Oh my it was windy yesterday. The wind was gusting up to 30 mph off Lake Superior. This made birding a challenge. First, what bird in its right mind would migrate into such a strong NE wind. In addition, any birds already in the area wanted to hide from the wind. I actually saw some warblers at Mud Lake (St. Louis River backwaters), but they quickly disappeared down into the reeds. Smart move on their part.
I had not planned on visiting Chambers Grove, but given its proximity to Mud Lake I made the short drive. There were still White Pelicans hanging out on the island’s rock reef. Somehow I knew that they would fly soon, and a positioned myself to catch the take-off.
Take-Off of the Pelican Patrol
Naturally I hiked over to visit my owls. As expected they were perched in spots up in the various white pines that were a bit more protected from the wind. Even so, multiple times I saw the youngsters almost get blown off their perches.
Two of the Great Horned Owl Triplets
In addition, my Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker continues to look for love in my yard. Wish him luck!
Love the virtual hikes and scenes. Walk in health for those of us that are challenged.
Nice photos! Were they taken at maximum zoom?
Don … Yup! At 65x optical zoom. I do not ever use digital zoom. Post processing I employed a 16:9 ratio crop, which tends to be utilized more as a size for videos, but I wanted to emphasize the length of the scene (like an airport runway) and not emphasize areas in the photograph much above or below the pelicans.
Thanks for great images. Looking forward to meeting you maybe this summer.
Doin
It would be nice to meet you. Ida Grove is not to far from Lake View! This summer may be a strange one for travel.
wow- the baby owls have changed- so sweet! glad they are in a more protected area with this wind. we wish the sapsucker much luck and thank you so much for sharing the beauty and wonder of birds!