Autumn 2009

Several images from this fall.

Nature Conservancy Habitat Banner

The Nature Conservancy recently chose one of my images from Bluestem Prairie to be used as a banner for habitat preservation. The image is a native prairie wildflower known as Blazing Star (Liatris spicata).

Osprey With Fish

This was an image I came across more or less by accident. The osprey made several attempts at catching a crappie before it was successful.

Back Home

I have been traveling for a while and have been away from the computer. Here are a few images from the summer I thought I would share.

Belted Kingfishers

These birds are extremely wary of human presence and difficult to get close to. As the summer goes on they will begin feeding their young and teaching them how to fish by stunning a fish against their perch and dropping it into the water so their young can learn to catch them. Their "machine gun" like call is unmistakable and they will use it before flying in to catch a fish.

Loons and Gulls

The loons have returned to our lake as well as a flock of Franklin's Gulls who have been hanging around the past week. Here are a few images of each.

Spring Black Bear

This is a young male black bear that was spending some time in a tree to eat the fresh buds that were just beginning to show. The bear was wild and very tolerant of my presence.