Category Archives: Year 9

Migrational Pause

Year 9, ,

The winds have switched strongly from the south (30+ mph) and the southern migration has stalled out. Birds are much more frantic during the spring migration to reach prime breeding territories and lay a claim to a prime area. In the Fall, without this need, one waits for a nice tailwind.

Thus, I am finding some of the same birds in the countryside. While wild turkeys don’t migrate and seeing one or two used to be unusual, I saw over 250 turkeys feeding in fields bordering forests yesterday morning! Turkey Vultures are also now pushing south when favorable conditions are present.

Here are a few pics from the last two days …

Wild Turkeys Galore (Sax-Zim Bog)

Eastern Phoebe (Northstar Lake)

Turkey Vulture Drying Off from the Morning Ground Fog (Sax-Zim Bog)

Broad-Winged Hawks (Pine-Island State Forest)

Belted Kingfishers (Pine-Island State Forest)

Returning Birds! Frozen in Flight and Northern Hawk Owls!

Year 9

In August I wrote about a new tool I was using to help process photographs, Topaz Labs’ Sharpen AI (see post). While one may never revisit all of one’s photographs (too time consuming), it is fun to rework certain images. Thus a blast from the past … selected photos from Year #2 of my blog (this is year #9). I would hope that in addition to upgraded camera equipment and editing tools, I have just plain become a better birder and photographer. While I can never retake the same image, Topaz AI does yield some amazing results on old friends.

Northern Hawk Owl (my signature bird)

Nordic Skiing

Red Fox

Frozen in Flight (Goldeneyes)

Ice Planet Moonrise (Lake Superior’s North Shore)

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in our Garden (Bee Balm)

Wisconsin Ice Caves

House Wren

Notes

  • I took the Northern Hawk Owl photographs after three straight days of stormy weather off Lake Superior. When the day finally dawned sunny, clear and cold, I spent hours trying to find a Northern Hawk Owl I had been tracking all winter. Success was finally achieved!
  • For the Frozen in Flight Goldeneye photographs I was standing at the end of Duluth’s old Interstate Bridge. I saw the ducks swimming towards the dead end of an ice lead. I knew the birds had to either dive or take-off. I was poised and ready!
  • For the hummingbird photograph, notice the bird’s shadow. The last light of the day (or first light) is golden for many reasons. The shadow’s angle shows the sun would set within minutes.
  • And yes … while I love being out in the woods throughout the year, winter is my favorite time of year in terms of photography.

Lady Aurora Dances for 3 Generations of the Family

Year 9,

Lady Aurora came out and danced last night … oh my did she ever dance! The Northern Lights at our small Northwoods cabin near the Canadian border with Minnesota were fantastic. I knew moonset would be at 11:15 pm; thus I set an alarm for 12:05 am and was I thrilled with what I saw when I awakened. I then proceeded to wake up my friends, my grandchildren and their parents (my kids). Everyone was transfixed with the sky’s shimmering beauty as we watched the lights march across the night sky.

After viewing the Aurora for about and hour, I moved on to Suomi Lutheran Church and Smith Lake (2nd church photo has been light painted with a flashlight for about one second). I wanted to try taking a few photos at other locations. At the bottom of this post you will find a couple of images from the “morning after.” Fog was forming at sunrise given the temperature was only 41F. The Northwoods are magical.

I finished back at NorthStar Lake where I even took two selfies!

As a fyi, unlike many folks who take photographs of the Northern Lights, I edit in post processing to remove color and reflect what I saw with my naked eye. The Aurora last night was very white.

Finally, a photograph taken the next morning of the same scene. The sun had just popped over the treetops, and given the 41F heavy fog formed within the next ten minutes.