Category Archives: Crex Meadows
Portrait
Friends, I took my husband to Crex to watch the loons feeding their babies, as we watched they swam very close to our vehicle. After one of the dives, this adult bird surfaced within ten feet of me and i was able to shoot this shot. The morning was cool and the water was like glass. i couldn’t resist showing you one more loon in a little different pose, but the eye is still there. Til Tomorrow MJ
King of the Fishers
Friends, this handsome bird is a female Kingfisher and is indeed king of the fishers. This is a portrait that was taken early in the spring, I apologize for not showing a current image, but i have been making an animated video and it was a real challenge. They changed Photoshop around so i had trouble finding all the tools that i needed, then i hit a glitch in the software, did you hear me where you are? i hollered loud enough to be heard around the world, total frustration. tomorrow back to my Crex images, til Tomorrow MJ
Another young hummer
Friends, this young hummingbird is a male the black whiskers under his chin, or his five o clock shadow, is the area that next year will be filled with irredescent red feathers, thus the name ruby-throated hummingbird. I had a great deal of fun trying to photograph these little guys, but it was a beautiful day and somewhat cooler than it has been. til Tomorrow MJ
Summer Hummer
Friends, this is a young hummingbird, probably a male, the black streaking under his chin is where the red gorget will become apparent after his winter molt. There were two siblings fighting over the feeder near the visitor’s center yesterday and i sat for an hour, shooting their antics. I like the tiny feet in this image and the tongue showing beyond his beak. The tongue is not a straw but two fibers that collect nectar by capillary action, he can “lick” the nectar from the source with a tongue that can move 13 times per second, wow fast, til Tomorrow MJ
Rusty Heron
Friends, this great blue heron doesn’ t look very blue, more brown, but he was sitting still so i took his picture. i think he is an adult bird cause he has the little black feather off the back of his head, and maybe he is brown because the iron-rich water stains the big birds by late summer. The feathers of sandhill cranes and trumpeter swans in Crex are also rust colored from the water this time of year. til Tomorrow MJ
Grebe
Friends, this adult grebe was hanging out in the sunshine where his beautiful colors were showing. This is a bird who photographs better in the bright sunshine than on a cloudy day. He looks kind of gray without the sun, and a beautiful shade of bronze with the sun. He is called the pied-billed grebe cause his bill is multicolored in the early spring with a dark ring that fades in the late summer. When they sit in the lily pads they are difficult to see unless they move and give away their position. til Tomorrow MJ
Milkweeds
Friends, this natural history story is present in one photo, the bloom and two stages of buds with a spent bloom in the background, i like this kind of shot. Lots of color in the swamp milkweed, this plant grows on a tall stem with its feet in the water. Three types of milkweed grow in Crex Meadows, the common milkweed that is a pale pink, the butterfly weed that is bright orange and this swamp weed that is brilliant pink. The structure of the flowers is similar in all the milkweeds that grow here and the image below is a magnified view of the flowers. The wildflower season in Crex Meadows is winding down, but soon the prairie blazing star and goldenrod will predominate. AAAchooo!!, til Tomorrow MJ
Among the Lily Pads
Friends, this baby mallard is hiding among the lily pads, when i first approached he was sitting in the middle of the lily patch, but when he saw me he headed for water. The bottom image shows his struggle as he fought his way through the pads to reach the water. Safe on the water, til Tomorrow MJ
Hummer?
Friends, at first i thought it was a hummingbird, then a huge butterfly, but after closer examination I discovered that i was photographing a moth, a very large moth that hovers like a hummingbird and is similar in size, hence its nickname, the hummingbird moth, it drinks the nectar through a proboscis like a butterfly, a very long straw to drink its soda. Its real name is the white-lined sphinx moth. Below is the moth from the front. til Tomorrow MJ
Baby Ring-bills
Friends, on a hot july day, these baby ring-necked ducks are going for a swim with mom, some call these ring-necked and some call these ring-bills, but this time of the year both the rings are fading away into a summer plummage. The rings are still there but very faint like they have been bleached by the harsh sunshine this time of year. I prefer the name ring-billed cause ring-neck in this part of the country usually refers to a pheasant. Another 95 degree day in the northland. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 
