Different but the Same

As of last night, my busy October is now officially over. Most of that was taken up with our own Haunted Trail efforts which consumes my mornings and nights and everything in between and a number of races to close out the official run season. That gives way to some additional Halloween parties where we get to enjoy the Halloween labors from our friends. Two of those closed up this weekend leaving my calendar fairly free beyond a garage full of decorations that need to put away for next year (some of them are still drying out from the multiple days of rain they had to endure before finally getting them all pulled out of the woods). The last critical task for the month is to complete my blog quota and then we’re ready for whatever November has to offer.

Since we talked about the Yellow-Rumped Warbler in my last post figured it made sense to provide an immediate contrast with the other sub-species of this colorful bird.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler - Myrtle shot on Wisconsin trip April 2014

As mentioned previously, there are two main classifications of the Yellow-Rumped. The one we covered in the last post was the Audubon variety as noted by their full yellow throat. The other variety is the Myrtle which you are viewing here. Yes, it has the yellow shoulder patches and the yellow crown in similarity with the Audubon version. And it pretty much goes without saying that it too sports the yellow patch on the rump. This wasn’t very easy to tell in the previous Audubon series, so let’s correct that now.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler - Myrtle shot on Wisconsin trip April 2014

Hit the jump to see and read a bit more about this sun painted Warbler.

Continue reading Different but the Same

The Same but Different

Greetings to my readers! A week ago I was standing out in my woods surrounded by a multitude of Halloween decorations. My non-wildlife blog will get an in depth look at that event, but I mainly point this out as a comparative perspective. See, I was standing out in my woods surrounded by creations of the dead IN MY T-SHIRT. October 21st and it was perfect out even in the dead of night. The week before a rainy, chilly, windy mess of a day. Now fast forward a week to today. Once again, standing in the woods surrounded by a multitude of Halloween decorations. This time in someone else’s haunted trail and more pertinent to the lead in – IN 2 SHIRTS, 2 COATS and GLOVES. Talk about one hell of a temperature swing for out here in the Midwest. Think it was even trying to flurry a bit towards the middle of the day. Other than a training run tomorrow, think I’ll just stay in and get caught up on my blog quota for the rapidly closing end of the month.

As a lead in, let’s take a look at a very colorful bird.

OOO

That there is a Yellow-Rumped Warbler. This pretty specimen was shot while on a trip out to the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado back in May 2014. Technically it was an add on from a trip to the Denver area for the Teacup Dog Agility Nationals. Linda bribed me with a trip through the park in order to convince me to head out there. I’ve have now tried two times to get the White-tailed Ptarmigan up on the Tundra trail – both coming up empty. Making the best of it, I did get some other specimens in the park, which included the one you are seeing here. Note, I intend to continue going back there until I get that bird checked off my list!

KK

Hit the jump to see and read a bit more about this colorful Warbler!

Continue reading The Same but Different

Forging the Chi Within Yourself

Master Po: Your final test, the urn of the two symbols: the dragon and the tiger. When you can walk in this corridor, the inner path to the outer world, and can push the urn aside with your forearms you will bear its markings with you for the rest of your life.
Kwai Chang Caine: Hundreds of pounds of burning coal and iron. How can I Master, having only the strength of a man and the weaknesses?
Master Po: It is because you are a man that you can do this, Grasshopper.
Kwai Chang Caine: I do not understand.
Master Po: As the softest clay, in time, becomes the hardest brick; a fragile leaf, a diamond; as a stream of fiery ore freezes into unbending iron, so too may a man ascend to himself.
Kwai Chang Caine: How?
Master Po: By slowly forging the chi within yourself, the bond between the finite and infinite, the inner essence of your spirit, and the limitless power of the universe.
Kwai Chang Caine: How can I do this?
Master Po: You will have found your strength and the source of your survival. You will be free my Grasshopper Sparrow

Grasshopper Sparrow shot at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge near Minneapolis MN in July 2017

… and the rest is legend.  Well, at least in the entertainment world.  From a birding perspective it simply represents another new bird encounter while on our Minnesota Birding Trip back in July.  As with the last post on the Marsh Wren and a few back with the Black Terns, this particular Sparrow was spotted while we were at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge outside of Minneapolis MN.  We found this refuge on a website that listed the best birding areas around Minneapolis.  Without a doubt, I can officially confirm that entry on the list.  Sherburne is a fantastic location with a range of habitats to observe – trees, prairie and marsh.  All easily accessible and viewable from the car.

