Blog Archives
Spring Loon
Friends, this is an environmental shot of a loon nesting far out in the marsh in Crex. The loons have all flown south and now the marsh is full of sandhill cranes. Soon they will also disappear and we will be left with the snow, ice and winter birds. Bald eagles, snow buntings, rough-legged hawks, blue jays, nuthatches, goldfinches, juncos, woodpeckers, flickers and ever-present chickadees will remain behind to keep us company. til Tomorrow MJ
Maple Glory
Friends, this foliage is gone for now, but a little reminder of the wonderful fall that has now passed us by. The maples are the highlight of my fall, they seem to turn every shade of yellow, orange and red before they pass into winter snow. til Tomorrow MJ
Looking West
Friends, standing near the top of Big Manitou Falls in Pattison State Park, the mixed foliage from pine and deciduous trees caught my eye. A cloudy day with little direct light made the scene appear kind of drab, so this is an HDR image to capture the full range of colors. HDR is high dynamic range and is a composite of an underexposed image, right on exposure image and overexposed image in a post-processing software, in this case, photoshop. I think this was an improvement over the straight exposure dictated by the camera exposure meter. What do you think? til Tomorrow MJ
Noisy Visitor
Friends, this noisy goshawk is leaving the area in a hurry, Goshawks are notorious for the squawking that they do when in hand at Hawk Ridge. This is a first year bird and is used to hollering for food in the nest. His feathers are a bit ruffled as he gathers himself to continue his migration south. Being a woodland bird, these are rarely seen except in the fall migration over Hawk Ridge. The Goshawk count over the ridge is the highest anywhere in the US. So the goshawk has become an icon of Hawk Ridge, til Tomorrow MJ
Sandhill Closeup
Friends, this sandhill crane was very close to the road, so I just had to take his picture, nice portrait, don’t you think? He was rooting in the mud for food but had cleaned off his bill for the photographer. About 12000 of these birds have gathered in Crex Meadows to fatten up before their long flight south. til Tomorrow MJ
Crashing Water
Friends, a visit to Pattison State Park and the waterfalls, this is Big Manitou Falls and just a small segment. I loved the side falls and the lovely green surroundings, evergreens even in the depths of winter. The sound of water crashing down after our brief snowfall was overwhelmingly loud. Can you hear it?? til Tomorrow MJ
On the Way Home
Friends, this scene was on the way home from Hawk Ridge, the tamarack trees are conifers that turn golden in the fall and lose their needles for winter. This old shed was a dramatic contrast to the bright trees and i had to turn around and photograph. Photographers are an endangered specie cause every one thinks they can take an image just as good, but photography is in the creative eye not in the camera. Comment if you agree, til Tomorrow MJ
Snow Bunting
Friends, well our small snowstorm of fall has now disappeared, but the snow buntings have arrived to tell of more snow to come, I love the flocks of these birdies and we see them from now until spring. Hawk Ridge will be closing down their educational branch on Oct 31, but counting will probably continue thru November. Sad to see them go, til Tomorrow MJ
Foxy Sparrow
Friends, not sure of the identity of this birdie, i think maybe a fox sparrow, but not sure. He was busily eating seeds at the Hawk Ridge feeders. No raptors were close by, so i guess he was safe. What is he? tip Tomorrow MJ
ps Tom please call me
MJ Springett 