Blog Archives
The Search
Friends, this time of year we are searching for new Karner Blue butterflies in Crex Meadows. The Karner is a rare specie with an endangered population but the host plant, wild lupine grows here in abundance. Every year the volunteers of Crex survey the prime areas for Karners. The second flight or hatching is expected any day now so we are all out searching for these tiny blue butterflies. Yesterday I found these tailed blues but no Karners. This is macro with a telephoto lens. An extender (20mm) is between the lens and the camera so I can focus at about 4 feet away and avoid disturbing his feeding on the orange milkweed. His underwing is similar to Karners, but the little tail is the deciding factor. Still searching for the Karner til Tomorrow MJ
Sandhill Crane Young
Friends, this is a young Sandhill Crane colt who is about half grown. Those of you who have followed my blog know that one of my favorite birds is the Sandhill Cranes of Crex Meadows here in Northwestern Wisconsin. By fall this chick will have a brown head and as an adult bird will appear as in the bottom image. They love the cornfields and pluck the bugs from the leaves. til Tomorrow MJ
Begging for Food
Friends, this pied billed grebe is very small and photographers often miss her and her chicks when they are hidden among the lily pads. This particular bird had six chicks that were fast approaching her size, and even thou they were diving for their own food, she was still feeding an occasional morsel and so the younger bird is begging for food. I like the two heads telling the story. Would you edit out the spent lily bloom in front of the adult bird? til Tomorrow MJ
Nature Colors
Friends, sometimes the colors of nature clash horrendously like the pink, orange and deep green of this image, so changing it to a black and white might help. Which do you like? black and white or colors, or a little color added to the black and white, hmmm maybe just leave nature’s colors as they are?? this image is of a skipper butterfly perched on a common milkweed and sipping soda thru a straw enjoy til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:The Golden Hour
Friends, the sharptail grouse dance during the golden hour before dawn until after dawn, then they fly off with a female and do what grouse do. Til then they dance, jump and talk about it and often have an attitude. This image is from Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area and was taken early in the spring. I always freeze my fingers onto the shutter button, talk about cold, brrrrr something to think about now that the temperatures are in the 80-90 range. til Tomorrow MJ
Rising to Meet the Morning
Friends, I know that this loon pose is very commonly seen here in the northland, but I never fail to be amazed by them. I grew up in dry country so seeing a very large bird rise from the water and stretch his wings is a novelty to me. This particular loon and her mate lost their eggs this year due to fluctuating water levels, so they are busy fishing, napping, grooming and yes stretching, this summer season, instead of fishing frantically to feed their young. In this particular place in Crex Meadows, a pair of loons (maybe the same pair) raised a pair of young, so they have done their diligence. til Tomorrow MJ
Yellow Head
Friends, this is a yellow-headed blackbird shopping for dragonflies that fly too slow and make a delicious lunch for birds. The day that I took this image, the dragon flies had just hatched and several of these birds were frantic in their pursuit of lunch. This one even sat still for a minute or so to allow me to snap his portrait. til Tomorrow MJ
Lunch time
Friends, I imagine that this adult loon is admonishing her chick to “not play with your food”, but the look on his face is priceless. Technically this image has way too many highlights, but I liked the joy and celebratory feel to lunch time, In the early morning I was shooting into the light, enjoy, til Tomorrow MJ
Wood Lilies
Friends, these wood lilies are such a brilliant hue that I had to turn down the saturation a bit, I know I rarely turn the saturation down, it is usually turned up a bit, but the colors are very bright and I felt that subduing the orange a bit would help the details. I wished to emphasize the centers of these three flowers, so in processing, I straightened the right hand flowers, then cropped so that two centers are in the sweet spots, rule of thirds positioning, These are wild flowers growing in Crex Meadows and they are at their peak bloom right now. The wild lily has an open bottom where the petals come off the stem. The domestic lily is fused at the bottom of the petals, your natural history lesson for the day. til Tomorrow MJ
Morning Glory
Friends, this wildflower of Crex Meadows is a Field Bind Weed, but I don’t like any name that calls a beautiful flower, a weed. It is a member of the morning glory family and it grows wild in Crex. This flower blooms from a tough red stem that tends to wrap itself around surrounding plants and eventually choke them off thus making room for more glories. As a herb it is drastic and sometimes poison, but despite its sinister nature, they are beautiful. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 