Grasshopper Sparrow shot at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge near Minneapolis MN in July 2017

We did get out of the RV at the first pull off to take a short trail through the prairie.  It is on that trek that I heard a very distinct noise coming from a good distance down and slightly off to the side.  Sounded like a very loud insect possibly rubbing its wings together.  Took me awhile to pinpoint the source of the noise – a bird perched on the very top of a large weed.  My Brother Ron had mentioned this particular bird on a previous outing with him allowing me to quickly guess I was witnessing a Grasshopper Sparrow.

Grasshopper Sparrow shot at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge near Minneapolis MN in July 2017

Hit the jump to read and see a bit more about our featured feathered friend!

Continue reading Forging the Chi Within Yourself

Wren Are You Gonna Stop So I Can Take a Pic?

There are those times you realize you are behind the eight ball and trying to get caught up.  Then there are times when you feel like you’re underwater trying to get above the workload enough to just catch a breadth before going under again.  Then there’s those times when you realize that those times you thought were stressful and overwhelming were comparatively more like a slow stroll through a park.  My life has been more like the latter lately due to some imposed timelines and activities that nearly brought me to my knees.  The good news is I have finally broke through to the park walking stage and doing my best to take a breather before relighting both ends of the candle.  At least all that work filled up the coffers of blog material that will be coming at you over the next several weeks.  For now, I wanted to give some love to the Wildlife side of my blogging efforts. Cannot think of a better way to do that than introducing you to this …

Marsh Wren shot at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge July 2017

That cute feathered specimen was a pleasant surprise on our recent birding trip to Minnesota.  It is quickly being realized how successful that trip actually was.  If you have been keeping up with my output of words, you have probably come to this same conclusion.  Several of my posts have covered birds that made it into the tin on that trip back in July 2017 at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.  In particular, one of those posts – the Black Tern (link here) is the reason for this find.  While standing by the water’s edge trying to keep the glass on target with the hunting Terns, this specimen decided to pop out of the reeds in front of me.  Possibly to show off its; own hunting abilities.

Marsh Wren shot at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge July 2017

Hit the jump to read and see more about this cute little bird!

Continue reading Wren Are You Gonna Stop So I Can Take a Pic?

A Rough to Get Ruffed

Hello strangers!  Been awhile since getting a wildlife post out and for that I apologize.  This has been a crazy month already and as of tomorrow I officially enter crunch time on the Haunted Trail (only have ONE more week left to prep).  I’ll post on it as soon as I can, but I did finish my final race of the season last weekend… well more like finished the last raceS of the season thanks to a two-race combo event.  I can officially say that I completed my 4 half marathons in a little more than a month and a half.  Must say, it about killed me (recall the last race recollection), but like they say, that which doesn’t kill me just makes me want to try harder hehehe.  Oh well, plenty of time to talk about running later – we have a bird to get to!

Ruffed Grouse shot on highway 61 outside of Grand Portage in Northern Minnesota in July 2017

Pretty cool eh?  I have to go it alone for this one due to my Brother Ron being uber-busy himself these days.  I usually like to confirm my bird ID’s with him just to make sure.  Bird IDing can be a bit difficult thanks to several bird species buying their coats from the same tailor.  Always good to have an extra pair of eyes to spot nuances and Ron is really good at that.  After doing some diligence on the web with some additional thumbing through my reference books I’ve decided this particular specimen is a Ruffed Grouse.  More importantly, for those of you keeping score, this (if correct) represent a new +1 for my birding list – YEAH.

Ruffed Grouse shot on highway 61 outside of Grand Portage in Northern Minnesota in July 2017

Hit the jump to read and see a bit more about this cool bird.

Continue reading A Rough to Get Ruffed

Junco the Gray

Sorry folks, been a little bit lax on my postings as of late. Actually I have been making non-wildlife posts on my other site, but doesn’t get me off the hook for not showing the wildlife some love. In my defense, this has been a hell month which has included massive work preparing for this year’s Haunted Trail and the three half marathons with one more to go in just over a month has definitely left me blog shallow. To help remedy the situation figured I’d go ahead and throw out a set from May 2014

Gray Headed Junco captured at Rocky Mountain National Park in May of 2014

You couldn’t ask for a bird to be more cooperative when it comes to getting them in the tin. I swear this particular specimen was actually trying to work with me to get the best angles and background settings. Hell, I can’t even get my Poodles to cooperate this much with me and we even FEED them! As mentioned, this bird was shot a few years back on a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Believe we were out in Denver for the Poodle Agility Teacup Nationals and made a point to catch the park on our way back.

