Blog Archives

A Raptor Day

1/25/2015

Northern Saw-whet Owl

I started out yesterday morning with a walk at the nature center to look for the little Saw-whet Owl. It was right where I had hoped it would be, in the same tree where I have seen it for the past three weekends. Very tough to get a clear view of it with all of the little branches in the dense Cedar tree. With the telephoto lens I quietly circled the tree from a reasonable distance so as not to spook the bird until I found a small little hole in the branches that was not obstructing his face. He is very squinty in the early morning sun, but never took his eyes off of me. I would have like to seen the eyes a little wider, but maybe I need to get up earlier.
I then walked back to the nature center and stood quietly by the bird feeders and was fortunate to get a few pictures of what I think was a juvenile Coopers Hawk (but I'm open to suggestions) as it zoomed through the feeders terrorizing all of the birds and then landing on branch for a short while.
Next a stop at Parker's Woods to take a photo of the resident Barred Owl. It was a good day. [Click an image to see larger]

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Nature Travels - Video

1/16/2015

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When I am out photographing birds, wildlife and landscapes I occasionally shoot some video at the same time. Here is a little video sampler of some of our photo adventures over the past few years. The still photos can be found throughout this web site.

Nature Travels with Bruce G. McKee from BruceGMcKeePhotos on Vimeo.

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A Lake Superior Morning - Video

1/12/2015

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A few years ago I spent a few days on Minnesota's North Shore of Lake Superior. It was an unusually warm March with no Ice on the lake and little on the shore. On a couple of quiet mornings I shot some video of the waves gently rolling in to shore and the melting snow running in to the lake. It's been a while since I've done any video editing and this is the first video that I have uploaded to Vimeo. It seems to play better in Internet Explorer and Chrome rather than Firefox.
There are some still photos here. I hope you enjoy the video.

A Lake Superior Morning (HD) from BruceGMcKeePhotos on Vimeo.

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Northern Saw-whet Owl

1/11/2015

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This little Northern Saw-Whet Owl (and perhaps others) has been hanging out in the woods at the nature center property. He has been eluding me for some time, but it seems that I was looking in all of the wrong places. I had to ask Paul to help me find it and once in the right location it didn't take long (thanks Paul). The Saw-whet Owls that I have seen, perch in smaller Cedar trees at about eye-level. if you are quiet and move slowly you can often get fairly close, but is is still best to use a telephoto lens and keep your distance so as not to harass them. They are doing everything to conserve energy in the cold weather and if you spook them causing them to fly unnecessarily they are just burning up energy that they need to survive until the next mouse comes along. They are cute little owls, about 8 inches tall.
More Owls here.

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Great Gray Owls at Sax-Zim Bog 2

1/3/2015

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Great Grey Owl at Sax-Zim Bog

I started out the new year taking pictures of Pine Siskins and House Finches in the back yard, very distant photos of Snowy Owl near Ventura, IA, then headed up to Sax-Zim Bog northwest of Duluth, MN to try to get pictures of a Great Gray Owl. This was my second trip (see previous post from February of 2014). I was lucky this time and got pictures of two different Great Gray Owls on Admiral Road and McDavitt Road that were fairly cooperative in allowing several photographers and birders to get some pictures from a distance with telephoto lenses while the owls were searching for an easy meal. It was fun watching one owl swoop down and land on a mouse in the snow (wild mouse - not baited). It was a dark, cloudy, dreary day, with snow and sleet in the morning. Not my favorite kind of day for bird pictures - a little too dark, but I got a few photos. Others included Purple Finches, Common Redpolls, White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Gray Jays, Chickadees, a Barred Owl and many more. There were also several Red Squirrels. I did not get to see a Snowy Owl , nor a Northern Hawk-Owl which often frequent the area in the Winter, and apparently I just missed and Ermine. Maybe next time. There is no guarantee that you will see a Great Gray Owl if you go to the bog. It is a very larger area covering many square miles. Some people go to visit and never see an owl of any kind. Watch the Sax-Zim Bog Facebook page for recent reports. and drive around the likely areas many times. Early in the morning at sunrise and late in the afternoon at sunset are usually the better times, but it can vary day-to-day. Good luck if you decide to go. Be sure to stop at the visitor's center on Owl Avenue, where there are lots of opportunities to see and photograph smaller birds at the many feeders.
You can learn more about the bog and find maps here - http://sax-zimbog.com/
[Click the pictures below to see larger.] More Owl photos here...