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.

I want to share with readers information about the 2009 Iowa DNR Non-Game Certificate.  Each year the Iowa DNR sells the numbered certificates for $5.00.  The 2009 Non-Game Certificate features one of my images - Three Bonaparte's Gulls.  Revenue generated from the sales of the certificates benefits non-game species.  If you appreciate those species that aren't hunted, please consider purchasing a certificate.  Details are at this link:

2009 Iowa DNR Non-game Certificate Details

2009 Mendocino Service Trip Journal Entry

Farewell to Abby

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

May 2009            June 2009

2009 Tick Count: 2

Wow - Another Great Fireworks Show (7/31/09)

Once again the folks from Tripoli who coordinated the annual Tripoli Days Fireworks show should be commended - what a great show.  This year's event was the best yet and the crowd was impressive.  I'm posting a few images from the display with the comment that still images do not accurately illustrate the quality of tonight's fireworks.  This was a good one.  Thanks to all who contributed in any way to the pyrotechnics!

A Couple of Hours in the Prairie with Youth (7/22/09)

I was invited to spend a couple of hours with the Bremer County Conservation naturalists and their group of young students at a local prairie.  The intent of our activity was to discuss photography, wildlife, and to visit a local prairie where the kids had an opportunity to shoot a few photos.  I had to leave earlier than I liked, but will state that I enjoyed my short stay with the group immensely.  Each young person had a different view on common subjects, they observed the diversity of a prairie first-hand, we had a good discussion on our impact on the environment, and I saw a few plants I seldom see elsewhere.  All images created today were of wildflowers or insects.  I'll post them in no particular order, but will preface the images with one comment...there was much romance in the prairie today.  Several examples are posted here.

Vervain (I think):

Japanese Beetles (mating):

Three Japanese Beetles (some sort of mating occurring):

Bumblebee on Wild Bergamot:

Bees Mating on Purple Coneflower:

Part of the outing involved three young ladies and I concentrating our shooting efforts on a single species of plant, but with different techniques.  I tried to shoot the various views the ladies did for comparison here.

Prairie Coneflower (typical composition):

Prairie Coneflower as a strong foreground element:

Prairie Coneflower - close and against a blurred background:

Deptford Pink - A not-so-common wildflower:

Purple Coneflower in a not-so-typical composition:

Two views of rattlesnake master - strong in the foreground:

Rattlesnake Master - close, against a blurred background:

Trefoil:

I was really surprised by the variety of compositions the kids created and even my own.  It was interesting to see what happens when I concentrate less on technique and just shoot for pleasure.  Thanks Kate and Heather and the group!

Visiting Minnesota Again This Weekend (7/19/09)

Kristy and I spent another weekend exploring an area of Minnesota.  Our efforts were limited to an 8.5 mile walk on Saturday, some paddling, and a shorter walk this morning.  I was surprised by the diversity of wildlife observed (in addition to photographed) and will gladly return for more opportunities.  I've decided to post images based on type of wild critter or wild thing, beginning with birds.

Cooper's Hawk - This hawk had just chased a smaller bird over the lake I was paddling.  The smaller bird escaped and the hawk is clearly not happy.

Juvenile Gull on Dam warning buoy.  This may be a young herring gull.

Green Heron hunting in shallow water:

Hen mallards found in this group of four with three younger hatchlings nearby.

Mallard hatchlings on the muddy lake bank:

Osprey headed to nest with koi in its talons.  We found this nest after being advised by our hosts that a nest was nearby.  This was one of the rewards of the 8.5 mile hike.

Insects observed this weekend -

Some ribbon type larva:

A small beetle that appears to be wearing its ANSI compliant safety colors:

A colorful shiny, green colored fly:

Harvestman (Daddy Long Legs):

Hoverfly on knapweed:

A pair of leafhoppers:

Bumblebee on knapweed:

Monarch in prairie:

Wildflowers -

Possibly a purple prairie clover:

Evening Lychnis:

Contrasting knapweed:

Monkeyflower - The shore of the lake was covered with this wildflower:

Wood Sage (possible):

A Boundary Waters Adventure (7/9/09 - 7/15/09)

My wife and I, along with friends Mark, Bonnie, Aaron, and Ryan recently enjoyed a paddling adventure in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  Our entry point was #30 on Lake One - about 22-miles east of Ely, Minnesota.  From there we paddled across Lake One, through Lake Two and into Lake Three.  We established a base camp at picturesque Site 1.  From there we explored, by water, around Lake Three and Lake Two.  This was the view of our camp site (our tent) from Lake Three:

The view of our camp from the site:

From our cooking and conversation area, the view was stunning:

Angling efforts required paddling around Lakes Two and Three for smallmouth bass and northern pike.  The fishing area scenery was similar to these images:

While fishing a remote cove, Mark caught this 19" northern pike.  We were hoping for larger fish for a fish fry, but planned to add this one to my smallmouth bass.  Mark was paddling his kayak with this pike following behind on a stringer.  Suddenly Mark wasn't able to move forward any more and thought his fish was caught on something under water.  It was caught all right, by a much larger northern that had swallowed the back 12" of this fish.  Mark was surprised by the huge fish and had no way to restrain it, so it was able to get away.  Mark's smaller pike died as a result of the attack.

In a wilderness area, flora and fauna are plentiful.  I noticed many wildflowers, but photographed only a few, including this orange hawkweed near camp:

Harebells on the rocky outcroppings:

Two unidentified pink/purple flowers on the portage trail:

At camp we had a few wild visitors.  Most troublesome were the red squirrels that did manage to chew a hole into one dry bag.

