Days 348 to 350: Frozen Fingers Photography!

Year 2, ,

Each morning for the past few days the weather has dawned with temperatures of -10F and worse (plus 20 to 30 mph winds for even worse chill factors). Birding has been tough, both of me and the birds. I still try to get out shortly after sunrise as birds are most active right after the long cold nights as they search for feed to replace energy expended keeping themselves warm. Thus, here are a few photos from the last three days where I braved the elements, and often got extremely cold … finger hurting cold.

For the last photo, I can not resist …

Would you like to swing on a star,
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
Or would you rather be a duck?

My apologies to Bing Crosby … here is the classic tune.

Day 348: White-Breasted Nuthatch
348-Birds-365-White-Breasted-Nuthatch

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Day 349: Blue Jay
349-Birds-365-Blue-Jay-1

349-Birds-365-Blue-Jay-2

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Day 350: Goldeneye during an “Alberta Clipper”
350-Birds-365-Snowy-Goldeneye

Photo Project Index

Background

I have created a index of this 365 Day Photo Project. It contains the best two photos for each bird species. However, as for some birds I have only captured one or two photos, in a sense the index also represents “my worst” efforts!  🙂

I hope the index allows the reader to explore the interesting and beautiful birds which inhabit the Northland in and around Duluth, Minnesota.

Day 347: Northern Hawk Owl

Year 2

All fluffed up against the cold!

This Northern Hawk Owl was wondering why this strange animal was hiking along the frozen creek bed (i.e. me). It was 1F with a windchill of -16F. Thankfully while taking my photos, the wind was at my back. Unfortunately hiking back to the car required going into the wind!

I tried to get a flight shot, but when the owl finally flew my fingers were too cold to react quickly enough to press the shutter in time! I also have include a picture I took early this morning along Pioneer Rd north of Knife River. I think the second photo demonstrates that birding is a lot more than just looking for our fine feathered friends; it’s about getting outside and enjoying the Northland!

Northern Hawk Owl
347-Birds-365-Fluffed-Up-Northern-Hawk-Owl

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Morning Serenity
347-Birds-365-Morning-Serenity