I'm working on a project to categorize my wildlife images.  The project has begun with bird and snake images.  My intent is to categorize all of my wildlife photos.  Please be patient; I have many images to work through.  Thank you!   

 Click here to view the first few classifications: Iowa Wildlife Images.

2009 Mendocino Service Trip Journal Entry

Boundary Waters Paddling Trip Report

Isle Royale Backpacking Trip Report (8/09)

Isle Royale Backpacking - Entire Island Hiked! (9/09)

Farewell to Abby

Red Fox Images from 8-weeks at Their Den (Scroll through entries)

May 2009            June 2009

A Picture a Day

2010 Tick Count: 0

Woodpecker Observations and a Full Moon (1/30/10)

After seeing pretty much nothing on a drive and a river walk today, I reverted to a dependable, yet repetitious site - my backyard blind.  Since new species to the backyard are non-existent, I watched for interesting characteristics of the normal bird visitors.

I recorded a couple of images of woodpeckers with the membrane over their eye while pecking at frozen beef fat.

This image shows a clear view of a downy woodpecker tongue.  It almost looks forked:

Finally, if you were watching shortly after dark tonight you may have noticed a beautiful moonrise.

A Plethora of Woodpeckers and Feeder Rats (1/24/10)

Maybe describing the number of woodpeckers visiting the my feeder today as a "plethora" might be an exaggeration.  Perhaps "several species" visited the beef fat is more accurate.  For the first time this year I recorded a nice image of a red-bellied woodpecker.  I've waited and waited for this one and today, during the brief sunshine, was the day!

I also had visits from the resident hairy woodpecker (male):

Visiting too were a couple of female downy woodpeckers.

Notice on this image how the bird has its tongue sticking out.  

While editing images, I noticed how this bird had its beak out of alignment - probably to clean up the sticky beef fat it had been feeding on.

I'm disappointed to announce the presence of an overabundance of feeder rats - also known as fox squirrels.  This one didn't even pause from stealing bird seed when I tried to startle it.

Notice the girth of this one!  It's a good thing Noah didn't have to load too many of these on his ark or the boat would've leaned to one side.

Thoughts on Hoarfrost, Fog,  and Auto-ISO (1/19/10)

For days on end we have been blessed/cursed with a heavy coating of hoarfrost and fog.  I say blessed because the stuff is pretty.  We're cursed because hoarfrost and fog creates a huge hassle for drivers.  It also creates challenges for photographers.  I've had only very minimal time to be out with a camera, so capturing hoarfrost and fog images I feel are acceptable has been nearly impossible.  Sure, it's pretty everywhere you look, but for an image to have lasting appeal, it needs a theme of some sort.  An image of boring light and everything covered in white isn't too impressive to me.  A pleasing image also needs satisfying light - another commodity we've been lacking.  Along with fog and dull light, this hoarfrost and fog has sapped all color from the landscape.  If monochrome images are your specialty, you should be ecstatic.  For the me, I'm just waiting for warm days when I can go find a water snake sunning itself somewhere and my worries are ticks and sunburn!

Thoughts on auto-ISO settings on digital cameras...A couple of days ago I was reading about a photographer who leaves his camera on auto-ISO and shoots away without problems.  For some reason I switched auto-ISO to the "on" position on my Nikon and left it.  Today I attempted to photograph a bald eagle in a hoarfrost-covered tree, forgetting about auto-ISO being turned on.  Even though the bird was some distance away, I thought I had recorded what should have been an acceptable image with cropping.  Then I looked at the image on the screen and noticed noise.  At first I couldn't figure out why I was even seeing any noise.  The noise wasn't terrible, but unacceptable for me.  My auto-ISO had worked and increased my ISO speed just as I had set the camera to do.  So the lesson learned is this...auto-ISO works, but don't be surprised if your images turn out sharp due to a high shutter speed and ISO, but also noisy due to higher ISO settings.  As soon as I have this posted, I am turning my auto-ISO off!

Lone Tree and Cute Kid (1/17/10)

This afternoon the boredom of staying inside and pampering injured ribs got the better of me.  Kristy and I tried a very, very short cross-country ski outing.  We couldn't go too far - my chest and back are still sore from last weekend and her knee is a bit tender from her surgery.  We did go out though for a little while on the skinny skis to enjoy the frost and fog.  

My favorite lone tree looks so lonely during the cold winter months.  Even the wild turkeys haven't scratched at the snow around the tree's base.  Only a few more months until buds start appearing again...

After our ski outing we ventured over to the sledding hill to see what kind of activity was occurring.  A bunch of young scouts were enjoying an afternoon of sledding and we found this really cute kid on the slope with his mom and aunt.

Now I Know Why it was Quiet at the Feeders (1/17/10)

There was a quiet lull around my bird feeders this morning.  Usually we can hear at least a few of the birds cheeping around the sunflower seeds and millet...but not today.  As I scanned the backyard, expecting to see a cat, I noticed this Cooper's Hawk at alert in the maple tree near the feeders.  If the blood stains on its talon tells me anything, it already enjoyed a meal today.

A Fun Morning and a Woodpecker (1/16/10)

This morning I did a nature photography program for a meeting of Master Conservationists and Master Gardeners.  What a pleasant hour or so!  We had good conversation, good questions, and good interaction.  

This afternoon I spent time in my blind watching backyard birds.  I've been hoping to photograph the woodpeckers and the red-breasted nuthatch visiting my feeders.  It would be easy to shoot either as they were on the metal feeder, but that is not my goal.  Today I caught a few of the woodpecker.  I guess I'll be working longer for the nuthatch.

