Looking Back on 2014

I got a gentle "scolding" from a friend recently who's been missing my blog posts. So I decided I'd get one more in before the end of 2014. Working two and three jobs for the last few years has pretty much kicked my ass to the curb and left me with neither the energy or initiative to devote to weekly (or even monthly) blog posts. But for those of you not on Facebook or also missing my blog posts, I'll recap my 2014 with one picture for each month of 2014.

A beautiful January sunset

A February snowstorm was beautiful only to those who didn't have to worry about moving all the snow or figuring out how to drive in it! 

In March I took a trip to California to visit my brother.  It was nice to see green grass, water that wasn't frozen, and birds that wouldn't be back to Minnesota for a couple months yet.

April brought a few spring birds back to Minnesota, including this Robin who was determined to battle that "other" robin taunting him from the window reflection.

In May the colorful summer birds finally arrived.  They're the hope we hold in our thoughts and hearts during the long Minnesota winter.

Backyard critters enjoying June clover and other treats falling from the birdfeeder above.

A long July weekend in northern Minnesota gave me the opportunity to photograph this rainbow over Snowbank Lake after a brief late afternoon thunderstorm.

 

Thankfully we saw more Monarch butterflies this summer than last year.  An August Monarch took advantage of the Rough Blazing Star blooming in my backyard wildflower garden.

In September, this first year Cooper's Hawk was trying its best to catch one of the birds hanging out on my deck.  Unfortunately, no birds were caught, but I did get the chance to capture this awesome photo!

Fall colors delighted the senses in October.

Early one morning in November, this small buck showed up in the backyard to sample some of the corn we put out for birds and bunnies.



Happy Christmas from me and my pretty girl Holly the Pibble!

Enjoying a Few Raptor Moments

Last Sunday afternoon Mr. Johnson was outside washing the car when he happened to look up and notice a big bird on the TV antenna.  Because he's the well-trained spouse of a birder, he immediately came to the back door and told me to get my camera because there was a hawk on the TV antenna!  I went out the garage and took this picture of the hawk back-side.  Do you know what it is?

I knew I could get a better view of this huge hawk from the deck on the other side of the house, so I went back inside and crept slowly out onto the deck.  Fortunately, this hawk didn't notice my arrival.....

The TV antenna tower is about 40 feet high, so it's an excellent observation tower if you're a hawk!

This hawk seemd to be relaxing and just enjoying the view.  If you notice on most of these pictures, its right foot isn't even clutching the antenna pole!

I noticed there weren't any squirrels hanging around the backyard bird feeders while this hawk was up there, but all the other little songbirds in the backyard were extremely vocal in their alarm calls.

Then the hawk gave itself a mighty, all-over shake -- feathers floating away on the afternoon breeze.....

Then a moment to settle the feathers and get everything back in correct position again......

And in an instant the hawk was airborne again!

I love the continuous shooting feature on my camera for photo opportunities like this and I was thrilled to be able to capture the majesty of this beautiful juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk in flight.

In the woods about a quarter-mile from our house, there is a mated pair of Red-Tailed Hawks that nested successfully again this year.  We see them frequently during the year and this juvenile has been hanging around for several weeks now.  I often hear its pitiful calls and I've seen the parents nearby, so I know it's not been abandoned yet.  Plus there's an abundance of small mammals and rodents in my backyard habitat to support a family of raptors.  I hope I get the chance to see this youngster up close again this summer.

Raptor Spa

For a lot of people with backyard bird feeders, the appearance of a hawk is a horrifying experience.  For me, the appearance of a hawk is always greeted with excitement.  The ratio of hawks to songbirds in my backyard is probably about 1:150, so I'm not worried about the hawks decimating my songbirds (the free-roaming cats and raccoons cause much more damage).  I know there is a Cooper's Hawk who visits my backyard regularly and usually the chickadees, robins and bluejays sound the alarm.  This time of year, the grackles are especially watchful because they have all kinds of nests around here and I've found several piles of juvenile grackle feathers lately (not gonna complain about losing a few grackle babies, that's for sure!)

Since the weather's been so hot already this summer, keeping the birdbaths full is almost a full-time job and on this 90+ degree day back on June 10th, a Cooper's Hawk decided to take advantage of a shallow birdbath in my backyard for a little spa session.  Fortunately I was home on this day and managed to capture these photos out the kitchen window.  Hope you enjoy them!

Hope you're enjoying your summer and be sure to keep your birdbaths full during these hot days for all of the backyard critters and birds -- raptors included!

Weekend at Crex Meadows

On the last weekend of October, we took a trip to Crex Meadows Wildlife Area near Grantsburg, Wisconsin to catch the Sandhill Crane migration. We left early Saturday morning so we could be there in time to see sunset arrival cranes at their nighttime roosting areas in the refuge. We got there early enough to take a drive through the park and observe some other birds. At one area where we stopped, we got to see some Trumpeter Swans.

