Apparently these robins didn’t realize that I’d bought a new motion light to match my siding, and decided to build a nest atop the existing one the day I purchased the new one! I’m an animal lover (they’re DELICIOUS!) so I decided to postpone my installation until these proud parents become, quite literally, empty nesters. Besides, the exiting light works just fine anyway. So what if it isn’t white?

Robins tried this routine two years ago in May in the same location, and I posted photos of the mom guarding her nest. Sadly, the robins abandoned the nest unexpectedly, leaving me to simply wonder what had happened and whether they would come back. When they didn’t, I took the nest down and that was the end of it. 2007 didn’t bring any robins to this particular perch, so I was a bit surprised to find them there this spring. Thankfully the results are better, since we have three hungry babies successfully hatched therein!

Dad seems to be a little put out by the sight of me lying on the roof of the addition to our house, camera at the ready. It didn’t stop him completely from bringing home the bacon, but he was plenty nervous. I’m going to give them a lot of space as they raise the little ones, but on occasion I’ll see if I can get any photos of the baby robins’ progress.

If you’ve read this site for a while, you probably know that the Great Blue Heron is a critter I’ve chased with some fervor over the past couple of years. Sometimes my quest has borne some fruit, other times it has ended in futility. That’s why I was startled to come upon this fella while at the Dakota Zoo with my boys a few days ago.

True to form, this bird was quite alert. He locked onto me while I was still far away. That’s why I carry 20 pounds of lenses in my pack!

Even some of the other animals sensed a visitor, as you can see here. The bird didn’t like the idea of being busted, apparently…shortly after this photo was taken, he departed…flying off between the trees in graceful fashion.

I got pretty close to this great blue heron a couple of times, utilizing each time to scrutinize him and work the controls of my camera as well. I was careful to check his legs and feet for a band each time I was close enough: there was no band on either leg, so I think it’s safe to assume this was a gate-crasher.

After I took that last photo of him, he flapped away to parts unknown. Maybe some time down the road I’ll see him or some of the other herons that inhabit this area.

I couldn’t get the Sammy Hagar tune out of my head Saturday as a friend and I hiked our way up to an eagle’s nest…thus the title of this post. It was COLD, too! We stood nearby as a pair of eagles nervously checked us out. We kept our distance in an effort to minimize our disruption of their routine, and took lots of photos of them perching in the trees and circling overhead. Sadly, it was a very gray day…so I blued up the sky a bit in Photoshop. Now that my friend has clued me in on the location of this nest, I hope to be able to visit them often! Maybe I’ll come away with some cool eagle photos, and if I’m lucky they’ll grow accustomed to being photographed.

Upon hearing the announcement of Home Depot’s impending closure, my thoughts immediately jumped to two things: first, where do I get my Cable Cuffs? That one was easy: here! Second, what happens to the birds?

These little birdies make their nests in the bottom of the pallets on which much of the merchandise is shipped and stored. At one point I saw three little fledgelings poking their heads out of one of the pallets… what’s going to happen to such feathered fellows once Home Depot goes away?

They’re also going to lose a good source of valuable nutrition, as nobody will be leaving bags of seed around or spilling it on the concrete floor. Sadly, these little birdies will have to go back into the harshness of the wild world.

Many employees are going to be impacted by the closure of our beloved Home Depot. We loyal customers (I hate Lowe’s) are going to feel the effects as well. But who thinks of the birds? I do.

By the way, Home Depot claims it is closing fifteen or so of its stores because they’re underperforming. Could I possibly have been a little clairvoyant when I banged out this joking blog post a couple years back?

Spring means the return of the migratory species such as Canada Geese (note: not “Canadian” ) that keep us company through ’til fall. While the refinery and power plant keep plenty of them here year ’round, we see an influx of snowbirds (pun intended) this time each year. They’ve gotta live somewhere.

These two geese are staking claim on one of the finest pieces of bird real estate in the area: the little island near Southport Marina. It’s right next to the first turn off Fox Island road, which is what I call Riverwood Drive. It looks pretty choice, if you happen to be nesting.

Probably not the same as this turkey, who was having a feast of its own. One blessing about being southwest of Bismarck is all the wildlife. There are the herons that drive me nuts when I try to get close enough to photograph them; the turtles that do the same; the deer and pheasants that don’t seem too worried about my presence; and the turkeys that act like they own the place. This would be one of the latter.

This particular flock was just hanging out, with only one ambitious bird willing to flutter up into the trees for the really good eatin’. The rest were content to just peck around in the yard. Then they noticed some crazy guy with a telephoto lens trying to get a better angle. That resulted in a mass turkey exodus. Having spoiled their dinner, I took off to enjoy one of my own, provided by my mom! Since we were barely home from the hospital (due to the birth of little Jonathan), she was gracious enough to provide us with an amazing Thanksgiving dinner while my wife took care of the newborn.

