Day 211: Night Birds in the Fog

Year 1

Last night at 11:30 pm I headed out to try and watch / photograph the Northern Lights. Unfortunately due to both inland ground fog and light fog over Lake Superior, viewing the Aurora was difficult. However, while on a remote Lake Superior beach I noticed a freighter out on the lake that was headed for Two Harbors, Minnesota. Giving up on the Northern Lights, I decided to drive to Two Harbors and hang out on the waterfront. I had never seen an ore boat dock in the middle of the night. While watching the freighter, I found today’s birds, some Canadian Geese at the boat launch with the ore docks in the background.

Night Birds: Canadian Geese
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The Freighter Approaches
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Ore Boat Docking
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Diffused Northern Lights over Flood Bay
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Days 208 & 209: Photographing in the fog and rain

Year 1,

Taking bird photographs on dark gloomy days is at best difficult. The combination of rain, heavy clouds and fog dramatically limits the available light. Given birds tend to move around quickly, not being able to use fast shutter speeds is a real handicap. My only solution is to find birds at rest … surprisingly today’s bird was a hummingbird … one of the most active birds around! You can tell just how dark it is by looking at the ruby-throated hummingbirds throat. Although it is ruby colored, the available light (or lack thereof) made it look black.

Day 208: Great Blue Heron
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Day 209: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
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