Most Recent

Black-billed Cuckoo

Every now and then I come across a bird that really piques my interest. If you know anything about me from reading this column, you know that I am interested in all wildlife, so if something really piques my interest you know it is a very special bird indeed.

The other day I was intently...

Prothonotary Warbler

There is a group of birds that a lot of people find very interesting and yet at the same time very frustrating. These are the warblers. The New World Warblers or sometimes called Wood-Warblers are an interesting group of birds that are often brightly colored, small and spend much of their time...

Least Bittern

I’ve been leading photo tours to capture stunning images of Common Loons (Gavia immer) for over ten years now. Each time I take a group of photographers out it’s feels like a new and fun adventure. Each tour I fully expect to see some interesting behaviors of the loons along with...

Black Bear Cubs

Recently while leading a photo tour to northern Minnesota, I was once again reminded about the rigors of nature. It is a basic tenant of nature, only the strongest will survive to carry on and pass on their genes to the next generation.

I had a small group of 6 photographers as we went...

Red-breasted Merganser

In my last column, I posed a question that went something like this, “when is a duck not a duck”. The answer is when it is a merganser. Then I wrote about the Common Merganser, which is a member of the duck family but doesn’t look or act like a duck. In this column I would like...

Common Merganser

When is a duck not a duck? The answer is…. when it is a merganser. So, what is a merganser? The mergansers are fish eating ducks with many different adaptations that make them very different from ducks, yet they are considered in the duck group. So, let’s take a look at the Common...

Bufflehead

The spring migration is an exciting time in the natural world. Compared to the fall or autumn migration, the spring migration is faster, more agile, and it definitely seems to have an air of urgency. This is because the birds returning to the northland are in a hurry to claim the best...

Bald Eagle

I am often asked what is my favorite animal to photograph. They want me to answer with one distinct and definite favorite critter. Time after time I disappoint them by saying my favorite wildlife to photograph tends to be whatever I happen to be photographing at the time. I haven’t met any...

Black Skimmer

When it comes to birds, it is all about the bill. Ya, you know, the bill or beak. The bill of a bird is what really makes the birds unique. It was Darwin who noticed that the finches he saw on the Galapagos Islands in 1831-36, had different shaped and size bills that corresponded with the diet...

Roseate Spoonbill

While guiding a photo tour in Florida last week, we where fortunate to capture some amazing images of one of North America’s most stunning birds, the Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja). Standing nearly 3 feet tall, the Roseate Spoonbill is hard to miss this pink, red, white and yellow...