Birds & Reptiles
Sunday, May 21, 2023
We set out today with the XF 150-600mm attached to the X-H2S in hopes of getting some images of birds and other wildlife along the Mississippi. Before we even got to the river this guy was sunning himself on the road near Weaver, MN.
This common foxglove was at Lock & Dam #5.
The view down into the city of Winona, MN, and over the bridge to Wisconsin from the Garvin Heights City Park overlook.
Looking at Veterans Memorial Park from Garvin Heights.
This family of turtles were sunning themselves on a beautiful Sunday morning in Pettibone Park, WI. The roadway into the park is closed due to the horrible damage it sustained from the spring flooding. There are areas where the roadway has been completely undermined and torn apart. There are trees that clearly came down the river and crashed into some of the buildings and completely bent street signs over at 90-degree angles. It will take an incredible amount of work to bring the park back to what it was before the flood.
With traffic in the park greatly reduced due to the damage, the wildlife took over.
We hadn’t expected to see this in the park, so I was still using just the 55-200mm lens. Can only imagine how close we could have gotten with the 600mm.
We were maybe 30-40 yards from the bird, but that was plenty close enough for him/her to decide it was time to head out.
In the town of New Albin, IA - just below the border with MN - there is a Wildlife Management Area where we were able to walk out as far as possible until the road was still flooded over. There were a number of Egrets and other birds, but they wouldn’t let us get more than 50-75 yards from them and they took off. The 600mm worked well, but these birds are still a bit too far away.
These sandpipers were bathing and drinking from the water covering the flooded dirt road into the Wildlife Management Area.
These Trumpeter Swans were doing some preening in the far distance. If you have never heard them make noise, they get their names from the sound they make; and it sounds just like a trumpet section of the orchestra warming up. These two were at least 200 yards out - if not further - so, the image is sketchy at best.
The redwing blackbirds are always very photogenic and don’t mind being close enough to get some quality images.
Okay, this Northern Flicker Woodpecker has quite a story. We first noticed him here on the ground at the edge of a kids’ sandbox at the park in New Albin, IA. At first, we thought we were dealing with a “special needs” woodpecker. He just lay here on the ground, on his side, looking up into the sky. We figured he was injured or maybe he had suffered some brain damage from whacking his head too hard against a tree. He sat like this the entire time we ate our picnic lunch at the picnic table nearby.
When we were just about to go check on him, he raised his head a little more.
Well, now we had some hope for the guy. He had almost righted himself completely.
Then, he popped-up and flew away, like he had nothing wrong and fully intended to just chill in the sandbox until the time came to take flight.
Happy to see that he was alright, we figured he deserved some more flattering photos in a more natural pose.
He took care of a little preening to get the sand out of his feathers.
We encountered this Baltimore Oriole at Goose Island Park in La Crosse, WI.
A river otter we believe.
More turtles enjoying a warm sunny day.
This bullfrog had it in his mind that he was going to cross the road. Figuring that wasn’t such a wise choice we convinced him otherwise and chased him back into the river.
By the looks of his smile, I think he appreciated our efforts.
This tree swallow sat still long enough for a quick shot. Generally, these are some very fast-moving birds and they don’t seem to like to sit still very long.
