The ice has finally melted on this end of Lake Superior (not on the south shore of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). Within the past week the leaves have finally started to appear, and some flowering trees are blooming. Down on Minnesota Point this morning I found a flock of cedar waxwings which were enjoying the new bounty!
Spring Has Sprung Cedar-Waxwings
I had thought the migration of birds through northern Minnesota was complete, but I was wrong. This morning I discovered a small flock of Semipalmated-Plovers at the mouth of the Lester River. It was almost hard to believe that our weather of fog, rain and 45F could be considered warm, but these plovers thought the gravel bar at the mouth of a river on Lake Superior was the perfect resting / eating spot on their trip up north. Ultimately these birds will end up on the northern shores of the Arctic Ocean in Canada.
Semipalmated Plovers
The quick version of this post is I spent fifteen minutes during a bike ride watching this mom and here chicks. When an eagle flew overhead, the mom got concerned!
The longer version of how one gets this kind of photograph is as follows … I like to take long bike rides in the Minnesota countryside. While on bike with my camera and monopod along for the ride, I am able to see many things that either a person in a car or walking would never view. In a car one moves to fast and is restricted to the road. Walking is great, but if I know good birding areas, my bike ride gives both good exercise and the ability to explore a bit quicker. (more on biking and birding)
Today when I saw the wild turkey family, I stopped at a distance and let the mom grow accustomed to me. It was important I not be perceived as a threat. For most of the time the chicks were in long prairie grass where it was almost impossible to see them. However, the mom finally led her brood out onto this grassy patch. I was in the middle of taking a sequence of photos when the eagle flew over and made my day, but scared the turkeys!
Mother Wild Turkey and her Chicks
