Blog Archives
Frosty Morning
Friends, yesterday we had a little warm-up to 29 degrees F above zero, so Jim and I and the dog went for a stroll in Crex Meadows. Every little detail was covered with hoar frost and I was able to shoot without gloves. What a treat to see the top of tiny trees painted with white, I love the bokeh background in this shot, we did not see the Snowy Owl but heard it was still in the area, maybe we will return today and search for her. til Tomorrow MJ
Splendor in the Snow
Friends, this male pheasant is showing off his finery in the drabness of winter. I love the many patterns and colors on his back, such a lovely bird. Surrounded by snow, he still finds a bit of seed to eat, here and there. We were searching for the snowy owl, but this guy insisted that we take his picture, enjoy til Tomorrow MJ
Cranes are gone
Friends, the Sandhills have left the building, we have received about 18 inches of snow and the cranes found it a bit too much. i wish i could go with them, but need to stay where i am for the time being. This immature crane is leading the way for the adult with oak leaves in the background. enjoy, til Tomorrow MJ
Nuthatch
Friends, this white-breastedd Nuthatch visits the suet feeders quite often during our winter season. He is seen hopping up and down a tree trunk with his you know facing the sky. Further up north these birds are called assups because they often travel upside-down. You get the picture, til Tomorrow MJ
Snowy Owl in the Snow storm
Friends, today we found a Snowy Owl in Crex Meadows.We haven’t seen one of these in Crex since 2005. This shot is really an extreme crop and a big stretch for my telephoto lens, but we were thrilled to see this owl even at a distance. This was a remeinder for me to get back to work after a short hiatus at Thanksgiving. til Tomorrow MJ
Eagle
Friends, this mature bald eagle is enjoying the day perched in a birch tree. There were four eagles in this spot, guarding a road kill that was ripe for scavenging. The snow is getting much deeper today and we have had about 12 inches in this storm so far, hope it stops soon. Til Tomorrow MJ
Junco
Friends, i am running out of images to post, guess i have to get busy and do some photography. This junco was sitting on my desktop, so here he is in all his feathered glory. I do love the birdies, til Tomorrow MJ
My Deer Hunt
Friends, well the men of the family are out sitting on tree stands in single digit cold (F) with fingers freezing and trying to stay quiet in the frosty woods. Deer hunting opened this morning but i got this white tail deer doe several days ago before the shooting started. She was so pretty, hope she makes it, til Tomorrow MJ
One More Whooper
Friends, normally i don’t use this type of image in my blog, but this is a rare bird and a rare opportunity to share with you. This image was taken against the light and at a distance too far for my tele, but photoshop helped the situation so the leg band colors could be seen and recorded for posterity. Sorry but i couldn’t resist showing one more Whooper image, til Tomorrow MJ
Another Thrill
Friends, Jim and i went crane hunting again today to see if we could find the Whooping Crane among the hundreds of Sandhill Cranes, I showed an image yesterday of the large flock with a distant white bird. Today we surveyed the fields and found her again, among the Sandhills. She walked up and down and finally took off, she flew into the sun, but i stayed focused as the small group circled, turned , came right at us and passed directly overhead. I guess my practice at Hawk Ridge and the flying cranes at Crex, paid off, as i was able to capture her in flight. I know, i know, you want the wings fully extended either up or down, sorry you get what you get, it was a beautiful day to share with my honey. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 