Bee Balm and Lightning!

Year 7

A severe thunder storm blew through the area at sunset last night with 60 mph winds. Some research via weather radar showed me I could safely go up to Hark Ridge. It was fun to watch the storm move off over Lake Superior.

Storm Clouds Over Lake Superior

This morning I decided to bird my own yard. The Bee Balm started blooming in our garden a few days ago. It did not take long for our local Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds to figure out that fact. I look forward to a repeat photoshoot in the late afternoon sun. I am still learning the proper focus and tracking settings for my new lens (Sony A6300).

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Great Blue Heron Food Fight at the Rookery! (movie)

Year 7

I got up my courage to brave all the deer and horse flies and hiked into the Great Blue Heron Rookery this morning. I was thrilled to discover at the end of my hike that I did not have one single wood tick on me! (unusual). Regardless, the Great Blue Heron chicks are getting big, and should fledge soon. When they have a food fight, their beaks become lethal weapons. Please realize each time the parents deliver fish, a food fight entails. Make sure you watch the video!

Mom has just arrive. Bedlam awaits!

Food Fight Close-Up

Great Blue Heron Chick Food Fight (Mom just dropped off the fish and flew away)

Videos!

Mom tries to provide some fish … food fight starts
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Quiet reigns for a few moments at the Rookery (view of 1/4 of the nests)
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Short video showing what my hike out from the Rookery is like
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In Velvet!

Year 7

The Amity Forest continues to delight. This buck has started hanging around our house. For those of you who have never seen a White-Tailed Deer “In Velvet”, look at his antlers. Within a month or so, this deer will wear the “fuzz” off its antlers, and he will look more like you expect.

From Science.Com: “When you see deer with fuzzy antlers, you are seeing a deer in velvet. That velvet provides nutrition and growth to deer antlers. This special tissue is a type of skin, loaded with blood vessels and nerves, that regenerates every year.”