Category Archives: Birds
Crane Dance
Dear Friends, these cranes are jumping for joy or are they jumping to stay warm, either way, they appear happy, on a sunny morning in the corn field with light shining through their wing feathers. Are you jumping for joy this morning? I haven’t had enough coffee yet. Soon til Tomorrow MJ
My Best Dancing Cranes
Dear Friends, this is my best dancing cranes from this year, the fluffed up feathers make this image unique, this is a staring match , and the first bird to blink, well, that is my take, til Tomorrow MJ
The Essence
Dear Friends, the essence of fall in our part of the world is summarized in this image, the trees are brilliant with color, the corn is harvested and the cranes are flying everywhere. Soon the ground will be white, the cranes will be gone and the trees will be bare, i do not like the winter, but will put up with it, bah humbug, til Tomorrow MJ
Trumpeter Swan Takeoff
Friends, Crex Meadows in the fall not only has thousands of Sandhill Cranes, but also has smaller gatherings of Trumpeter Swans. The swans breed and raise their cygnets in the area and residents can be observed throughout the summer. So enjoy this landing til Tomorrow MJ
Green Wing Teal??
Dear Friends, i think this might be either a young male green wing teal or some kind of hybrid, what do you birders think? The green speculum is there but no white border around the head green stripe, the back and side feathers are also strange. Seen on Phantom Lake in Crex Meadows on July 1. til Tomorrow MJ
Pair of Horned Grebes
Dear Friends, i was hanging out by Phantom Lake and this couple were out for a late afternoon swim on a very rough lake. These birds are probably pushing babies around the lake by now, so til Tomorrow MJ
Crane Lunch
Dear Friends, i always think of our Sandhill Cranes as gentle giants roaming the wetlands in search of food. I never thought of baby Red Winged Blackbirds as a food source. These young cranes were being harassed by the adult Red Wings as the cranes plucked the babies from the nest. The male red wing bird is definitely in attack mode but the sandhill has his lunch. Red wings are not in short supply here and predation is common as they nest on the ground. til tomorrow MJ
Horned Grebe Hairdo
Dear Friends, this Horned Grebe was found on a very windy day on Phantom Lake in Crex Meadows. A pair of birds were present but this one came very near the shore allowing me a closeup of his beautiful red eye and wild feathers. His yellow head feathers can be raised or lowered and when raised they look like horns from the front view. This day the wind has the lake stirred up and his feathers in a jumble. til Tomorrow MJ
Bobolink
Dear Friends, this male bobolink sings from a small bush in Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin. We went there to see the spring Whooping Cranes but they were all too far away for good pictures, so we settled on the smaller birds. The red-headed woodpecker is not hard to find here and they nest in the refuge, one of them nests very close to the visitors center. til Tomorrow MJ
Which one, Blue Wing Teal
Dear Friends, a slight decision problem this morning, which of these images do you like the best? This is a male blue-winged teal in a muddy hole, the top is the original colors and the bottom is a white-neutralized version, which one do you like? til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 