Category Archives: Nature
Nature Challenge -Day4
Dear Friends, i think this tiny fellow is an Eastern Tailed Blue, see his tails on the end of the wings and his two orange spots fused on the border, he looks pretty fresh and new,and perched on the Blazing Star that is blooming all over Crex Meadows. til Tomorrow MJ
Nature Challenge -Day 3
Dear Friends, this handsome fella is an unknown, some kind of brown with eyes, maybe a Northern Pearly-eye, but i know the folks at Crex will help me out with the id of this pretty butterfly. til Tomorrow MJ
Nature Challenge-Day 2
Dear Friends, this butterfly is less than an inch in size and on a windy day like today, they only fly if they are disturbed. So the photo plan is to walk (or drive) until i see one fly up, then try to follow it to its perching spot. This is a Karner Butterfly and is identified by the blue iridescent spots above the orange on the back of the hind wing. Confused? they are present in Crex but not in great numbers so hunting is necessary. The image below shows the blue spots a bit more clear, the light has to be just right til Tomorrow MJ
Nature Challenge-Day 1
Dear Friends, this is the first butterfly of the season for me and the first of the seven day nature challenge. This is a spicebush swallowtail on a common milkweed flower, enjoy til Tomorrow MJ
Double-crested Cormorant
Dear Friends, last week i was treated to a pontoon ride down the st croix river. me and several members of a camera club went for a lovely drive. The evening could not have been better weather wise and we got a closeup view of the rookery just north of Stillwater MN. This is one of the adult cormorants that was perched above nest of juveniles that are almost fully grown. The image below shows them being typical youngsters rabbling about. so til Tomorrow MJ
Columbine
Dear Friends, I am not very good at Flower shots, but i can never resist shooting these red columbines that grow wild in Crex Meadows til Tomorrow MJ
Feeding the Little Red Neck
Dear Friends, the Red Necked Grebe young have arrived, i think there are two and this shows one of the adults feeding one of the babies, til Tomorrow MJ
Yellow-Headed Blackbird
Dear Friends, while sitting in the marsh watching for baby Red-necked Grebes to hatch, the Yellow-Headed Blackbirds were calling for a mate, til Tomorrow MJ
Ring-Necked Ducks
Dear Friends, this lovely pair of Ring-necked ducks are motoring across a nearby pond, these ducks are common in Crex Meadows and some nest here. You can see the ring around the male’s neck as a bronze coloring and i love the gold eye. They also have a distinct ring around the bill and the female bill ring fades as the summer progresses. til Tomorrow MJ
Copulation Red-Necked Style
Dear Friends, i know these are lousy images but i have to share this magic moment with my readers. The Red-Necked Grebes in our neck of the woods are pretty rare, but we have one pair that return every year. I watched them for three hours and witnessed copulation three times in that period of time, what a thrill, til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 