HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

This bald eagle was captured with my Canon Mark IV in May of 2011.

I always carry my camera in the boat while I’m fishing. Why? Because I often see really cool photo opportunities while fishing. In the simplest of words, I was fishing for crappies and not catching them so I was watching this bald eagle as it sat in a tree across the bay. I was mentally prepared to grab the camera off the floor of my Fishhawk and I wasn’t surprised to see this bald eagle jump from the tree. I picked up my camera and pointed it the direction the bald eagle was flying toward and hit the hammer. I followed the bald eagle swooping down to grab the pike and hoped for the best! It was an experienced I still have not forgotten and I know the exact spot to this day.

In reviewing my images I had the eagle captured in multiple backgrounds with a variety of lighting and my camera was set to aperature priority. When this happens again…I won’t have the camera on aperture priority. I will set my camera speed to meet the potential of any background lighting and my camera will be set to a shutter speed of 3200 instead of varying from 800-1250. Lesson learned. Take that with you….pick the right shutter speed and you won’t get a soft image often. That said I like this shot….it prints well.

Revision on 10-7-24.

Reading this post again today I am revising what settings I’d have based on I now have a camera with auto ISO. So set on auto ISO I’d be set at 3200 and F5.6. 

Twin Cities Wood Ducks in Spring

Wood Ducks in the Minneapolis St Paul Metro

Wood Ducks. Beautifully tough to photograph.

Wood ducks, we see them everywhere. I, like most love to see wood ducks. Woodies are some of the most colorful ducks. When the light hits the drake just right you can see a plethora of colors and irredecence beyond compare. But captuuring this color isn’t as easy as watching them.

First of all these ducks are skittish. They don’t often stick around to get a full frame image of them. It’s typical to approach a wood duck and watch it swim away or fly off. I haven’t spent the needed time to scout them and photograph them because they are so common and so difficult to get close to. I make the mistake to avoid common birds. Last week I made the decision to scout for wood ducks in the north metro. Many ponds had wood ducks and a pond in Roseville City park was the standout with numerous woodies in it. 

I had observed the wood ducks continually swimming back to the same shoreline for an hour or so. I set up on the ground in a position to gather the right light with the anticipation the wood ducks would return to this area. The ducks made attempts to revisit this windless well lit area but there was just to much foot traffic to bring them close. So I did my best and took a few hundred shots at long distance. I gave up after 30 minutes or so and walked towards the softball fields where there were other ponds around. A single drake was posted up on a log. I worked my way like a ninja into an area where I could photograph this drake wood duck. Luckily for me I was disguised well in a camo jacket and behind a fallen log. I snapped the images of the wood duck drake on the log for another 30 minutes.

To an extent I was both lucky and unlucky. On this photography trip I believe I created my own luck by learning this area for more than an hour before I gave my photography skills a shot.

Roseville Wood Ducks

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Twin Cities American Wigeon Drake in Fall

American Wigeons in the Minneapolis St Paul Metro

During fall I know of many places to view and photograph the American Wigeon

American Wigeons are common ducks during fall in the Twin Cites metro area. You just need to know where to look. Wigeons were my first fascination with waterfowl photography. It’s good to have a fascination and a spot or two to work on the photography game. I came upon my first wigeon spot in a suburban pond. This pond had homes around it with the exception of an area about 50 yards long that was accessible to the public. Luckily for me this area was on the east side of the pond making ideal for morning photography.

This pond had wigeons in it and a good bunch of them both drakes and hems to go along with Canadian geese and mallards. My challenge was to photograph the wigeons on the calmest water with no duck weeds floating in the frame. This proved to be a challenge to go along with my beginner photography skills.

So, I brought in the expert Master Po to join me for a morning of wigeon photography. What I learned is you have to set up where you want the ducks to be. Being a newbie at the time I was always restless and excited to see and photograph birds I had little experience with. I’m under the belief that Po got some keeper shots and I did too but not the kind of images I desired. So I kept trying. Trying for years at this pond. You see wigeons return to this pond each year and every October I’d go to the wigeon pond to improve my images. Over those years I took 1000’s of pictures of wigeons. I got better images each year. I might just go back again this year.

Being a bird guy I have since found wigeons during fall all over the Twin Cities. From the Bass Ponds in Bloomington to ponds near the city lakes. If you are after wigeons give the following spots a try. Bass Ponds, Vadnais Lake, Lake of the Isles and Cedar Lake in Minneapolis, Bush Lake, Wood Lake Nature Center and any pond near the Minnesota or Mississippi River. I’ll let you know when I find some this fall.

Twin Cities Wigeons

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Twin Cities Drake Canvasback in Fall

Canvasback Ducks can be Found in the Minneapolis St Paul Metro

During fall they are not as hard to find as you may think.

To me Canvasbacks are ducks of Western Minnesota and west. But they can be found  in the Twin Cities metro during Fall. The canvasback just may be my favorite duck! Canvasbacks are beautiful, they’re active and they will come within photography range. There’s no real trick to finding them nor is there a trick to get them to come close to shore. Canvasback Ducks are diving ducks and they love to eat aquatic beasts with snails being a favorite. Cans, as I refer to them, search for food most of the day. As divers they do just that, dive down to catch food. I find them locally during fall in lakes that have a good population of snails. Canvasbacks offer action, diving and popping up, flapping and interacting with one another. This is enjoyable to watch and photograph.

