Blog Archives
Happy Face
Friends, this coyote boy is hunting for his lunch in the prairie dog town in the badlands of North Dakota. Despite his predatory nature, he has a happy face. My what big teeth you have, granny, a famous line from little red riding hood, a story of my childhood. til Tomorrow MJ
Hair on Fire
Friends, this female hooded merganser is leaving quickly, like her hair is on fire. They always give me a chuckle, with their feathers all in a tizzy. The perfect reproduction of her head feathers was reflected in the quiet waters of early spring I love this portrait of her taken before she built a nest and hatched some youngsters. til Tomorrow MJ
It’s all in the Name
Friends, these red rocks are called scoria in North Dakota, but they are also called clinker. They are very fragile and break into pieces when dropped or otherwise subjected to blunt force trauma. It is formed from layers of bentonite clay being baked by a burning coal vein hence it official name, porcelinite. The formation of a china cup in the badlands of North Dakota. til Tomorrow MJ
Independence Day Eagles
Friends, here a happy fourth of July to you all, these Bald Eagles are symbols of our country, so from top to bottom, an immature leaving a perch, a first year bird on the first day out of the nest, and a watchful adult teaching his youngster how to hunt. til Tomorrow MJ
Northern Flicker
Friends, this Northern Flicker is looking for a nesting spot before the leaves came out this spring. The underside of his wing is shown in the bottom photo, a macro photo of the yellow feather shafts on his wing encased in ice. so til Tomorrow MJ
Black Tern Catch
Friends, every now and then you catch a shot that you really had to work at, that is prefocus and wait for this bird to get to the pre-arranged site. This black tern was fishing back and forth down the waterway in Crex, He was very quick so i pre-focused on a spot and waited for him to be in focus. I was totally shocked when i saw that he had caught his prey in this image. The image is a little soft and the shutter speed of 1/1000 was not quite enough, but I wish to share so you can understand what i do all day in my retirement. til Tomorrow MJ
Rose Breasted Grosbeak
Friends, this cheery fellow is a rose-breasted grosbeak in his finest plumage. I love getting close up and personal with the pretty songbirds of Crex. This boy sings his heart out all the way through the spring and in early summer, he is still singing every morning. til Tomorrow MJ
Mystery
Friends, someone asked for more horse close-ups from the wild ones in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This is Mystery, a black stallion with a small star on his forehead. His band was featured in the thunderhead bog of a few days ago. enjoy til Tomorrow MJ
Copper
Friends, the horses run wild in the badlands within the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This beautiful stallion is named Copper, and he was a herd sire of the wild ones. This year he appeared alone, no mares or foals following him around. They say he is injured and I hope he survives cause he is a pretty boy. til Tomorrow MJ
Sweetheart
Friends, this black horse has lots of white marking and the black heart on her side has given her the name of sweetheart. Her colt is eating the rich grasses and growing quickly in the wilds of the North Dakota Badlands. What color will the baby be?? that is the question. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 