Blog Archives
Snow Bunting
Friends, well our small snowstorm of fall has now disappeared, but the snow buntings have arrived to tell of more snow to come, I love the flocks of these birdies and we see them from now until spring. Hawk Ridge will be closing down their educational branch on Oct 31, but counting will probably continue thru November. Sad to see them go, til Tomorrow MJ
Foxy Sparrow
Friends, not sure of the identity of this birdie, i think maybe a fox sparrow, but not sure. He was busily eating seeds at the Hawk Ridge feeders. No raptors were close by, so i guess he was safe. What is he? tip Tomorrow MJ
ps Tom please call me
Screamin Eagle
Friends, on my way to Hawk Ridge last week, i found a family of Bald Eagles in the trees along the road, they all flew away, but this one stayed to visit with me for awhile. While sitting there, he yawned, but in this image he looks like he is screaming. The leaves are almost gone up north, so now we can see the birds. til Tomorrow MJ
Flying Above Me
Friends, this mature bald eagle flew over my lawn chair while i was sitting on hawk ridge waiting for the raptor migration. This was a wonderful warm sunny day and now the weather has changed to cold, snow and wind. Maybe we will get a very short Indian summer to enjoy the end of the raptor migration. til Tomorrow MJ
His Environment
Friends, this baby pied billed grebe is begging food from his mom, and in the bottom image he is grown and no longer using the lily pads for cover. Now he is swimming on the big water and getting his own food. I love these little birds as they are always around on Phantom Lake, constantly fishing for food. I am experimenting (again) with a crop that includes his water trail and his eye. Do you like this kind of crop? til Tomorrow MJ
Cooper Blur
Friends, this Cooper’s Hawk is still protesting his capture and banding, or maybe the loss of a feather, floating in the lower middle of this image. Hawk Ridge is an exciting place to be in the fall, lots of birds migrating and some are caught, banded, adopted and released back into the wild blue yonder. But I have a question, is this a pleasing blur?? til Tomorrow MJ
Crane Overhead
Friends, this Greater Sandhill Crane is taking flight at sunrise. In Crex Meadows, the cranes come into Main Dike at sunset and roost for the night. People also come by the dozens to watch the nightly display. In the morning, the cranes are noisy on the roost and all talking at once just before they take off and go back to the fields to spend their day. They usually fly in large flocks or smaller family groups and this single crane was actually part of a larger group. As they passed overhead, I was able to isolate a single crane in flight. til Tomorrow MJ
Green Heron Fishing
Friends, this green heron is fishing from his favorite perch just a mile from my house. In the early morning fog, he is back lit by a diffused light. Again i am experimentingwith a vignette, green this time. I like this pose, always alert for small critters below him in the water. til Tomorrow MJ
Hatch Year Swan
Friends, this is a juvenile Trumpeter Swan, this years young called a hatch year bird. They are gray with a pink beak, that is turning black as they mature. There were four immatures with their parents on Main Dike when we were on a sunrise shoot at Crex Meadows. I was experimentingwith vignettes other than black, do you like? til Tomorrow MJ
More Feathers
Friends, under this wing of wood duck, we found layers of feathers, brown and white. A contrast to his brilliant blue feathers of wing top. I find their wing feathers very interesting with all the tiny details. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 