Gray Headed Junco captured at Rocky Mountain National Park in May of 2014

Hit the jump to see a few more of the Junco.

Continue reading Junco the Gray

Deceived by a Juvenile

Let me start with a huge cleansing breadth! Hell, let’s all partake in a giant cleansing breadth. Ready…set…go breathe in breathe in a little more, just a bit more, fill every cubic millimeter of those lungs, hold it, hold it, just a bit more.. now let it all out in a big whhooooossssshhhhh. Unless you took this relaxing moment a little too serious and passed out, you should be feeling relieved, refreshed, rejuvenated and rambunctious. Not sure about the last feeling there, was on a role with the R’s. channeling my inner high school Spanish class. I’m sure feeling a lot better now. Three days ago I was 4 days from the end of the month and three posts away from my self-imposed quota. Thanks to some elbow grease this post releases a whole bunch of pressure.

I know, I know, you don’t want to read about my problems, you want some of that special bird sauce.

Juvenile Red-Eyed Vireo shot at Bellevue State Park in Bellevue IA July 2017

This little specimen was shot while visiting Bellevue State Park in Iowa. Back in July (this year), we were on our way back from a Minnesota bird and waterfall shooting trip and stopped by Bellevue’s lock to see what it had to offer. If you are keeping up with my little off-ramp on the information highway, you may recall that this is the same place we spotted the Peregrine Falcon making the skies very dangerous for anything with wings (link here). After shooting the Peregrine, we made our way up to the state park on the bluff overlooking the lock. While standing there checking out the scene, a very intriguing song rang out from a nearby tree. The hunt was on.

Juvenile Red-Eyed Vireo shot at Bellevue State Park in Bellevue IA July 2017

Hit the jump read more about this mystery bird.

Continue reading Deceived by a Juvenile

It’s Their Tern

Greetings everyone! First off, our hearts and prayers go out to those impacted by the weather events in Texas. Kind of shocking when you think it wasn’t too many months ago Linda and I were vacationing down in South Padre Island. Every time I see someone walking in waist high water down there, all I can think of is the huge alligators we encountered while birding down there. Hope to god the rain and flooding doesn’t bring those beasts up into the communities. In no way glossing over the human impact that has resulted, but as a birder, it will be interesting to see how the birds handle this change in environment. The SPI area was such a wonderful birding location it will be disappointing if that element doesn’t recover right alongside the lives and other wildlife already experiencing tragic displacement. We will keep an eye on how things are going there.

For now, thought I would go with the following for today’s featured post:
Black Tern shot at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge near Minneapolis, MN. in July 2017

That dark and mysterious creature is referred to as a Black Tern. This is not a new bird to the blog having first appeared back in July 2015 (link here). If you recall, that encounter with the black arts took place at Goose Lake. For the record, that was my first encounter with this bird having made my way up there thanks to an IBET post followed by a recommendation from my brother Ron who had made his way down there.

Black Tern shot at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge near Minneapolis, MN. in July 2017

Hit the jump to see and read a bit more about this acrobatic sky hunter.

Continue reading It’s Their Tern

Fuzzy Always Equals Cute

Guessing you might have thought I had dropped off the planet by now. Truth is I am uber-busy at the moment. Halloween is fast approaching and by proud admission, that’s my day! The problem is to get to that day, my schedule becomes a living hell. If you spend any time around LifeIntrigued you already know we host a haunted trail for our friends and family. Each year it gets a little bigger and based on my current plans – this year will be more of the same. Unfortunately, with all the decoration building my commitment to my loyal readers suffered. So… without further delay I bring you fuzzy creatures.
Common Merganser offspring shot at Grand Marais, Minnesota in July 2017

I purposely went with this particular post today because no matter how upset you are with my lack of posts … no heart is spurned enough to resist the warming effects of “cuteness”. Give me a cuddly puppy, a furry kitten or a fuzzy chick and you can kiss my worries goodbye. Wait a minute, on second thought, scratch that furry kitten option – them be killers! Not the case with these Common Merganser chicks. Pretty harmless unless you are a fish.