I know it’s December, and Thanksgiving day is a distant memory with the Christmas season in full swing, but I caught myself thinking about the sight of such a dorky bird as it lurched itself up into the tree. That’s a story that begs to be shared!

A coworker and I were videotaping in a house today for an upcoming television commercial and website. Actually, he was videotaping and I was doing still photography. The bathroom area in which we were shooting was a little cramped, so I got out of the way while he got his lights set and did his video work. Since I couldn’t use the camera I brought from work in the bathroom, I pointed my own camera out the back window of the house into the backyard to see what kind of birds and stuff were hanging out.

While I was peeping through the viewfinder, a very large blur flew past. I jerked back, looked through the window, then immediately went back to the camera. A large hawk had swooped in to do some hunting among the little birds!

I grabbed a few different shots of this hawk as he stood on the rock, mere feet away through the glass. The sparrows had climbed far into the thick branches, depriving him of lunch…so he took off again. Then it was my turn to aim the lights and do my photography of the home’s interior and wrap up the shoot.

This blog, if you go back through the pages, is filled with crazy things that I’d never have caught if I hadn’t always had my camera handy. For instance, there’s my Saturday morning middle-of-the-road snapping turtle adventure; the Bismarck Fire Department intersection hose-down; or the Lewis & Clark bubble bath. There are many more, but you get the idea. It makes the work of lugging the camera around worthwhile!

Saturday morning I had a lot to do, so to stoke the fire of my ambition I got up before the sun and headed out in the truck to stake out a nice photo. Right now the sunrise times out pretty nicely, arriving right around 7:00 am. Perfect. I hit 93rd Street southeast of Lincoln, since I had some potential sunrise locations plotted in my GPS. Instead of YAW (Yet Another Windmill) I chose this lonely tree.

It took a while for the sun to catch up, as there were clouds on the horizon. But once it did, I was able to catch it rising beneath the arc of my tree’s drooping branches. Not bad. Any time I can come home with one photo I like, the trip is considered a success. From here on out, anything else is a bonus.

I hung out a little bit until the sun got up high enough in the sky to make for a blazing sunrise, then figured I’d had enough of standing in the cold. I was wearing long johns and a warm coat, but the cold was starting to gnaw away at me. I hopped into the nice warm truck and headed back to town to get started on a long list of errands, including the introductory animation for the Civic Center screens when the Dakota Wizards take the floor.

Since deer season is in full effect now, I heard a lot of gunshots from all directions. None were terribly close, but I did stay hunkered down by the side of the road. I wanted to minimize the risk of getting shot, as you can understand. Even so, a motorist on Highway 83 near Minot caught a bullet in the leg this week. I don’t want to be come a statistic. My days of hiking with my camera are on hold until the hunting season ends.

Speaking of deer season, I did see this fella. He had four or five of his ladies with him, but I didn’t find them particularly photogenic. I’m no hunter, so I don’t know what a trophy doe looks like…but I do understand the importance of antlers on a buck. This was a pretty decent looking deer, in my estimation. I bet there are a lot of hunters out there that didn’t get a look like this!

Oh yeah…I saw this one, too. I just have to rub it in for those unfortunate hunters who came back empty handed this weekend. This lucky guy also had four or five does with him. Since I’m told the deer are in rut right now, that would explain the sudden socialization. I have shots of all of them, but only felt like posting the big bucks this morning.

So I went out Saturday morning looking for just one good photo. I got many. A lot of times it turns out like that, but then again I do come home empty handed some days as well. I guess I know what it feels like to be a hunter, after all.

After a long day of organizing photos and walking around Papa’s Pumpkin Patch with my wife and PJ, I let them take care of stuff like baths and took off to the sandbar with my camera. I wanted to see two things: what that pile of rocks under the bridge is, and what the new beam is that’s sticking out of the west end of the new bridge.

That’s when my attention was drawn to the silhouette of one of my favorite, most elusive subjects: the Great Blue Heron. This one was reasonably cooperative, although I never did get too close to him. It turned out that was just fine, as I wanted to include the railroad bridge and the river in the shot. I set up my tripod and was able to take this exposure. What’s cool about the herons is that if they perceive a possible threat, they stand still to assess the situation. I clapped my hands to make this bird freeze in his tracks, then took the shot. This bird sat still for the eight seconds needed to capture the moment! Even zoomed into the full size picture, the water is blurred but the bird is not. What a cooperative subject! In fact, if you look at the Grant Marsh bridge in the background, you’ll see streaks of lights made by cars driving over the bridge while the camera’s shutter sits open.

By the way, the piles of rocks are so they can make a platform out into the water for a track-driven crane to move. Apparently the ones on the barges just aren’t going to cut it. And the beam sticking out of the west end of the new bridge? It’s a beam. Not that it was a mystery to start with, but it’s hard to get a decent look at it while driving over the old bridge. Two questions answered, one awesome (and unexpected) photo to boot. Chalk up one more successful journey in the Bismarck-Mandan area!