I’ve witnessed canvasbacks resting on or hunting local waters in pairs and in large groups. They are easy to scan for with your eyes and glass because of their size and head shape. Places to find them include the Minneapolis City Lakes, Lake Phalen in St Paul, Vadnais Lake, Owasso Lake, Rice Lake, the Minnesota River and of course the Mississippi River. If you travel west of the Twin Cities there are all kinds of lakes that have canvasback ducks in them during fall. I’ve seen them in smaller ponds while driving too. One last thing, I see canvasbacks in large groups of other ducks, especially ringbills and goldeneye.

Now the get close enough to photograph them comes part. I find it easier to get closer to canvasbacks locally for a few reasons. Hunting. In the metro area these birds are not as wary of hunters and for many of these ducks they stick around for a few weeks. I find the longer they have been around the metro the less likely to be afraid of the shoreline.  Just by watching them dive you can be assured there’s food in the area and many times that food is close to  shore. If you are walking an area you see canvasbacks hunting near shore find a spot to lay on the ground near that area. Nevermind that they move out from the area, they will most likely return, all you have to do is wait them out. It helps to wear camo or natural colors. You may need to wear raingear which luckily comes in greens and darker colors that allow you to be more discreet. As I mentioned in an earlier article something to rest your camera on helps you protect your gear.

These are the basics if you want to add canvasbacks to your collection of bird images or sightings list. Now go out and find them.

Twin Cities Canvasbacks

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Do Western Grebes Run on Water? Yes They do!

Run on water! Yes western grebes run on the water! Many grebes have elaborate courting rituals, weed dances, face to face smootches and chasing each other but no other grebe that I have witnessed runs on the water or what is termed “rushing”.

This behavior can be watched in April in May with my personal best experiences being late April into early May. These birds gather in groups near nesting territory…floating patches of weeds and weed bogs in large lakes of Western Minnesota on north and west for the most part. According to The Cornell lab they will also nest in Iowa and Wisconsin.

If you are a birder you need to see this behavior. You won’t forget it! Though most easily seen from a boat you can spy them from shore as well. Small groups of them 2,3,4 will appear rather agitated right before they start to run on the water. If you see odd behaviors in small groups get ready because it’s about to happen.

The westerns will run more than 100 feet at times giving those with a camera a lifetime opportunity to capture the moment as I have in the images below.

In Minnesota Lake Osakis is famous for westerns and many lakes in North Dakota within driving distance of Fargo also harbor large populations of western grebes.

Now go!

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Horned Grebes in the Twin Cities

Horned Grebes Visit Spring and Fall

Grebes are a diving bird and they prefer to eat fish and other aquatic beasts. Each spring and fall Horned Grebes visit local area lakes and larger ponds. Good places to view Horned Grebes in Spring are the Minneapolis and St Paul City lakes, the Mississippi River and most any lake in the Twin Cities metro area.

During fall they don’t often appear in the city lakes but prefer to be close to the Mississippi, Minnesota and St Croix Rivers and lakes very close to these rivers are favored by Horned Grebes in fall.

Local Horned Grebes

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A FEW TIPS AND OBSERVATIONS.

Whether you are a birder, nature aficionado or nature photographer springtime in the Twin Cities Metro Area brings a captivating season, unveiling a breathtaking array of unique waterfowl waiting to be discovered. Embrace the beauty of the Twin Cities Metro Area and immerse yourself in the wonder of spring, as you uncover the hidden treasures of our migrating waterfowl.

I love to find new areas to find waterfowl searching out remote parts of the metro in search of these birds and better yet find them in areas that offer good photography opportunities. That said I have honey holes that I go back to each spring too. One thing I know in years and years of waterfowl photography is these birds will frequent different and odd areas of water year to year.

In addition to the obvious areas…lakes, down by the river (ha ha), nature areas and parks I have found many northern species in small neighborhood ponds (I have found shovelers, mergansers, teal, wood ducks, scaup and wigeons in small ponds) and drainage areas in spring. So don’t over look these. Map them out in your mind or look at a maps app to find areas where there is more abundant open water.

In reference to photography when I find these birds I typically look for how close to shore they are. I like active birds they are less distracted by my presence. Additionally I try to see the place in that area that offers access in relation to the where the sun is or will be and what the background will look like.

Be sneaky when approaching the birds. In most instances I have mostly waterproof camo on or waders or both and I’m prepared to be prone on the ground with my gear.

Butt Cushion aka Camera Stand

There are many types of camera stands but I tend to use either a tripod with a Wimberly or one of those cushy butt cushions. Butt cushions can be found in most outdoor related stores like Fleet Farm. I position the camera on the cushion….not my butt! It’s easy to maneuver and it keeps the camera low so I get the best possible image results. Plus it’s lightweight and mostly waterproof. I use the butt cushion more than the tripod because I can be more stealth and it’s super lightweight. If I’m in the water of course I use the tripod.

What kinds of waterfowl migrate thru the Twin Cities in Spring?

Species include: red breasted mergansers, hooded mergansers, loons, pie billed, red-necked, western and eared grebes.  Ducks include northern shoveler, American wigeon, redhead ducks, scaup, canvasback, bufflehead, goldeneye, long tail and even scoter. Of course I find wood ducks, teal and mallards too. You can also find an array of wading birds including, herons, egrets, yellowlegs, sandpipers, killdeer and the occasional plover.

If you love birds now is the time to get out there. Don’t forget your butt cushion! Want more? Feel free to contact me.