Courting the Lady

This frenzy of activity took place on the lek last weekend. The first two hours were spent keeping warm, watching males dance, and then stare at each other. The next hour flew by with this nonstop activity.  I hope this will entice you to visit the blind in the future.

Technical: Recorded one morning using a Canon C100 and Sony a7r2 with a 100-400 lens and Rode Videomic.

Storm at the Lek

The blind was reserved 2 months ago, the weather is miserable, and the forecast is for 2-6 inches of snow. Now what? There really wasn't a question of whether to show up or not since the birds would still be there. It was also no problem deciding what to wear - everything! The result was a unique experience to witness how prairie chickens survive on the prairie under some very harsh conditions.

Attacked

I am in Yellowstone for a few days so most of my posts will be from beyond Minnesota.  My first stop is to photograph some dead trees in the snow. Suddenly I hear a clucking and feel a tug at my sock. I look down to this gray bird attacking me.  It was relentless almost jumping into the car. Nothing would stop it. Finally I gave up. However, despite the danger I did take its picture. I believe it was a female blue grouse trying protecting a nearby nest.

Lamar Swimmers

This is another in the series of short videos taken last month while in Yellowstone for a week. March is March wherever you are so the weather was typically overcast but that seemed to be the best time for wildlife activity. During a couple sunny days very little was seen. Why film Canada geese in Yellowstone? I tend to see them as a nuisance in city parks but that's only because they have adapted so well to our manipulation of the landscape. It was nice to see them in a completely different environment.

The Sky is Full

My wife has been telling me about the number of birds in the fields she sees on the way to work. This weekend I had a chance to see them and take a couple shots. I am amazed at the organization of flocks.  Who leads? Who gives the fly and land signals? 

Technical: 200 mm focal length on Canon 7D, cloudy white balance. Image chosen from several because corners of frame were filled more than other choices.

Would you like to dance?

We have all heard about the polka, waltz, tango, and rumba. How many know the turkey trot? 

It's in the Eyes

I spent yesterday at Sax Zim and had an unforgettable day photographing with friends.  One highlight of the was spending the afternoon with this owl.  The music of shutters on burst mode filled the air.

Common Redpolls in Motion

This video gives a much better story of redpolls in winter.  Birds are limited in the amount of fat they can store, too much weight would make them unable to fly, so eating is the answer to a cold winter day.  Yesterday's bird ID has been corrected.

Common Redpolls

Common Redpoll

January is a great month for photography of birds at feeders.  The challenge is finding a natural setting and getting them to hold still for a fraction of a second.  Currently in New Ulm the environment could be March except for the cold temperature.  This was taken last January.

Early Autumn

Another sign of the changing season.