Common Merganser offspring shot at Grand Marais, Minnesota in July 2017

Hit the jump to see and read a bit more about this encounter.

Continue reading Fuzzy Always Equals Cute

That Dude Knows His Birds!

“Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun
But mama, that’s where the fun is”

Seemed like an appropriate intro based on yesterday’s special event. Hoping all my loyal readers in the States had a chance to witness the solar eclipse. I opted to stay in the area, so we were only able to experience a 93% reduction. Somewhat disappointing since 7% of the sun’s light is well… still pretty bright – surprisingly bright. Still something cool to experience. Some of my friends traveled further south to witness the total eclipse. That sounded intriguing until they recounted how horrendous it was to get home after that. What would normally be about a 3.5 hour trip ended up taking over 6.5 thanks to going 10-15mph on the main highway back.

In light of that (see what I did there – literary genius I tell you hehehe), I spent some time thinking about today’s post topic. After some deliberation opted to go with something that had a similar “dark” theme. With that said, I bring you this colorful little bird.

Northern Parula Shot at Grand Portage, MN while visiting Grand Portage, MN in July 2017

So you are probably thinking .. “How the hell does this have anything in common with a darkness”. Or possibly you just realized what song that lyric at the beginning was from and instead thinking to yourself “that has to be the WORST song ever written!” Either option is definitely appropriate – and sorry for the fact that song is now stuck in your head… “And little Early Pearly Came by in his curly-wurly” Don’t blame me… thank Springsteen. Rather than leave you in the dark on this (I kill myself), these shots were taken in near blackness. Thanks to some fast work on the manual settings, I was able to save it. This is a prime example why photographers need to embrace the M mode. (I can already anticipate the comment I am going to get from my non-Manual shooting brother Ron)

This Northern Parula was captured while Linda and I were visiting Grand Portage MN back in July. We are headed out to photograph the waterfall there. As mentioned in the fox post previously, it was starting to drizzle. As we were walking the path there, an interesting sound came from a nearby tree. By then the rain was coming down harder and the thick forest was blocking out what little light was trying to break through. There are times when you have to focus on someone other than yourself and this was one of them. Linda had recently done something very nice for my birding checklist and therefore opted to focus on the task at hand – waterfalls. Onward we went. Then a stroke of luck happened – Linda couldn’t find here phone. Hmmm maybe I can cleverly disguise a self-centered act as a chivalrous act for the one I love. “Oh no, let me run back to the RV and see if it is there… just for your dear.. wink wink”. Holy crap it worked. I think she even felt bad I had to run all the way back to the RV. Off I went with credits in the bank and an opportunity to solve a mystery.

Northern Parula Shot at Grand Portage, MN while visiting Grand Portage, MN in July 2017

Yes, I made the first priority to get the phone. However, on the way back I kept my eyes and ears on the trail’s edge. Near the spot I originally heard the mysterious song was a young couple also looking up into a tree. Turns out they had heard the same song and was investigating the source as well. Like us, they were unable to spot it. That is when the young guy mentions that it was the song of a Northern Parula. Wow, that dude definitely knows his birds. He then stated, I always love hearing their song, but I rarely ever get to see one. A quick look at Cornell’s site confirmed they tend to hang out in the canopy. Seconds after he mentioned that, the source of the melodic chirps decided to come out for a brief visit. There I was holding big glass in dark forest conditions with a gorgeous bird on full display. No worries, made some fast adjustments and did my best to focus through the various limbs and leaves. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it goes horribly wrong – that day experience came through and the Northern encounter can be forever remembered. Note, the couple couldn’t believe anything came out on the image – showed them my LCD and she showed me the black silhouette she got with her camera phone. I thanked the guy out for the assist on the identification and proceeded on to meet up with Linda with a great sense of satisfaction. She got here waterfall shots, we found her phone, she loves more even more and I now have a much better picture of a Northern. Again, the great thing about bird photography is you always have the opportunity to improve on your shots. If you are curious, here were my previous inferior captures (link here).

Have to go work on Halloween decorations now – hope you enjoyed reading about our brief encounter with a cute little bird.