Blog Archives
Spring Pelicans
Friends, these white pelicans flew over in their migratory route on Wednesday. I saw three big flocks circling and moving north and west. They breed in western Minnesota and North Dakota so they may have been a bit off their usual migration route. I jumped out of my vehicle alongside the four lane and stood on the shoulder to shoot these guys and gals, the big trucks were whizzing by, but i didn’t even hear them, all i saw was blue sky and birds, it has been a long winter and yesterday it was 75 degrees F, wonderful, til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Culture
Friends, birders have a culture that includes an addiction to anything birdy, some list birds, watch birds, feed birds and photograph birds. and some like me sit by the marshes waiting for a bird to just show up, this morning i went to see if I could find the loons that i had seen yesterday, but the only bird present in the fishing hole was this tiny grebe, I thought at first that it was one of hundreds of Pied billed grebes that are always around and almost drove past, but just for giggles i put my binocs on it and shreeked for joy, I have never seen the horned grebe up close, but here he is in all his breeding finery, I love his yellow earmuffs, enjoy, I sure did, til Tomorrow MJ
Water Trail
Friends, this pair of ring billed ducks are cropped to emphasize the water trail that they leave behind while swimming, the ice on the ponds is almost gone and yesterday was a great day at Crex Meadows, lots of sun and warmth in my blind (read faithful Chevy), I was watching a pair of loons diving along a sheet of ice, once they came up within ten feet of me and my camera, yes i got the image, will show it in a later post, til Tomorrow MJ
Wet Loons
Friends, the loons have returned and the bigger lakes are opening, yahooo!!, this image was taken last year with the wet loon on rough water, the red eye is prominent and his green stripe in front is visible, sometimes they ride so low in the water that the green does not show, below is an image of a loon in smooth water, just a portrait of the head, this pair of loons do not seem to mind me and my camera sitting near their fishing hole. til Tomorrow MJ
Mister Ring Bill
Friends, the ring neck ducks have arrived and the lake ice is breaking up, hurraaay!!!, I think this duck is mis named, i always call them ring bills because ring neck is what pheasants are called in this part of the country. So to avoid confusion, i call them ring bills and this is a male bird. Photographing them in exactly the right light is the key, also i love his feathers on top of his head, makes him look very alert. He dives for his food and is usually wet. til Tomorrow MJ
Buffleheads
Friends, these beautiful bufflehead ducks were swimming and diving for food on a very small puddle in crex yesterday, they are very tiny ducks and one of the first to arrive in the spring, today we have another 6 inches of snow, wet and cold, but a warm up in the forecast, our pine trees surrounding our yard have a lot of broken branches from the wet snow, til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Up
Friends, look up in Crex Meadows early in the spring or late in the fall and you will see Greater Sandhill Cranes gathering in flocks. In the sunset sky they land on their roost, and in the spring they land and dance on the brown reeds and sedges. In the early summer they pair off and go to their nesting site to raise their young. This time of year, they soar down to land in groups, and when landing, the dancing begins. They pop up and down like popcorn, trying to find the right place to land without disturbing the residents who are already in the spot. til Tomorrow MJ
Dancing Sharptails
Friends, this time of year, the sharptailed grouse males are dancing on the meadows, in this image he is getting ready to dance, his yellow eyebrows are raised, his purple air sac is exposed, his tail is raised and his wings have dropped down, in the image below is his dancing pose, His feet do a fast stutter step as he whirls in circles and chases any other male birds. The females sit by silently watching, and after selecting the winner, they both fly away. This ritual happens at dawn, so one has to be in a blind before dawn. Finding a strange blind in the dark can be quite an adventure. so enjoy my sharpies in the warmth of indoors, til Tomorrow MJ
First Blue of the Season
Friends, this Great Blue Heron is the first that i have seen this spring, so technically maybe i can call it spring, He is strongly backlit, but you have to take what you get when you are very tired of snow and ice, this bird sighting really lifted my spirits yesterday, there is still snow but this little stream is open so he was searching for food. I pushed the image a bit in magnification so you could see his blue lores, black cap and two black pigtails streaming from the back of his cap, sorry for the complicated background, I think I am a little rusty, til Tomorrow MJ
Mister Blue
Friends,blue jays are being very active around our house, they must be hungry as they appear at the suet feeder when we are not around, this jay was foraging in Crex Meadows, a wildlife refuge near our home. They are very noisy and demand attention where ever they go. The snow is melting and the roads are muddy but spring is slowly making its way north. So take a lesson today, make a little noise, til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 