Monthly Archives: June 2016

And yet more Flicker kids! (Yellow-Shafted Flicker)

When it rains, it pours! I had never seen Yellow-Shafted Flicker chicks before this morning (my earlier post with video), and then while biking up the shore of Lake Superior from Duluth this afternoon, Jackpot!!! Found another nest (heard the chicks first). I always carry my Canon SX60 Super Zoom camera and monopod with me on my bicycle rides. Glad I did today, and this was the result!
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Feeding the Flicker Kids (video!)

I had an early morning business meeting which was cancelled at the last moment, so I went birding instead! Duluth’s business community’s loss was my gain! Found the Yellow-Shafted Flicker family and spent almost two hours waiting and watching. As an aside, it is very, very nice to have a window tripod mount. My arms would have been supremely exhausted holding the camera at ready awaiting the return of the parents. I rather doubt I could have hand-held the camera steady for the video. Hope you enjoy these photographs as much as I enjoyed the experience.

The Male Yellow-Shafted Flicker Feeds the Kids!

“Dad” Arrives at the Yellow-Shafted Flicker Hole (black mustache indicates a male)
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Feeding by Mom is about to Start! (lack of a black mustache indicates a female)
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Ungrateful Kids!
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Dad Flies Away from the Nest
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Hey! Where did the Gravy Train Go?!
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Sunrise at the Lester River

After four days away from home, I am happily back in northern Minnesota. Sun comes up at 5:15 am, and shortly after sunrise I visited the mouth of the Lester River in search of the Common Merganser family. The early morning sun makes for fantastic photography conditions, and also if one takes some care … allows one to get much closer to birds.

It took 15 minutes, but I eventually found my young family. If I had walked the shore towards the mergansers my visit would have been very short, but instead while still over 100 yards away from Momma Merganser I sat down on the rocks. Over the course of 15 minutes, directly in her line of sight with the sun, I inched forward “on my behind” towards the birds. Taking this amount of time, and never standing allowed me to get within 15 yards of the mergansers and watch them for almost twenty minutes. These photos are the result of that session, but the key point is … get low right at sunrise (don’t walk) and come at your desired subjects from right out of the sun. If you move slowly enough, it is amazing how close one may get to some types of wildlife.

Common Merganser Family at Sunrise
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Wild Tailed Deer Fawn
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Chestnut-Sided Warbler and Cedar Waxwing … the waxwing actually has Lake Superior in the background while the warbler is set off against the sky … interesting comparison of blue on a crystal clear day!
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