Friends, I am very Thankful for the birds of Hawk Ridge and Crex Meadows, who keep me busy photographing the wildness. So back to Hawk Ridge for another Hawk lesson, or in this case, a Falcon lesson. The portrait of the Merlin below shows an open beak and the notches in the cutting edge of the beak that fit together when the bird is killing his prey. These interlocking notches are the tomial tooth of the falcons. Hawks may have the upper notch but do not have the corresponding notch on the lower edge. The higher magnification image shows this region to dramatize the tomial tooth. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, these two Greater Sandhill Cranes have been digging in the mud for food. They use those very long sharp beaks to root for grubs, frogs, seeds, and other muddy food. Crex mud must be rich in food elements as everywhere in the mud flats, small humps of mud are signs that the cranes have been tearing up the scenery and when their heads pop up the mud is still stuck to their beaks. The bird in front is an adult and the one in the rear is a juvenile. This morning we have heavy wet snow, so the cranes will probably be on their way to warmer weather and softer mud. I will miss them when they are gone, they entertain us from September thru November but disappear around Thanksgiving time. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, Happy Thanksgiving from our wild turkey who drifts through the yard with her family every now and then. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this ring billed duck is on rough water but still diving for his food. Happy Thanksgiving to all and hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, the morning this was taken, the ice had covered the flowage and this little muskrat was perched on top, munching away on some vegetation that was protruding from the ice. I like the light of the evening sun. These rodents make houses of the reeds and sedges that also stick up out of the ice. They say that the height of these houses predicts the snow fall depths this winter. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, I was chasing cranes and trumpeter swans at Crex, these chickadees called to me to come watch their antics while eating some knap weed seeds. Some were hanging upside down and other right side up, but all were having a thanksgiving feast in the weed patch. you may click on each image to see a full resolution image. Love their feather details til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this friendly pheasant was showing off his finery on this chilly fall day on a field of brown, unlike the green of yesterday’s post. I think they are the king of the marsh. The top image is color as i found it and the bottom image is a little warm up added. Beautiful bird ! either way. You can click on either image to see a full resolution view, til Tomorrow MJ
Nov 17
This gallery contains 6 photos.
Friends, green is hard to find this time of year in our country. Going back through my archives, these green images struck me. A storm was whipping across Crex Meadows, a green hummingbird, green background with yellow swallowtail butterfly, green tree abstract, and a hooded merganser swimming across a green pond. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this redtailed hawk is leaving with his new bracelet on his leg. Those talons are pretty fierce hunting weapons and the image below shows a closeup of these sharp tools that keep him supplied with food. You can see the dark patch on the wing rib and his dark belly band that mark him as a redtail hawk. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this young whitetail deer is a male and was following some girls that were roaming through our woods in the backyard. We live in the Wisconsin wilds and it is not uncommon to see the female whitetails in our woods. But we rarely get a chance to photograph a buck. I was sitting in my elevated deer stand that is suspended from a tree about twelve feet off the ground, when this boy came into view and peeked around a tree at me. The top image shows his response when the camera started to click and he saw me. Which pose do you like, the relaxed (bottom image) or the all-alert image (top). til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 