The PhotoNaturalist

Yowza! What a difference a year makes. Last winter I did this same route and had the opposite results. In “Sucky to Super 2025” I had ZERO luck in northwest Minnesota’s Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, but amazing success in the Big Bog: Pine Marten, White-winged Crossbills, Snowshoe Hare.

But this winter it was the complete opposite. ZERO birds or critters along the Big Bog boardwalk, but Glacial Ridge and prairie/aspen parkland surroundings really came through!

FORTY-SIX Gray Partridge in seven coveys was unbelievable! And I was able to photograph one group up close by hiding behind my van.

Other highlights included multiple Rough-legged Hawks, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Greater Prairie-Chickens, American Goshawk, Great Horned Owl, and a Northern Shrike retrieving a cache of food!

February 1-2, 2026

Norway #7 July 5, 2025

Trondheim, founded in 997 AD, is the acknowledged Viking capital, and it is also the homeland of my paternal Norwegian family. This was my sixth journey to Europe, and I think I’ve visited my relatives here on five of those trips. Way back in 1986, on my first trip to Norway, my buddy Tim and I stayed with Herman and Gudrun (Rofstad) Moum. This adorable couple were the hosts for most Stensaas relatives visiting the homeland from the 1950s through the early 2000s. I really considered Gudrun and Herman as my “Norwegian grandmother and grandfather.” And we always visited their kids’ families as well: Jan and Liv, Kåre and Kirsti, also lived in Vikhamar (basically a suburb of Trondheim proper).

Wanting to be within walking distance of Trondheim’s main attractions, we opted to stay in the riverfront Scandic Bakklandet. I already had a Scandic membership from our stay in Oslo, so I searched for this brand’s hotels in Trondheim as well. It is located right on the River Nidelva and built to resemble the historic and colorful wharf warehouses from the 1700s-1900s that line the river.  And, wow, our room was overlooking the river with a stunning view towards the towering steeples of Nidaros Cathedral. Well, Bridget and I’s room anyway; the boys’ room was facing “inland.” But no matter, we all got to enjoy the massive (MASSIVE) breakfast buffet. It was my favorite of the entire trip, on a trip that was rife with breakfast buffets. I wish I would have taken a picture.

Trondheim is Norway’s third largest city with a population of 215,000. Originally named Kaupangen in 997AD by King Olaf Tryggvason, it was quickly changed to Nidaros (Nid = name of the river; oss = river mouth). The city’s name evolved to Trondheim during the late Middle Ages. Trondheim’s name was briefly changed back to Nidaros in 1930, but due to public outcry, changed back to Trondheim (“Home of the Trøndelagers”).

When in the bustling, hustling central plaza, you can’t miss the towering pedestal and statue of Olav Tryggvason, Viking king of Norway from 995 to 1000AD. Great Grandson of Norway’s first king, Harald Fairhair, he is credited with beginning Norway’s conversion to Christianity, often by brutal force, and founding the town of Trondheim in 997AD. The severed head at his feet is said to be that of an idol (some say Norse God Thor) and intended to symbolize his alleged defeat of paganism in Norway.  

We met Jan and Liv at a little nook of a café in the cute windy-road artsy neighborhood of Bakklandet. After a decent meal of Reindeer stew, in good Nordic fashion, we walked for several miles along the River Nidelva, just chatting and seeing the sites. It was so nice to have Jan and Liv as our own local guides, sharing the history and stories of Trondheim and the buildings we passed. We toured the new playhouse in an old renovated historic building, walked through the central plaza, and stopped for coffee and macarons.

We paused at a small green space with a sculpture of a schoolgirl sitting on a bench, Star of David on her lunchbox. Cissi Pera Klein was a Norwegian Jewish girl in Trondheim. In 1943 she was arrested at her school by the Nazis and deported to Auschwitz, where she was murdered the day she arrived. She was 13 years old.

You can’t visit Trondheim without pausing at the Old Town Bridge, more popularly known as the Portal of Happiness. Originally built in 1681, the bridge was rebuilt in 1861. The red portal gained its popular name from the lyrics of a romantic waltz written by Oskar Hoddø while at this scenic spot. Hoddø was a Resistance fighter during the Nazi occupation but was later executed by the Nazis in 1943. Today the Portal of Happiness is a popular spot for marriage proposals, and the backdrop for millions of selfies.

Vår Frue Church (Our Lady’s Church) is an impressive stone church near the city center that was built in the late 1100s AD to early 1200s but added on to over the centuries. The bell tower shows a date of 1739. It celebrated its 800^th(!) anniversary in 2007.

