Blog Archives
Weekly Challenge: Room
Friends, this is room to wander in the badlands of North Dakota, this rock has enough room to sit and watch the sunrise over the foggy hills. It is a place near and dear to my heart, where my mother was raised and i wandered as a child visiting beloved grandparents. The clouds are mares tails, reminding me of the wild horses who still roam the park (Theodore Roosevelt National Park). This is the first of several posts from this region, enjoy til Tomorrow MJ
Grouse Attitude
Friends, this Sharptail grouse is showing a little belligerent attitude, he is really calling gobble-check, gobble check, gobble check, as he cruises the lek trolling for a female, all puffed up with himself, his feet stutter on the ground as he dances the spring away. til Tomorrow MJ
Grouse Attack
Friends, sometimes the dancing of the Sharptail Grouse winds up in a confrontation, these two have come together head to head. After bluffing by jumpin at each other, one grouse launches into the air and comes down in an attack on the grouse who stays on the ground. never seen any bloodshed, but they sometimes shake themselves and turn away. I know it is blurred, but that was done intentionally to show the action, til Tomorrow MJ
Dancing Dancing Dancing
Friends, these birds are male Sharptail Grouse in Namekagon Barrens, thanks to the people who put up the blinds and this year they did a magnificent job. Some of the birds danced so close to the blind that one was lucky to have a telephoto zoom lens that you could back off to include the bird. You photographers know what i am talking about, too much glass sometimes. A great place to start a fledging wildlife photographer. til Tomorrow MJ
Redstart
Friends, this little male Redstart is very patiently waiting for me to snap his portrait, sorry about the tail clipped, but this was the only angle that he would allow, this ones for Loie, I think yours was better, til Tomorrow MJ
Female Cape May Warbler
Friends, this warbler is a female Cape May warbler, she has a paler cheek patch than her male buddy and is lighter all over. She posed and preened on this branch for about 30 seconds and i was able to capture her likeness in a series of shots.I love the yellow collar that is like the male bird seen in a previous post. til Tomorrow MJ
Lunch for the Horned Grebe
Friends, i am not sure what he has in his beak, but it was probably food, since in the next shot in this sequence, the item was gone, swallowed. I look for the natural history moments in nature and eating is one of those events that help a specie survive. Wonder what it was, crayfish or just plain fish?? til Tomorrow MJ
Common Yellow Throat Warbler
Friends, this is a very tiny warbler not often seen, because he hangs out in the bottom of the cattails and sedges. He has a mask that reminds me of the Lone Ranger, who was my favorite cowboy back in the day. So meet the Common Yellow-throat warbler , the masked birdie of the marshes in Crex Meadows. til Tomorrow MJ
Sora with Green Legs
Friends, this curious looking bird is a Sora (i think), and I love the Green feet. Never had seen one myself so was quite a thrill to see one so closely. He provided a break from the Warblers who have been haunting my lens lately. From his coloring you can see why he can hide in the old cat tails and sedges around Phantom Lake in Crex Meadows. til Tomorrow MJ
Yellow Rumped Warbler
Friends, this little warbler (yellow-rump) is showing off his three patches of yellow feathers, one on each side of his chest, one on top of his head and one on his rump. There were hundreds of yellow-rumps in Crex Meadows this spring, but now that it has turned to summer (85 degrees F) they have gone further north. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 