Thursday, July 14, 2011

Cuddle Time



I paid a visit this morning to Loon nest #2 and was delighted to see that one of the chicks had been born! Loon chick #1 was born either last night or early this morning, but the adult continued throughout the afternoon to sit on the second egg, which had not hatched yet as of 6:00 PM this evening when I left the nest. This photo was taken right after the adult called the baby back to the nest. The baby apparently did not want to wait for its sibling and decided to take its first swim on its own!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Moose Cow and Calf



So I went to check on Loon nest #2 again yesterday, still no babies and I didn't feel like sitting there and watching the nest (which I've already spent more than enough time doing!), so I went up to the Pigeon River to spend some time in my kayak. I spent almost 4 hours on the river, and it ended up being time well spent because part way through that time I ran into this Moose Cow and Calf, which made for a great picture! After making this photo they ran off into the woods, so I continued down the river and about a mile later there they were again! I noticed them earlier the second time, and tried sneaking up on them along the edge of the river. I was upwind, however, and before I could get close enough to get good shots they were gone into the woods. I'm grateful that I was able to get this nice shot of them, though! I love how they are both checking me out with their ears pointed towards me :-)



Evening cloud bank over the Pigeon River

After photographing the Moose Cow and Calf I was treated to an incredible display of clouds over the river. This is what the scene looked like about 45 minutes before sunset. Once the sun started to hit the horizon, these same clouds were lit up with all kinds of amazing colors. Between the Moose and the clouds, it was an unforgettable evening on the river!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Fog in the Sleepy Hollow Valley



This photo was taken from one of the local fire towers last night just before sunset. It had rained all day and as evening wore on the fog was incredible. An elevated vantage point such as this provided for some spectacular views of the fog as it drifted through the surrounding valleys!

Friday, July 8, 2011

The Coming Storm



Here's another cool cloud image... this one was taken late yesterday afternoon as the first of several fast-moving thunderstorms came over the tip of Minnesota's Arrowhead region. Not more than two minutes after I made this shot, the rain was coming down so hard that visibility was minimal at best. The wipers on my truck could hardly keep up with it!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Summer Storm over Swamp Lake



Check out these awesome clouds that I photographed over Swamp Lake today.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Patience pays off!



Patience pays off! During another 4 hours of Loon watching today, we got to see the eggs being turned by the parent mid-afternoon, and this time she was facing us so we could actually see what was going on :-) Still no babies, though... stay tuned!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Loons!



Yesterday we found another Loon nest so today we are heading up to watch it and see if the chicks hatch.



Well, after 9 hours of watching the Loon nest the eggs got turned several times by the adult, but so far they haven't hatched. The one that was on the nest got off the nest 3 times throughout the day and went for a swim while the other adult stayed out on the lake. I'm guessing it was Mom doing all the work :-)