Crab Apple Blossom Birding Reprise!

Year 6,

Same exact tree … different birds (see my Indigo Bunting and Chickadee photos!).

Cedar Waxwings love to eat apple blossoms early in the spring. It is worth learning where the flowering fruit trees are in your own neighborhood. These trees a bird magnets in every season.

Now if you think my comment about today being “early” in the spring, while that might be a wrong statement for where you live, scroll down to see this morning’s temperature in Sax-Zim Bog)

Cedar Waxwings Eating Crab Apple Blossoms

The Temperature in Sax-Zim Bog this Morning

No Owls Were Found!

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Telling the Eastern Meadowlark Story, but Which Story??

Year 6

Given the water temperature of Lake Superior near my house is still in the 30’s, I decided to drive over to Cloverland, Wisconsin this morning for a visit to the Wisconsin Wetlands. A south wind does not have come across the big lake unlike in NE Minnesota, and thus nature’s rejuvenation each spring is way ahead of my neighborhood.

I had fun watching Eastern Meadowlarks, which I would never find in the Boreal Forests near my house. Everyone has heard the catch phrase “every picture tells a story”. As a wildlife photographer the same image can often yield totally different stories. Take a look at the next three photographs which all come from EXACTLY the same image. In post production the photographer decides which story to tell. No story is wrong, just different. At the end of this blog post, I reveal which photo I like the best, but remember there is no wrong answer. Which story do you like better?

Story #1: Eastern Meadowlark about to dive down on some bugs. The close-up crop better shows the birds plumage.

Story #2: Eastern Meadowlark about to dive down on some bugs while a black cow grazes in the background. The partial crop focuses upon the bird, but still emphasizes the pastoral scene.

Story #3: Eastern Meadowlark about to dive down on some bugs while a black cow grazes in the background. The photograph is not cropped and emphasizes the pastoral scene including the full profile of the cow.

Assuming you are still reading the text of this blog post, I used my Canon SX70 for these images with digital zoom turned off. Generally one should never use digital zoom on any camera. It is better to decide in post production which story as a photographer you wish to tell. Sx70 images are capable of being cropped and still yielding good results assuming the ISO is set low enough (100 in this case). My impression of any camera I have ever used is once one turns digital zoom on, and if one is at full zoom, image quality suffers.

Here are a few more Eastern Meadowlark photos from this morning … all different images in each case.

Finally, while hiking I almost stepped on this nesting Killdeer. It is rather amazing how these birds nest right out in the open, and rely upon camouflage for protection.

Finally, I prefer Story #2. I like images which reflect the environment in which a bird is found. As photographers we often want to zoom, zoom, zoom to get as close as possible. Once again, close-ups are not wrong, but I prefer to show off the environment a bit more than in Story #1. In addition Story #2 features a larger sized image of the meadowlark than Story #3, but still includes the cow. Story #3 is my second choice, while Story #1 is my last choice!

One closing comment … even though it looks like the Meadowlark is getting ready to dive down on unsuspecting bugs, the real story is the bird is about to deliver breakfast to hungry young. In just a few minutes I saw not one, but two Meadowlarks use this same post and dive down into the tall grasses. Given the commotion which arose (i.e. screaming young), they had to food to deliver. Thus, sometimes the story is not what one would assume!  🙂

Bird Learning Days

Year 6

One should always keep learning, but in turn help others by teaching. Over the past 24 hours I have been in both roles … learner and teacher.

Yesterday evening a bit before sunset I hiked the forest near my house. My Great Horned Owl twins have now fledged, and the owl family has moved over one mile from their nesting location. Thankfully local crows helped me discover their new daytime perching area. In the “learner” role over the last two weeks, the parent owls have taught me how hard they work to insure the safety of their young.

Last night, I watched the female Great Horned Owl parent get mobbed by crows. However, when the crows could not scare mother owl into moving, the black birds flew off to mob one of the owlets. When the last crow departed the mom owl immediately took off and flew in a direct line after the crows. This action is normal.  I have learned that the parent owls will fly well beneath the forest canopy and then pop up near the trees where the crows are harassing their young. Invariably when the crows see the parent owl appear, they turn to chase that older owl. The parent birds take off and then decoy the crows away from the owlets. The process is repeated till the crows lose sight of the parent owl.

This morning I played the teacher role. A friend who home schools his three children met me at 6:30. Over the course of the next three hours I tried to help the children learn a bit about birds including topics such as food sources, camouflage, migration patterns and bird songs. We ended the lesson down on Park Point with shorebird sightings, and just as importantly … time to play in the sand. Remember, play is an important part of learning.

I have more ideas, comments and links to downloadable curriculum / projects via my Birding With Children section of this blog.

Finally, here is a photograph I took just before sundown yesterday evening. Do you think mother owl is looking at me with a cocked heard as if to say … “See what I have to put up with?!”