Bismarck and Mandan have a lot of nice scenic backwater to explore, if one is willing to get muddy shoes. I was willing to do so, and this weekend I had an arrangement with these two geese. By this arrangement they agreed that I posed no threat, and I agreed to move along after a couple of quick photos.

These geese were actually helpful in my approach of the Great Blue Herons described below. Under the watchful eye of the big birds, I stood by my tripod as these two geese walked by. They didn’t pay any attention to me and hopped in the water, and by doing so they demonstrated to the herons that I wasn’t worth much concern.

While they tucked in and took a nap in the sun, I was able to work my way closer to the big birds, eventually getting a couple of nice photos before they finally decided I was getting too close for comfort.

From what I’ve heard, the Great Blue Heron is a territorial bird. I’ve also been under the impression that they’re also a solitary bird. Apparently not, as I spotted a group of FIVE of them this weekend!

One thing I know to be true: these are very perceptive, alert, and skittish birds. Trying to get near them is a near impossibility, a feat which I’ve tried to accomplish repeatedly in the past two years. I got some pretty good success once so far this year, getting within 50 feet of one of these birds, but didn’t really come away with the greatest of pictures from it. I’ll keep trying.

With these particular birds, I spotted them from afar. I clipped my camera to the tripod and began to advance along the soft muddy shore of the backwater. I would walk ten paces or so, stop, and remain motionless for a while. The birds would see me, of course, since there was no cover for me…but after a while they’d lose interest and go back to snatching fish out of the water.

I originally only saw three of the birds, but then was surprised to spot a fourth playing lookout. I would pan the camera back and forth to keep tabs on all of them as I worked my way closer, and suddenly I realized there were five! As I started to get within what I’d consider “good” photo distance, one bird took off and flew down river a ways. Shortly thereafter, a second birds took flight and went to join its pal. These three, however, held out for a while… allowing me a chance to work my way a little closer.

I was never able to get too close, but thankfully I have one of Canon’s new 300mm zoom lenses. While parked on a tripod it’s able to pull some pretty awesome shots from a distance. I’m still saving for a 400mm prime lens, which should be really awesome, but until that time this’ll have to do.

While out on another one of my notorious photo hikes, I was surprised when something caught the corner of my eye. It was this goose, all hunkered down in the rocks. I presume this goose is a she, and I also presume she’s guarding a nest. I documented the find, then moved on so I didn’t cause any further distress.

I got quite a few neat pictures from this particular hike, and I’ll post them as time allows. I also found two ticks crawling on me through the course of the evening, both times on my pant leg. Yuck. I carry insect repellent spray and wipes in my truck, but I had grown accustomed to not needing them. I guess those days are over!

I thought I’d share this pair of waxwings with y’all. These two were part of a group of dozens feasting on fallen fruit downtown. Most noteworthy are the colors on the tips of the wing and tail feathers of the bottom bird.

These are some pretty brilliant birds for North Dakota! I’m so accustomed to the more common brown birds of various species, but we actually do get a lot of very colorful wildlife up here. It ain’t the tropics, but we do get our colors.

It’s that time of year in Bismarck-Mandan, where all the critters start making an appearance again: birds, squirrels, and bunnies. I’ve written in the past about the various manifestations of Greg the Bunny, and this is the new Greg. He and his girlfriend have set up residence near the back boundary of our property, and I’ve spotted the two of them a couple of times.

We don’t have a garden right now, so I’m not too concerned about bunnies. Last year’s Greg had a liking for my wife’s flower beds, but they make a rabbit repellent for that. So, until we get a garden planted, the Gregs are invited to stay. They’re so cute!

I was taking the long way home from work again, actually the first time in a long time, when I was given an opportunity I’d wanted for two years: to get close to a Great Blue Heron. I’ve tried in times past, but these are very skittish birds. One can’t normally get within a football field of them without the darn things taking flight.

These are also territorial birds, so there are a few places I try to frequent in my quest for one of the big blue (purplish, actually) birds. It was between two such places that I spotted this lovely specimen. I actually spotted its mate, parked the truck, angled for a shot, then watched it take off and soar about a quarter mile away before landing. I was about to storm back to the truck and depart when I caught this one out of the corner of my eye!

I took a meandering path down toward the water, trying not to look over at the bird. It kept one eye trained on my as birds do when they’re really trying to focus on something, and continued to do so as I sat down on the bank about 40-50 feet away. I simply sat motionless and occasionally snapped a photo as the heron paced back in forth in the water, actually working its way closer to me. Then, after ten minutes or so, it finally took off to rejoin its friend. I was so excited!

I can now cross this off my list of subjects that I want to get photographed yet somehow never succeed. That is becoming a very short list! It’s amazing how much there is to see (and photograph) right here in Bismarck-Mandan. Communicating that fact is why I started this blog in the first place, and it becomes more real to me all the time.

As I walked downtown this afternoon on business, I noticed large flocks of robins and cedar waxwings hanging out in front of Medcenter One. The trees there have some sort of little fruit on ’em, and that’s the prime delicacy for these birds. They were picking fallen fruit from the sidewalk as well as nibbling on those still adhering to the trees.

I bet these little guys hadn’t counted on a resurgence of winter when they decided to come back to Bismarck! In any case, I’m sure this cold snap will pass soon enough…but it’s got to be a real bummer for the feathered friends who expected Spring to be in full effect.

This is a phenomenon not all that unusual to the citizens of our area; in fact, lots of people have deer feeders in their yards. These two deer really didn’t seem to care that I was pointing my camera at them, although a half-dozen of their pals took off as soon as they saw me open the window. Fine. I moved along down the road a little bit to see what else I could find…

I think this pheasant thought he was doing a pretty good job of hiding, but not when his colors stand out so well against the surroundings. It hasn’t greened up quite enough yet, and the vegetation hasn’t kicked into spring/summer mode enough to provide cover. Oh well, he’s lucky — I could have been carrying a shotgun!

If you caught the title’s reference to “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” then you can call me…Tim?

If you want to see Bismarck-Mandan differently, buy a camera and start photographing everything that catches your eye. You’ll find a new appreciation of our fair cities. Last night, as my wife and I took baby PJ out for his first stroll along the river, something caught my eye in the trees to our right. Since I was carrying my camera, I swung it over toward the trees and aha! Bunny. Hopefully he doesn’t have “a mean streak a mile wide!”

No, I’m not talking about that hideous monstrosity along I-94 near Gladstone. These are some of the many geese flying overhead these days as the migratory birds head north for a season. I’m still trying out my new 300mm IS (image stabilizer) lens and this was a good opportunity. These geese were taking off after a stop in the Missouri, so I thought I’d try to capture a few. Looks like it worked.

If you have a Canon camera and want to try out this lens, go to Bob’s Photo and try it out – they’ve got one in stock. It’s really quite good for the money. Or buy my old one, it’s going on eBay in the next couple of days!