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A few from the Sax-Zim Bog

2/24/2018

There are a lot of different birds and wildlife to be found in the Sax-Zim Bog area in Northern Minnesota, you just need to spend some time driving around to find them. All photos were taken with the long telephoto lens from the car, except for the Northern Hawk Owl. I had to hike back in the the woods to get that one this time to get better lighting. But it was very high at the top of a very tall spruce tree looking and listening for voles under the snow. The Great Gray Owl and Pileated Woodpecker were both quick grab shots out the window and then they flew away. There are so many more birds and wildlife that I didn't get, but because of heavy snow I decided to head home early.
Click the pictures below to see larger in a slide show.

See previous Sax-Zim bog posts - January 2018, June 2016, January 2015,

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Boreal Owl

2/24/2018

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Boreal Owl - Click for larger image.

I was thrilled to get photos of a Boreal Owl in northern Minnesota. They are one of the smaller owls in North America, at about 10 inches only about the same size as a Burrowing Owl and two inches larger than the Northern Saw-Whet Owl and similar in stature. The facial disk of the Boreal Owl is framed in black and it has a light colored beak, where the Northern Saw-Whet Owl has a black beak and white eyebrows. The habitat of the Boreal Owl is primarily Canada, Alaska and the Northern Rockies, so it gets a lot of attention when seen in the northern states in the Winter. I was fortunate to meet someone to show me where to find one. With a 600mm lens and 1.4 extender, effectively 840mm, I was able to keep my distance from the bird and still get some fairly close up photos, but I did still need to crop the images in the computer to get the close-up view. Boreal Owls and Northern Saw-whet owls are both very approachable, and generally don't seem to be bothered by photographers if not getting too close and making noise or commotion. Some bird books identify them as being 'tame', but I think tolerant is a better description. They don't want to expend any extra energy to fly away, because they need that energy to hunt every night.
Finding one isn't easy. Below is a medium view of the under brush as seen from the road while driving by. There is a Boreal owl in the upper right quadrant of this photo. Can you find It? Neither could I when standing in front of it, until someone pointed out the owl to me. The images below were taken on different occasions. Click the images below to see larger.

There is a Boreal Owl in the upper right quadrant.

Boreal Owl

A Short video (no audio):

More Owls...

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Color The Wind 2018

2/18/2018

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A short video of the Color the Wind Kite Festival in Clear Lake, IA, February 17, 2018. A bit of a diversion from my nature photos, but a fun and colorful outdoor event.

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American White Pelicans

2/1/2018

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Pelicans are interesting birds. They are very graceful in flight, but very awkward when taking off and landing in water, coming down with a large splash and ker-plop. I went looking for Bald Eagles at Lock and Dam 14 south of Le Clair, IA on the Mississippi River, but ending up also taking a lot of photos of American White Pelicans. [Click Images to see larger]

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Eagles at Lock and Dam 14

2/1/2018

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A Bald Eagle flies overhead

I never get tired of watching or photographing Eagles. Lock and Dam 14 south of Le Claire, IA on the Mississippi River is one of my favorite places to take photos of flying Eagles in the winter. Dozens of photographers and bird watchers show up on weekends in hopes of getting a good view of the flying Eagles and a chance that they will come in a grab a fish out of the river near the viewing area. Conditions are best when it is very cold and much of the river is frozen over because the Eagles will then concentrate below the dam around the open water. Last weekend the river was not frozen over, and there were fewer Eagles, but I still got some good photos. The river runs southwest at this location so the lighting for photography is better after about 1:00 pm. In the morning there is a lot of backlighting and on a bright day strong shadows, making the exposure for the images rather challenging. [Click images to see larger]

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A few from the Sax-Zim Bog

Boreal Owl

Color The Wind 2018

American White Pelicans

Eagles at Lock and Dam 14

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