Monthly Archives: July 2015

Belted Kingfisher Preening Time

July 24, 2015Year 2MN North: Forest Hill Cemeteryrichardhoeg@gmail.com

It is vitally important for all birds to take care of their feathers. Most birds have a preen or oil glad. They rub their bills over the gland; pick up some oil and then rub the oil over their feathers.

This morning I had the privilege of watching a belted kingfisher preen itself. Given how skittish these birds are, I was happy to just have a seat near by, but then the kingfisher put on a show for me!

Announcing Belted Kingfisher Preening Time!

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Wings

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Stretch!

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Mouthing Off!

Northern Lights over Little Stone Lake

July 23, 2015Year 2MN North: Little Stone Lake, Northern Lightsrichardhoeg@gmail.com

My first ever time lapse video of the Northern Lights! 20 minutes during the heart of the storm reduced to a 30 second video. Location: Little Stone Lake in Northern Minnesota from 3:13 to 3:33 am early in the morning on July 23, 2015. Music: Largo from the New World Symphony legally downloaded from the Internet Archive.

Oh yes … the loons were yodeling like crazy during the height of the solar storm! 🙂

Aurora Borealis Time Lapse Video

Still Images from Last Night’s Aurora Display

Sony NEX-5t Mirrorless Camera
ISO = 1,600
Aperture = 3.5
Exposure = 8 seconds

Images from the Solar Storm!

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Two Photographs Before Things Really Got Started

Birds, Wildflowers & the Cornell Merlin ID

July 18, 2015Background, Year 2Birding Know How, MN North: Hartley Nature Centerrichardhoeg@gmail.com

My favorite wildflower patch is really starting to produce. The milkweed will soon be in full bloom, and color is already bursting out everywhere. In short, in northern Minnesota take a trip to the Hartley Nature Center. Stand in the wildflower garden and hide amongst the taller flowers (read over six feet tall!). If you are motionless, the birds will not be recognized as a dreaded human! Here are a few birds I saw and photographed during a 20 minute window of nice sun around 7:30 am.

One bird I gave me some identification difficulty. Enter the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. Even though I am a Dartmouth Alum, and during my college days I would do everything possible to defeat Cornell in athletics, their bird web services including their new Merlin ID App are fantastic. The word app is actually a bit misleading. Although they have Android and Apple apps, it is the windows PC based Merlin ID app which really takes the cake. I used the Merlin ID App to identify this Nashville Warbler. See the screenshots found at the end of this post document how Merlin functions.

Nashville Warbler