Trumpeter Swans can be seen at Crex most of the year (except winter), so we felt fortunate to be able to see them this close before their migration to warmer climes.

Holly isn't much of a bird dog, but she kept my seat warm in the car while I was out taking pictures!

About an hour before sunset, the cranes started arriving. We were at the wrong part of the refuge for the first part of this, but after driving around a bit more and seeing where all the other cars were parked, we did manage to catch quite a few of the cranes still arriving before it was too dark.

There were cranes everywhere! Here with "landing gear" down......

A group of cranes takes a walk across the marsh.

Here's a nice shot of a large flock in silhouette against the twilight sky. It's magical so see and hear so many Sandhill Cranes at one time!

Sunday morning brought another chilly and cloudy day, but we did head back out to Crex before the rain moved in. We saw a few more cranes and some waterfowl, but the biggest thrill for me was this flyover of a first year Rough-Legged Hawk.

I felt privileged to be able to capture these shots of this beautiful raptor who had made its migration journey all the way south to Wisconsin after being hatched earlier this year somewhere near the Arctic Circle.

Be sure to add Crex Meadows Wildlife Area and to your birding "must see" list on your next visit to Wisconsin!

Birds of Forestville

My three trips to Forestville State Park last week were primarily for birding. My previous post about wildflowers showed you what was on the ground, but this post is all about the birds I saw. We were hoping to catch warbler migration, but the first two days were a little chilly for much warbler activity. Fortunately, Forestville State Park has lots of other birds to see and enjoy. I knew it was going to be a good day when we spotted these Turkey Vultures perched in the tree at the entrance to the park!
I have Mr. Johnson so well-trained now that he immediately knew to pull the car off to the side of the road so I could get out to take photos. Luckily for me, one of the TVs decided to leave its perch and give me some perfect fly-over shots.

So beautiful in flight! (Hi Lynne!)

Turkey Vulture doing its part for highway clean-up! (sorry about this poor quality photo--thru the windshield)

For the rest of this post, you may want to click on the photos to enlarge them.

Down by the river (where we sometimes see warblers) we found lots of Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, busily scouting among the rocks and tree roots for insects.
I was thrilled to get a couple of shots where you could actually see this tiny bird's ruby "crown!"

A Hermit Thrush was puttering around on the ground near the parking lot. I hoped it would sing for us, but this bird remained silent.

Hello Handsome Thrush!

They're easy to miss when they're lurking on the ground.

Here's a waterthrush I managed to photograph through a break in dense ground cover. Initial hopes were that this was a Louisiana Waterthrush, but upon further review, I think it's a Northern.

Lincoln's Sparrow

Brown Creeper

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Black & White Warbler

Another look at the B&W Warbler, this one reminded us of a tiny woodpecker, scooting in all directions around the tree trunk foraging for insects.

On our second trip to the park, I spotted this raptor perched in a small tree near the park entrance. Can you see it there?

I had no idea what it was, but when I got out of the car to take a better look, it decided to fly away. (I was thrilled with this shot and the fact that I managed to get the camera focused in time to actually capture the bird flying away!)

Luckily for me, the raptor decided to soar directly overhead for several minutes and I was able to get several nice photos that helped to identify it as a Broad-Winged Hawk!

This warbler was busy gleaning insects from a gooseberry bush. Can you give me a better look at yourself, please?

What do you think? I went with Orange-Crowned Warbler on this one based on what my Kaufman field guide says: "Often stays fairly low in leafy thickets.....Very plain.... No wingbars. Dark line through eye, faint broken eye-ring. Blurry streaks on chest."

Got to see my FOY Rose-Breasted Grosbeak on this day. Such a handsome bird!

Last week's third birding trip to Forestville was with my Sissy. Another chilly and overcast morning, but we were optimistic about the weather forecast and hoping for the chance to see some warblers. I did get this nice shot of a male Red-Winged Blackbird showing off for a female perched nearby. Who could resist a handsome guy like him?
Down along the river's edge, I saw this Spotted Sandpiper poking around a few rocks.

A lucky sighting, I think because it blended in really well with its surroundings.

Here's a not-so-good shot of a Blackburnian Warbler we spotted high in the tree top. The flame orange throat is such a dead giveaway to this warbler's ID (even on a cloudy day!)

Northern Waterthrush

Northern Parula (he just wouldn't sit still!)

One more try.......

American Redstart-bottom view

American Redstart-top view!

I think this was a Palm Warbler. If I remember correctly, it had a rusty-colored cap that didn't show up in this photo.

Thanks Sissy for driving on this trip and being a good sport while I had to keep stopping to take photos! Hope we can do this again next spring (or sometime sooner)!