Tag Archives: MN North: Mouth of the Lester River

Day 166: Best Rides? Loons or Mergansers?

Year 1

Inquiring chicks want to know!!! It’s that time of year when the northern lakes become full of small fluffy hitchhikers. Be very wary of these cute interlopers! The common merganser photos were taken at the mouth of the Lester River shortly after dawn this morning. The loon photo is from two days ago on an inland northern Minnesota lake. (more loon chick photos).

Requesting permission to come aboard, Madam? Permission granted!
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There goes the neighborhood!
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Addendum: Least Sandpipers: These sandpipers should be nesting up near the Canadian Arctic right now. Instead they are enjoying Duluth’s cold Summer of 2014!
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Days 155 to 156: Birds of Contrasting Color (photos)

Year 1,

Everyone likes to take photographs during the golden hour. The soft light provides the opportunity achieving top details with shadowing on one’s photographs. However, here in northern Minnesota during the summer, the sun rises around 5 am. Not everyone wants to get out of bed “before” dawn to arrive on a photo location by sunrise.

Here are three photos taken over the past two days. While the colors of the purple finch taken during the evening golden hour, the other two photographs utilize whites, browns, reflections and grays and still are interesting. Moral of the story, use what’s available and create some interesting pictures!

Day 155: Purple Finch during the Golden Hour
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Day 156: A Gull Study

Gull Rock and the Happy Hooker
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Killdeer and Friend!
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Day 151: A Merganser Mom and her Chicks (photos)

Year 1

Shortly after dawn I walked down to the mouth of the Lester River on Lake Superior. After yesterday’s hectic activities for Grandma’s Marathon, Lester River once again was enjoying peace and solitude. I found this Common Merganser and her two chicks having breakfast while swimming through the morning fog.

The Lester River Bridge often gives me the opportunity to shoot photographs of unsuspecting birds from directly above, including this Common Merganser family.
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