Blog Archives
Spring is Here
Dear Friends, the ice has melted and the Swans now have a place to land, courtship displays will begin soon and i will be back in the swamp chasing elusive images or the birds. Hope to see you out there, til Tomorrow MJ
Still Laughing
Dear Friends, this elegant Trumpeter Swan had me laughing out loud while he bathed in Phantom Lake. He rolled onto his back and then kicked like crazy trying to right himself, very funny but maybe you had to be there til Tomorrow MJ
Peace
Friends, Sunday morning and all is peaceful and quiet on the Crex Meadows. This morning the fog lifted to reveal the Trumpeter Swans sitting (actually standing) on a mirror of water. In the foreground you can see white feathers floating on the water. The swans are doing a lot of grooming, shedding the red stained feathers and regaining their more white appearance. My new mantra is peace and love, peace and love, peace and love, repeated three times to calm my raging spirit, a new day dawns, til Tomorrow MJ
Pleasing Blur??
Friends, a photo contest that i like to enter has a category for pleasing blurs, so i camped by the water and watched this magnificent trumpeter swan stretch his wings. He must have stretched 10 times in the hour that i sat there. I started at shutter speed 1/640 then to 1/500, 1/400 and finally 1/100 to blur the wings but keep the bird head and body sharply focused, does this image work for you? til Tomorrow MJ
Coming Soon Migration
Friends, soon this will be a common sight in Crex, the Sandhill Cranes flying in to join the larger flocks. They will dance and celebrate the end of summer, the arrival of the fall foliage and the migration of other birds, ducks, hawks, swans and passerines. They will all fly away to the south and leave me here,calling in the darkness of winter, longing for their return. But for now, time to get busy. til Tomorrow MJ
Swan Cygnets
Friends, these babies of the Trumpeter Swan are having a friendly conversation on the water. I love the pink beaks that are present on these cygnets all summer as they grow up. Mom and dad are close by and being protective, The family was headed for the weeds where mom and dad stomp around and loosen little critters for the babies to pluck off the water surface. til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:The World Through Your Eyes
Friends, this pair of Trumpeter Swans are in my world and photographing them is a thrill when the cygnets first arrive in the spring. I like to think that the male is combing his feathers and the female is watching the babies very closely but these roles could be reversed as it is difficult to tell the male from the female as they look alike. This is my world, sitting in my vehicle blind and watching the wildlife of Crex and photographing those stories that are often untold but only present in photos. til Tomorrow MJ
Waiting
Friends, these Trumpeter Swans are waiting, patiently for the snow and ice to melt, I am not so patient, I go to the Meadows in expectation to find nothing new, bummer, maybe i will have to visit elsewhere to find some action, maybe the waves on Lake Superior will talk to me about spring, but last time i visited there, the waves were washing in the ice shards, sharp and glasslike panes, having family for Easter, so I guess cleaning house is the order of the day, til Tomorrow MJ
Swans in the Air
Friends, I will never get over the elegance of swans in flight. They look so formal against the sky,and this week they are returning to the Meadows where there is open water. Most of the open water available is on moving streams and rivers. So glad to see them return and to hear their welcoming hoarse honking, like a goose with a cold. til Tomorrow MJ
Grocery Shopping
Friends, this trumpeter swan is eating from the bottom of the lake. Now this water is frozen and the swans have moved to southern Minnesota where some of them winter on some open river water. We will go find them after the Christmas rush is over, but this is a Christmas Swan to wish you a Happy Holiday preparation season. Have to go shopping today. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 