Not Real Close, But I’ll Accept It

After who knows how many trips to see and hopefully photograph short-eared owls, tonight I had not one, but two, on perch. Neither bird was close or willing to sit for long, but I did get to see them and shoot some photos.

An Unexpected Observation

While I was out looking for horned larks, Lapland longspurs, and snow buntings I was surprised to find an eastern meadowlark in…

I Did Not Sense A Trusting Relationship, and Frost

It is time to update readers on the trumpeter swan a group of four of us rescued last night.

Mr. or Ms. Swan spent the night at our house before I could take it to a rehabber today. When I checked on the bird this morning, it still was not able to stand, but it certainly had developed an attitude. Just my approaching the bird brought about an open mouth complete with hissing. I really didn’t think that much spunk toward the fellow wanting to take care of the bird was appropriate, but the swan did not seem to care what I thought.

I am still concerned about the future of the bird. If it suffered a spinal cord injury that rendered its legs useless, it may need to be euthanized. It could be that the bird is in pain too, which may account for the attitude.

Kudos to Karissa

About the time my pork tenderloin was being going in the cooker tonight my buddy Robert called asking for guidance. His neighbor - Karissa - found a downed young of the year trumpeter swan in the middle of the road near their homes. Soon the four of us - add Caden to the team - were in place to give this young swan its best chance for survival.

After catching the bird I…

Bully Under the Feeder

This morning I watched as wild turkeys gobbled up bird seed under several feeders. From what I could tell, there was more than enough in the snow to satisfy all of the gobblers.

For some reason this bird began getting aggressive with some of the other turkeys. I even watched it hassle a….

Frosty Winter Sunrise

For a while this morning our landscape looked nice, at least for a wintery view. OK - now I ready for an early, long-lasting thaw. Enough of this already!

Oma and the Secret Snake - Interviewing the Star

Today I had the honor of interviewing the star of the book “Oma and the Secret Snake.” We had such a good time with a short video being created as a result. Check out the video at this link:

Oma and the Secret Snake - Interviewing the Star

Hard Water Limits Social Distancing

Winter of 2025 is unlike recent winters when open water was prevalent until the end of December or early January. Our cold temperatures have quickly produced ice in most locations, including in areas of moving water. As a result, waterfowl have much less real estate to claim and are forced to gather in tight quarters.

After last year’s avian influenza outbreak I notice bird spacing and think about how quickly a virus could spread. Knowing avian influenza has been documented in the state concerns me. I wonder if it will hit locally again. If it does appear here, we have far less open water than last year and the impacts may be dramatic. Note: I am not aware of any influenza in our area at this time.

As I studied the Canada geese in close quarters I noticed two duck species were present - mallards and a lone wood duck. Of course the drake wood duck garnered most of my attention. See the pics here!

Some From Today, Some From Earlier

Since today was the first day of the first shotgun deer season, I opted to stay out of “deer likely” areas while I was exploring with my gear. Much of the time was spent doing gravel travel where ring-necked pheasants were seen most often.

Outdoor Snapshots in Winter

This morning’s brisk weather conditions and changing light created challenges for this outdoor photographer. Do I look for wildlife? Should I concentrate on…

Pictures in the Cold

Recently I shared images of a horned larks found on gravel roads. Seeing them on the road is certainly typical, but in my opinion a view of them looks better with…

How Can This Happen? (And positive stuff)

Early today I was notified of a possible swan that was down for unknown reasons. (I cannot disclose the location or further details at this time.)

My first concern was avian influenza had reared its ugly head again in our area, but no, that does not appear to be the case. After seeing a picture it appeared the swan was not afflicted with an illness, but was suffering from several injuries. Once on scene more injuries were visible but not included here. This young-of-the year swan appears to have been…

SSo Many Questions, Few Answers - Call Me, Call Someone

Late yesterday afternoon and early evening so many people attended the visitation of a friend to many. That we were all in the same place for the same reason delivered an unspoken message - we cared.

We gathered as friends and as family - all with a common bond. Each of us was there to grieve with family and friends and to say goodbye to a friend.

Questions… there are so many questions with…

Hunting With Glass

Since I was carrying my Nikon and not my Remington I hunted this rooster pheasant with glass. It is a good thing the camera could see the bird. The bright snow burned my rods and cones after a few frames were recorded.

I’ll add this not so good view of a horned lark in flight.

Not Often Seen Scenes

Yesterday I shared my first horned lark images for the winter of 2025-2026. In the text I mentioned I would watch for Lapland longspurs and snow buntings that sometimes are found with the horned larks. Today I studied more horned larks and found Lapland longspurs in the mix. This one allowed for a couple of photos.

For those wondering - horned larks, Lapland longspurs, and snow buntings are the little brown birds (LBBs) typically seen in winter months, along gravel roads, and away from housing/structures. They tend to thrive in…

Challenging Weather Conditions Make For Easier Horned Lark Images

As has happened many times, the worse the weather conditions the more likely I will come home with horned lark images. Today followed the trend with a ready supply of horned larks to attempt to get close enough for photos. I managed a few as shown here.

The Seeker Becomes the Hunted - And Dead Swan

For another year some of our family migrated (with apparently thousands of others) to the Wapsie Pines Christmas Tree Farm in Southeast Bremer County. As we have done many times, some of the grandkids played “Hide and Seek” with Gramps.

This year was different as Gramps was able to stay out of view long enough the kids resorted to calling with their cell phone to listen for my duck call ring tone. They called using their phones as taking advantage of their resources. Gramps thinks it was cheating. For Rounds 2 and 3 Gramps was the clear winner. In fact, even though I was supposed to be the “hunted” (the hider), I turned things around and hunted them hunting me. When I showed them I was close enough to take pictures of them it spooked them. We really did have fun and came home with Christmas trees for the homes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kristy and I wish each of you a “Happy Thanksgiving” on this special day. Some days are easier than others to find something to be thankful for, but each day is worthy of gratitude - large or small.

For those wondering - temperatures did not get low enough overnight to cover larger areas with ice. Hard water is starting to form and based on the forecast, ice may be just a day or two away. For now all I could find was some ice along the edges of the river.

Not ICM, But ISM

Every now and then I dabble in "ICM” (Intentional Camera Movement). ICM involves a photographer moving the camera ever so slightly during a long exposure. Sometimes ICM works, sometimes…

Under The Right Lighting

Under the right lighting even ordinary scenes or photo subjects can look special. Such was the case this morning when I photographed geese, mallards, and a landscape scene.