Day 196 to 199: Biker Birds Part 2

Year 1

Like a bad movie, the Bike Birds are back! For the second week in a row I am co-leading a bicycle tour through northern Minnesota. From time to time I take time out from my daily 60 mile rides and use my camera to photograph the day’s birds. Here are my efforts.

Day 196: Broad-Winged Hawk
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Day 197: Cedar Waxwings (immature and adults)
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Day 198: Common Loon and Chick
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Day 199: Mechanized Bird and Momma Merganser!
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Day 195: A Male Ruby-Throated Humminbird!!!

Year 1

For the past several days I have been having fun photographing ruby-throated hummingbirds. However, females and immature hummingbirds vastly outnumber the males which actually have a “ruby-throat”. I wanted a picture of a male!

Finally today I discovered a male who was defending a patch of perennials. Whenever another hummingbird entered the area he would swoop down and attack. However his “chase away” tactics were impossible to photograph. Trying to focus on one of the smallest birds in North America while it performs aerial maneuvers at extremely fast speeds was beyond my capabilities. After waiting patiently for over an hour this particular male  ruby-throated hummingbird decided to feed, and thus provided my an opportunity to take my photographs! I hope you like the result.

Male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
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Day 194: Birds … The Large and Small of It!

Year 1,

Today I managed to photograph one of the largest, and the smallest birds in North America. My first adventure was this morning when I drove over to a nature center / park which now has some great wild flowers blooming. Although I had to wait two hours before the clouds finally cleared enough to allow for the fast shutter speeds required for hummingbird photography, the end result was worth the wait!

This afternoon I took a 30 mile bike ride in the countryside surrounding Duluth. Towards the end of my ride, this turkey vulture posed for my camera. Ugly? No way!

Turkey Vulture
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Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
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