Birding & Celebrating an Iowa Wedding!

August 18, 2015Year 2Iowarichardhoeg@gmail.com

For the past six days I have been on the road. Carl and Chelsea were married this past Saturday at Wartburg College, with a reception on the family farm in Maynard, Iowa. As is often the case with out of town weddings, one often finds available time early in the morning. For me this meant exploring the back roads by both bicycle and car.

A simple review of Google Maps indicated a nearby “green area” which turned out to be the Volga River State Recreation Area. Most people think Iowa means endless flat miles of corn and soy bean fields. While farming is Iowa’s forte, there are lots of beautiful, and often quite hilly areas. This was exactly the case with the Volga River State Recreation Area. Between the river, native prairie, and woods … the land was beautiful and the birding was excellent. The area made me wish I could experience the prairie areas during migration and mating.

I hope you enjoy my “birding” photo, and some wedding pics. It was a great time in NE Iowa.

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

A Barn Swallow Announcing: Carl and Chelsea are getting married!

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An Iowa Wedding Limousine! (14 antique tractors decorated the reception)

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The Wedding Venue

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The Wedding Party

Stars Align: Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

August 13, 2015Year 2MN South: Minneapolisrichardhoeg@gmail.com

The stars aligned in suburban Minneapolis yesterday evening. I watched, photographed, and videoed a lifer, a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron. Normally this beautiful bird hangs out in the southeastern part of the United States, and normally you would find me in the forests of northern Minnesota, but last night while working my way south to my son’s wedding in Iowa, I was lucky! HUGE thanks are owed to Laura S. who allowed me to bird in her back yard.

Hope you enjoy the image, and video. Make certain to watch the video in HD. Given it was after sunset when I ended up only 10 yards from the bird, viewing in high resolution helps!

If you’re new to my blog, you might also enjoy a 36 second time lapse video I took of the Northern Lights about three weeks ago. It was a special night on a remote Lake in northern Minnesota. Link to my Aurora Borealis video.

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

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Bird Nerds Watching the Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
(I’m the guy in blue up against the tree)

Invasion from Up North: Lesser Yellowlegs & Wilson’s Phalaropes

August 12, 2015Year 2MN North: Minnesota Pointrichardhoeg@gmail.com

The shore bird invasion of Duluth from northern Canada and the Arctic continues. Last weekend’s rains have made for one HUGE puddle / pond at the end of Park Point (Minnesota Point) on the playing fields. The shore birds have been enjoying a bonanza of easy food … drowned bugs and grubs. For the past two days I have been visiting this location at last light and dawn. The birds have not disappointed me!