This one was sound asleep, allowing me to approach very close:

Insects on this trip were minimal.  Mosquitoes were few and far between due to the nearly non-stop wind.  I noticed many dragonflies of various species.  I didn't post the entire dragonfly in this image.  Take a look at the blue membranes over the eyes.  I hadn't noticed them before this trip.

Several of these bad-looking critters flew around camp.  They didn't seem to cause any problems:

About the same time each morning we were visited by two or three gray jays looking for morsels of food in the cooking area.

Wildlife photography always seems to dominate my wilderness activities.  Several times I was able to photograph this family of common mergansers:

Riding on Momma's back:

Notice this little one watching a dragonfly buzz overhead:

Snoozing on a rock:

One morning while fishing, I found this family of common goldeneye ducks in a secluded area near the Lake Two dam.  Of course I took a few pictures of them.

When I tired of photographing goldeneyes, I concentrated on fishing again.  Without warning there was a loud splash behind me caused by a common loon that dropped in among the ducks.  I don't know what the intent was, but the ducks reacted as if their life was threatened.  The loon paid no attention to me and surfaced countless times as close as five feet from my kayak.  I'm going to share some of the many images created of the loon during this outing.  A second loon joined the first one shortly after I pulled my camera out.

The next two images are of an activity where the loons worked just under the surface of the water - similar to carp spawning in the spring.  Again, they paid virtually no attention to the kayaks.

As we all know, no good outing can last forever.  This image was our group paddling out around 6:15am, before the wind kicked up and made paddling difficult.

Very near our put-in/take-out point (#30), I noticed a group of juvenile American black ducks.  I don't remember ever seeing them before, so they too were photographed:

One of the most frequently asked questions at my presentations is "Where do you go to the bathroom in the Boundary Waters?"  Since some of you may also be wondering, I've decided to post an image of our lovely latrine.  Notice the fine natural decor and nearly perfect venting system.  This special view clearly illustrates the luxurious comforts of the backwoods.

An Independence Day Holiday Weekend (7/4/09-7/5/09)

My hope is that each of you reading this had a super holiday weekend and took a few minutes to consider the great country we live in.  Sure, USA seems to have a few challenges to deal with at most times, but we are still fortunate to live in a country with many freedoms and opportunities.  Even on our worst days, we're still better off than folks in many other countries.

We enjoyed the Fourth of July holiday at our cabin.  A part of the weekend involved watching fireworks from our pontoon boat.  Six other boats anchored near us to watch the aerial display.  Following are images created from our pontoon boat.  Thank you Frederika Fire Department!

Today I was able to capture a few images of Eastern kingbirds.  I was fishing Friday evening when I located their "area" and checked on them again today.  Once again they were defending a specific group of trees and shoreline and actually made contact with my scalp a couple times as they urged me to leave.  

This afternoon was the annual Wapsie River Poker Run.  Although I did not win the kayak, I sure had a good time with 175 or so other paddlers on the river.  While on the river I noticed many damselflies and dragonflies keeping me company.  I haven't identified either of these yet, but will when time allows.

This evening I was out in my backyard and noticed this small moth.  Once again, I don't have an identification yet.

I'll end with images of something I would hate to find in my bed.  I was lying in the grass playing with our puppy when I put my hand on this June beetle.  As you might expect, if I find a beetle...I take pictures of a beetle.

A Sunrise Walk on a Restored Prairie (7/3/09)

About this time every year my interests move to prairie activities and prairie photography.  Sometimes I concentrate on wildflowers and other times I chase insects and butterflies.  Today I enjoyed a mix of the wildlife - all small - that claim a local restored prairie as their home.  I'll begin with wildflower images.

I believe this is a vetch of some sort:

Butterfly Weed:

Milkweed:

Spiderwort:

Birdsfoot Trefoil:

Interesting Black Insect:

Something that looks like a lightning bug:

Ladybug:

Mating Insects:

Hoverfly on blade of grass:

Hoverfly - Close:

Dragonfly 1:

Dragonfly 2:

Dragonfly 3:

Dragonfly 4:

Japanese Beetle:

Prairie Reflection in Dew Drop:

I Knew It Was Coming, But This is Too Soon (7/2/09)

Each year as the first day of summer and the longest day of the year approaches, I tell my family to watch how quickly the trees, plants, and grasses begin to appear tired and the autumn visuals are visible after summer officially arrives.  And every time I tell them, they moan and groan that I shouldn't mention it so soon.  Well here we are, the second day of July and I've already found a plant changing colors.  This is the first of the "fall colors" I've seen and I must say - this is early!  I might have to miss fireworks this year to get my snow blower ready.

For those wondering, there was no sign of fox activity at the den again tonight.  

A Completely Different Sound at the Fox Den (7/1/09)

Like most other nights for the past two months, I spent time at the fox den tonight.  And, once again, no fox appeared.  When I consider that I saw none last night, none late this afternoon, and none this evening, it is becoming clear that the little ones have moved on to the next stage of their lives.  If that is what happened, I wish them well.  Maybe I will see them sometime running across a snow-covered field on a cold winter day.

My time at the den wasn't completely silent and I wasn't alone.  Joining me was a very vocal song sparrow.  I hadn't seen a song sparrow since spring, and now tonight I was able to see and listen to this one calling for anyone or any thing that would listen.

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Ladage Photography.