I worked hard for this photograph. There were 40 mph winds, clouds, light drizzle, ice and gray reflecting water which made for horrible photography light conditions on the shores of Lake Superior. However, a red-breasted merganser is a beautiful duck.

I finally found this guy resting which allowed me to:

• Hide behind some huge boulders to somewhat protect me from the wind and thereby enable hold the camera steadier
• Allowed me to move behind a boulder down on the shore while the merganser was submerged so as not to spook him
• Enabled me to take three pictures to combine via HDR and thereby help me handle all the shades of white, gray and bring out the merganser’s eye

I hope you agree this is a pretty bird in a beautiful frozen environment.

• View this project’s Flickr photo stream. (click upon image to view at full size)

Today dawned cold (35F), windy (35 mph steady winds … gusts to 50 mph), with rain. In short, it would normally be a fantastic day to stay inside and keep warm! However, a year long photography project means that I had to venture outside. With a groan and some comments about the weather I said good-bye to my wife.

I know the key to finding any kind of birds today would be finding locations that shielded my feathered friends from the elements. After striking out at several locations I struck pay dirt at the mouth of the Lester River. The water rushing madly downhill and into Lake Superior had created enough open water to overpower the ice being pushed ashore by the strong NE winds. Given the ducks were not interested in flying, they let me get closer than normal. Not only were the numbers of ducks impressive in this small area, but quite a few different species were also present.

Photographing the birds was difficult because I was getting the full brunt of the wind, but I happily stayed down on the shore for well over an hour enjoying the “great weather”. You will find each of these birds included in today’s photographs.

• Buffleheads
• Common Mergansers
• Goldeneyes
• Pied-Billed Grebe
• Red-Breasted Mergansers
• Red-Necked Grebe
• Seagulls

Guess it shows one should never let a little nasty weather keep one indoors!

• View this project’s Flickr photo stream. (click upon image to view at full size)

Lester River Preening (Red-Breasted Merganser and Seagull)

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Ducks Dancing (Red-Breasted Merganser and Bufflehead)

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Take Off (Bufflehead and Goldeneyes)

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Flock of Buffleheads

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Common Merganser

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Pied-Billed Grebe

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Red-Necked Grebe and crew!