I took a sunrise bike ride up the shore of Lake Superior this morning from Duluth as far as French River. With the gale force winds there were not many birds out on the big lake itself, but I found huge numbers of birds at Lester River upon returning to Duluth and turning up the hill at 61st Avenue East. Unfortunately the sun had now disappeared behind the clouds which made for difficult photography. However, work all the overlooks from the river mouth up to the Lakewalk Bridge over the river. At 6:45 am this morning I saw:
- A Family of Kingfishers
- A Huge flock of Cedar Waxwings (berry supply is plentiful on the trees)
- A new brood of Common Merganser Chicks and their mom.
I don’t expect any of these birds to move far today. The winds will keep the mergansers off Lake Superior. The chicks are only a few days old, and much to small to handle the big waves. The Kingfisher parents have been in this area for over a month and I would be extremely surprised if the newly fledged Kingfisher kids move out of the area soon. Finally the berry supply for the cedar waxwings should last a few days.
Cedar Waxwings
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Belted Kingfisher
I am in awe of your photography and would like to improve mine. I use a mirrorless Nikon. Would you mind sharing a bit more about your equipment, especially lenses? Do you digiscope much?
Thank you!
Alberta … I actually use a Canon SX-60 super zoom bridge camera. Thus I do not have expensive equipment. My total investment is $500 for my camera and $15 for my monopod. The key to my photography is I have (and am still) learned bird habitat. No digi-scoping going on.