Category Archives: Background

ChicagoLand Sax-Zim Bog Birding Presentations (by me!)

Background, Year 9

Coming soon to a ChicagoLand Birding Club … me! Yup, this November I will be the guest presenter at two of the Chicago area’s birding clubs: the DuPage Birding Club and the Kane County Audubon Society. Attending is free, and I have donated my time. My primary topic will be Sax-Zim Bog which is where I am a volunteer naturalist. In lieu of the fee often paid to presenters both clubs have graciously agreed to make a donation to the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog! Here are the basic presentation details:

  • Wednesday,  November 9th at 7 pm
    • Kane County Audubon – St. Charles, Illinois
    • Details (follow link)
  • Thursday, November 10th at 7 pm
  • Presentation Outline
    • For both nights … via Google Docs
    • Not all sections will receive equal time and emphasis

While the majority of my presentation will focus upon Sax-Zim Bog, I will briefly touch on some of my other favorite winter birding locations for that individual who wants to be far from the madding crowd … such as the Stony River Forest Road (image taken early this morning just after sunrise).

And of course the star of Sax-Zim Bog … our year round native, the Great Gray Owl!

For those who want to see some of my own bird images, I invite you to take a look at a few of my own photo albums.

 

Photo Albums

Background

Over the past few months I have been reviewing and selecting the best images which I have taken over the years. Concurrently I built those photos into albums by topical area. This web site now has a page which displays those Photo Albums. Here are the beginning albums: (also linked from the master menu on any web page)

  • Amity Great Horned Owl Family
  • North American Owls
  • Raptors
  • Hummingbirds
  • Loons of the World
  • Lighthouses
  • Maritime and Shipping
  • Northland Scenes
  • Night Skies
  • Sports
  • Trains
  • Mammals
  • Woodpeckers
  • Game Birds

View the Albums Now!

I will also always maintain this web site’s bird species photo index. which lists birds by category and name … 403 species as of today’s post.

Owl Coasters (zero markup … my gift to you)

Background

For several years I have designed and given coasters to friends, but as the late night commercial always said … Act Now! … Not Sold in any Store! Anyhow, I have been waiting for a long time for the right opportunity and pricing to offer these coasters to my loyal blog readers. ShutterFly, which is the company through which I design coasters finally has the right deal … 40% off and free shipping to any address in the continental United States. You will order / work directly with Shutterfly. I do not enter into the equation other than to make the coasters available.

Let me stress, I am taking ZERO markup or money for myself.  The coaster dimensions are 4×4 inches, and do NOT even have my watermark on the images. Why a gift from me? Within the next week or so, my blog will hit 500,000 pageviews since its inception … one half million views. Wow! Thank you.

Shown below are the various coaster options. Each set has four individual coasters and unique images. There are three different sets of coasters. Each set of four coasters sells for $14.99 from Shutterfly (plus tax). Order as many sets as desired. You work directly with Shutterfly, NOT through me!

Screenshots of the Coasters (actual size is 4×4 inches per coaster)

Great Horned Owls: Hoot and Family

Snowy Owls of Northeastern Minnesota

Lake Superior Lighthouses

How well do you know your Lake Superior Lighthouses?! From top left in clockwise order: 1. Superior Wisconsin Entry, 2. Grand Marais Breakwater, 3. Duluth Entry North Pier, 4. Crisp Point (near Whitefish Bay)

Once again, your price will be $14.99 per set plus your local tax … free shipping in the continental United States (lower 48).

Okay, how do you get this great deal? Click the link given below. I am curious who is actually taking me up on this offer. You will be directed to a web form where I will ask for your name, city and state. I will NOT ask for your email address, phone number of street address. I respect your privacy.

You MUST take action and order by Thursday, August 25, 2022 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. This is Shutterfly’s requirement to get free shipping, not mine!!!

  • Order Coasters! (will first be asked for name, city and state)

Shutterfly has ended their offer as noted. Thus, I have removed the link.