
Stepping Out
Friends, this tiny sandpiper is stepping out. He is always on the move unless his bill is buried in the mud. What do they find in the mud that is edible? I am being entertained by the small shore birds at Crex. Below is another stepping out image til Tomorrow MJ
Hawk Ridge- Sharp Shinned Hawk
Friends, A visit today and yesterday to Hawk Ridge in Duluth Minnesota, a place about an hours drive from our home. In the fall the hawks and other large birds migrate southward along the west shore of Lake Superior and often soar over Hawk Ridge. The observatory group there counts the birds every year and they band many birds . They also educate the public about these wonderful birds that are often not seen close up and personal like this bird. An educator is holding this bird and after a chat with us, the birds are turned loose to return to their migration. This bird is a female sharp shined hawk and i was surprised by the small size. When she matures, her chest feathers will get horizontal banding, her eye will go orange then red, and her back feather will get more of a gray than the chocolate brown that she has now. til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Free Spirit
Friends, this red-tailed hawk posed for a short moment on his evening journey, i took a few quick shots and away he went on silent white wings back into the dark of the forest. A free spirit of the northland with sharp yellow eyes to see into the soul and inspire my spirit. Need to keep photographing and seeing what is there. The fall is coming and my inspiration is fading like the leaves. I am fighting back but feel that i am losing the battle, til Tomorrow MJ
Great Blue Heron-Ballerina
Friends, still doing some flying shots, this blue heron looks like a ballerina with his pointed toes in a landing position. Two Herons were fighting over this fishing hole and this one was doing a lot of jumping and flying away from the other, bigger bird. I like her tutu, do you? :), til Tomorrow MJ
Alabaster Bird
Friends, this Great Egret is huge compared to yesterday’s sandpiper, so i am again practicing my flying shots.He looks like he is carved from white alabaster, white and a bit translucent, a different look than the sharply focused feathers, probably too slow a shutter speed, but i like the different feel. There was a flock of about twenty birds on the marsh so lots of squabbling and flying, an antithesis of the serene solitary flying bird, the next day they were gone, flew south to better weather, til Tomorrow MJ
Small Sandpiper
Friends, this is a very small bird and pushing the limits of my telephoto lens, but couldn’t resist sharing his wing stretch with all of you. I think he is a semi-palmated Sandpiper, but the experts out there will probably help with his id. Semi-palmated meaning his feet are slightly webbed, but as you can see that part of his anatomy is not accessible. Black legs and feet so is probably more sandpiper than plover. The image below shows his beautiful back feathers. til Tomorrow MJ
Greater Sandhill Cranes
Friends, This Greater Sandhill Crane is tiptoeing through the meadows of Crex in search of food. Their rust colored feathers are being replaced by their more formal gray of winter. When the molting season is here, one can find many feathers along the road and lakes where the cranes are busy pulling out old feathers and growing new ones. The red head and white cheek patch signify that this is an adult bird. Soon they will be flying over every morning from their roost site and every evening into their roost site. They migrate to the Texas Gulf Coast and to Florida, mostly an eastern route thru Jasper-Pulaski National Wildlife Refuge in Northern Indiana. On the way they eat grains, mollusks, and any grasshoppers that might still be roaming about. When they are here at Crex, they often gather in large groups to dance and call, celebrating the raising of the young. They are quite the spectacle until the snow flies, then one day they are gone and we are sad, but we wait patiently (?) until they return in the spring. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 