Guess the Bird (1/14/10)

The other night I did a program for the Prairie Rapids Audubon Society in Cedar Falls.  Before the program a couple from the area approached me to tell me about a swan they noticed.  Neither was certain which swan species the bird was, and I'm not sure I am either.  From the photos I was able to capture, I believe the bird to be a juvenile trumpeter swan.  Does anyone have any other guess?

From what I can tell, the bird appears to be healthy.

Update on Kayak Sledding (1/9/10)

I've decided it might be time to share a few more details regarding Saturday's kayak sledding extravaganza.  We made many trips down the gentle side of the hill with no problems.  As my wife says, "Boys will be boys" ideas took over and several of us decided to take our chances going down the rough side of the slope.  A short distance down the hill was a snow-covered bump.  This bump was big enough for us to take a little air with the kayaks.  I'm not sure how many trips were made down the "Bump Hill" but our trips came to an abrupt stop when I came down hard, rolled the kayak, and felt my lungs being forced out of my throat.  Needless to say, I was hospital bound and confirmed damage to two or three ribs.  Unless I have a much quicker healing than the doctor suggested (minimum 4-6 weeks, could be 6-8 weeks), I am done kayak sledding for a while.  If you were thinking of kayak sledding where we were, give it a try.  Just stay on the smooth side of the hill.  If you think you want to go down "Bump Hill," make sure you have your insurance paid up!

Following are some of my favorite videos created last Saturday:

Darrin and me going down the hill together in/on a solo kayak - Funny!

Break your ribs video - Not nearly as funny!

Setting the long distance record for the day - I'm headed for the Olympics!

Four kayaks down the hill together - not fast, not pretty, but fun!

Down "Bump Hill" and then backwards - I should have learned a lesson

Ben getting good air - Look out for the tree!!

Another Great Day of Kayak Sledding (1/9/10)

This afternoon a group of us got together to enjoy a few hours of kayak sledding.  A reporter from KWWL heard about our fun and videotaped the adventure.  Following are a photos from today's fun:

The Hill:

Ryan about to go for the first ride of his day!

My first trip down the hill in a play boat (whitewater kayak):

Aaron throwing a little snow:

Nikki - a reporter from KWWL:

Ben and me stabilizing Nikki's kayak as she taped a ride down the hill for tonight's news:

Most of the group about to go down the hill together:

Most of the same group, different view - we somehow lost two boats!

Kristy and Teresa tag-teaming down the hill:

Me being pushed down a hill that probably shouldn't be taken with a kayak.  I could see where I was about to go, but I had no idea what I was about to go through :

A Christmas Story (The Movie - In Bremer County) (1/4/10)

Today we had our own version of "The Christmas Story" right at our backdoor.  Our pup Lexi has a habit of licking snow when she is outside.  As she was being brought in the house this morning (-8 degrees), she mistook the frost-covered metal door as snow and licked it.  Her tongue only bled for three or four minutes.  She has not repeated her actions.

Pine Needles and Junco Legs (1/3/10)

It's so cold my pine needles are dropping to the ground and the legs are falling off the juncos.  If you don't believe me, here's photographic proof.  

If it's on the Internet, it has to be true...right???

Brrrrr It's Cold Out (1/2/10)

The low for overnight on our thermometer measured -12 to -14.  I was going to play outside, but decided to wait until it warmed up.  Instead, I watched backyard birds for a while.  This blue jay made an appearance along with numerous juncos.  I have a squirrel robbing me too.

The Evolution of a Tradition (1/1/10)

Readers familiar with local traditions may remember what happens each New Year's Day in Bremer County...several of us find open water somewhere and go paddling.  Today was no different; we found open water below the dam in Waverly.  We had hoped to paddle beyond the green bridge, but the rapid development of ice on the river limited our paddling to a three or four block stretch of water.

Pulling the kayaks back up the river bank was tough.  Darrin struggled and struggled to reach the top where he promptly collapsed.  Notice the smile on the face of a suffering man...

Today's temperatures were around 6-degrees with a brisk wind, resulting in a wind chill factor of -15 degrees.  Ironically, while paddling I received a message from the weather service advising that a Wind Chill Warning had been issued for Bremer County!

As we were moving our kayaks to the river's edge, a lone adult bald eagle flew slowly past our location.  Unfortunately, I did not have my camera ready and wasn't able to take any pictures.  I did shoot a couple of images of the resident mallards floating up and down the icy Cedar River.

Those of you who know me well may remember one of my favorite sayings..."You only ride the dirt ball once!"  I tend live by that and because of that belief, I like to accomplish goals when I can.  One goal that I've shared with my buddy Darrin for many years was to take a kayak down a sledding hill, just to see what it would do.  After we finished paddling today and warming up with hot chocolate (Thanks Janeen!), most of our paddling group then became kayak sledders.  Oh what fun!  For a few seconds you have absolutely no control as another one of my favorite sayings takes effect..."Gravity is not just a good idea, it's the law!"   Following are a few images from today's kayak sledding adventure.

This kayak, for one reason or another, would always turn shortly after starting down the hill.

Uncontrolled turns by a kayak while traveling down a slippery slope tend to result in a roll-over situation.  The kayak and passenger did exchange positions relative to the snow.  There were no injuries reported!

We recorded video of several trips down the hill.  As soon as they are posted, I'll let you know.

In case you are considering kayak sledding, this model proved to glide the farthest, but had the least control.  Actually, we had virtually no control in any of them.  One other detail - paddles aren't really needed.  They are just one more long object flailing around if you crash.

Links to  the New Year's Day Tradition Videos:

Plans are already underway for 2011.  Contact me when the date gets closer if you'd like to join us!