Monthly Archives: November 2015

Presenting Two Free Seminars in the Twin Cities

I will presenting two outdoor photography / birding seminars in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area during the next week. The title of each seminar is: Outdoor Photography on a Budget. Both events are free, open to the public, and do not require any advance registration!

Midwest Mountaineering’s Fall 2016 Outdoor Adventure Expo includes some fantastic well known explorers, outdoorsmen and women … and me!

  • Saturday, November 21st at 2:15 pm
  • University of Minnesota – 102 Hanson Hall
  • More details.

Minnesota Rovers Club Weekly Program: The club is one of the oldest, most active outing clubs in the Upper Midwest.

  • Tuesday, November 24th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm
  • Macalester College – Olin Rice Science Center – Room 350
  • More details.

Here are my presentation and support materials.

The Basic Photography Manual was created by NHisLight.com while the Camera Exposure Settings Manual was created by Darlene Hildebrandt of the Digital Photography School. My “exposure triangle” image in my presentation was created by Kruger-2-Kalahari.

Bicycle0B-Hoeg-with-Monopod

Morning Reflections … Duck Days!

Yesterday morning I realized after my trip north from Duluth the prior morning that the final duck migration had to be starting now! North of Isabella all the ponds were iced over, and the lakes were rapidly losing their open water to ice. Frozen water meant all remaining ducks had to push south. Thus, at sunrise I drove down to Minnesota Point and the Duluth harbor did not disappoint. All my favorite ducks were present, with the first HUGE movement of goldeneyes into our area. Here are a few sunrise photo reflections.

Buffleheads!
Y2-M11-Morning-Reflections-Bufflehead-Duo

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Goldeneyes!
Y2-M11-Morning-Reflections-Goldeneyes-High-Bridge Y2-M11-Morning-Reflections-Goldeneye-Trio

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Hooded Mergansers!
Y2-M11-Morning-Reflections-Hooded-Mergansers

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Redheads (Dive, Captain, Dive!)
Y2-M11-Morning-Reflections-RedHead-Swimming Y2-M11-Morning-Reflections-RedHead-Diving

Boreal Forest Bonanza

When I got up this morning I quickly decided to head north into the Superior National Forest. The brilliant sun was screaming at me to go and enjoy ice encrusted pine trees. The Boreal Forest did not disappoint. For those of you who know northern Minnesota, I traveled north towards the Canadian border with two stops in prime birding locations, the Sand River area and the Pagami Creek Wildfire area.

Sand River is approximately 40 miles north of Two Harbors, and known for being one of the best places in the state to see Spruce Grouse. The Pagami Creek Wildfire, which to some might look stark, is a great, extremely remote area, where one gains an understanding for how forest fires are actually beneficial to the forest ecosystem. This fire was the result of a lightning strike four years ago, and now hosts fantastic  wildlife, even in early winter.

I had a number of birds on my “hit list” which were:

#1 Target Birds: Black Backed Woodpeckers, Northern Hawk Owls, and Spruce Grouse
#2: Target Birds: Pine Grosbeaks and Red Crosbills
#3: Target Birds: Anything else!

Truth be told, maybe I should have added Great Grey Owls to list #1, but given I was arriving in the Sand River area one hour after sunrise (by design), it would be unlikely to see these nocturnal birds at that time of day. However, Northern Hawk Owls hunt during the day and therefore made send to be on list #1.

Here is where I am going to sound like a fisherman who tells of the “one that got away”. Remember, I am both a birder and a “photographer”. While parked next to the Isabella River in the Pagami Creek Wildfire area, and watching three otters play on the newly formed ice, a Black Backed Woodpecker landed in a tree not more than five feet from me. Please understand I have never seen a Black Backed Woodpecker in my life. Thus seeing this bird which prefers burned out regions was a treat, but my camera was laying on the seat next to me. By the time I grabbed said camera, raised it up, the woodpecker had flown across the river out of view. I DID, however, enjoy watching the otters play!  🙂

In addition to the Black Backed Woodpecker, while stopped at the Isabella River for about 30 minutes I saw bald eagles, a rough-legged hawk, my friendly otters, snow buntings, and grey jays. I did not however seen a Northern Hawk Owl.

Another treat was to see a very dumb bunny! While stopped to take photographs of Sand River early this morning, a snowshow hare ran right at me (hmmm … remember Jimmy Carter and the killer rabbit?!). This event is unusual as snowshoe hares are mainly nocturnal, and normally they do not run right at you when your camera is in your hands! I wish the Black Back Woodpecker understood how one should respond to wildlife photographers. Unfortunately, the local Spruce Grouse did not pose for me, or even let themselves be seen.

Finally, if you are interested in visiting the Pagami Creek Wildfire area, Tomahawk Road is still quite drivable, but I would recommend having 4 wheel or all wheel drive. The snow and gravel / muck while not overly deep could be a bit of a challenge otherwise for a two wheel drive car. I only saw two deer hunter’s trucks on Tomahawk Road (18 miles from hwy #2 to Isabella River). Just wear some bright red, and be intelligent about where you choose to hike.

Finally, some Pine Grosbeak’s posed for photographs near Sand River as I returned to Duluth. They like the otters understood the desires of photographers.

Sand River Approximately One Hour After Sunrise
Boreal-Forest-Sand-River-Selfie

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The Killer Rabbit / Snowshoe Hare of Sand River!
Boreal-Forest-Snowshoe-Hare-1 Boreal-Forest-Snowshoe-Hare-2

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Isabella River & Friends (otters!)
Boreal-Forest-Isabella-River-Vista Boreal-Forest-Otters

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Pine Grosbeaks
Boreal-Forest-Pine-Grosbeak-1 Boreal-Forest-Pine-Grosbeak-3

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Gravel for the Gizzard!
Boreal-Forest-Pine-Grosbeak-5-Gravel-C Boreal-Forest-Pine-Grosbeak-5-Gravel-B Boreal-Forest-Pine-Grosbeak-5-Gravel-A