The landmark that dominates the city is Nidaros Cathedral. But can a Lutheran Church be called a cathedral? Though Nidaros is now a Lutheran Church, the original church was built at the end of the Viking Age, later becoming part of the Catholic Diocese from 1152 to 1537 AD when Martin Luther’s Reformation took hold and it transitioned to a Protestant church.

Arriving at Nidaros Cathedral, we first admired the gruesome and whimsical gargoyles that lace the exterior. But we were late for our guided tour and so had to hustle. The tour was with a massive group, and unfortunately it was hard to hear our guide due to all the other visitors and the echoey acoustics of the massive stone church.

The story of the cathedral is centered around another Olav who was championing Christianity for Norway …Olav Haraldsson declared himself king of Norway in 1015, and though a typically brutal and violent Viking, he used Christianity as a political tool to wield power. This is the King Olav that was canonized to Saint Olaf after his death at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030AD

Forty years after his death, his nephew funded the building of a stone church over the top of his gravesite. The original church, begun in 1070AD and completed in 1090AD was called Olav’s Kyrre. Nothing of this original stone cathedral is visible today.

Over the centuries many myths and legends have been attributed to his legacy. As with some saints, Saint Olaf was said to have the power to cure the sick, and folks would travel to his shrines for healing. He allegedly was also imbued with Goddess Freja’s fertility power. But it gets even better; it was said he inherited the strength of Thor, and was able to slay trolls and giants. That’s a battle I’d like to see! Trolls are HUGE!

Today the cathedral is the ending point of the Pilgrimage route called St. Olav’s Way. Recently revived, it twists and turns 400 miles from the ruins of Oslo’s old town past Lake Mjosa, over Dovrefjell mountain plateau, and down the Oppdal Valley to Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.

As an aside…St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota is named for Norway’s patron saint.

Birk and I popped down a set of stairs and entered the underground burial chamber. Hundreds of people were buried down here from medieval times up until the late 1700s when the smell on warm days, and the growing awareness of germs led to abandoning the practice in 1804. Excavations in the late 1800s turned up the largest collection of medieval gravestones in Norway, and the carved inscriptions and art are fascinating! I do love stained glass, but this part of the church was my favorite by far. It is very cool thinking that my “Norwegian grandparents, Gudrun and Herman, were married in this history-rich setting.

The following day, after one more massive breakfast buffet at the hotel, we were on a plane for Amsterdam!

NEXT—Netherlands #1 Houseboat living in Amsterdam

In Part 3 of Sparky’s birding and bird photography trip to Newfoundland he and guide Jared seek out North America’s rarest raptor, the long-standing Steller’s Sea-Eagle. This raptor is native to eastern Russia, and normally winters in Japan, but this individual showed up in Alaska in 2020 and has made itself quite comfortable in Newfoundland for the last FOUR YEARS! Will Sparky and Jared find it?

While they search they unexpectedly come upon TWO very exciting mammals in Holyrood Bay: Two Humpback Whales feeding not far offshore, and a BEARDED SEAL! This not-oft-seen Arctic seal is a Lifer for Sparky, and he took enough photos and videos to prove it.

Looking for a guide in Newfoundland? Jared Clarke of birdtherock.com is EXCELLENT!

In Part 2 of Sparky’s January birding trip to Canada’s island of Newfoundland he discovers that European gulls and ducks dominate the highlight birds. Bird guide Jared Clarke (birdtherock.com) and Sparky make multiple trips to St. John’s Quidi Vidi Lake and find European species such as 35(!) Eurasian Wigeon, multiple Tufted Ducks, two Black-headed Gulls and the very rare Common Gull.

Two adorable pocket-sized Dovekies just feet from the shore at Flatrock provide for some good pelagic bird entertainment…and even cooperate for some flash photography!

Sparky adds three ABA Lifers (Dovekie (#672), Common Gull (#673), Black-headed Gull (#674)) and gets his best photos ever of Iceland Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull and Great Black-backed Gull.

Music by Shanneyganock (shanneyganock.com). Song is called “Newfoundland” and is available on Spotify.

Part 1 of 3: Newfoundland in winter? Sparky are you crazy? Crazy like a fox! This easternmost land in North America is a birding Mecca in winter. Many European species can be found here, and often not just single individuals, but sometimes many.

I hire local “Super Guide” Jared Clarke of Bird the Rock (birdtherock.com) to help me out on my first two days…and we have a whale of a time (actually that story will be in Part 2). Jared helps get me on multiple ABA Lifers including Purple Sandpiper, Black Guillemot, Great Cormorant, Pink-footed Goose (at a University campus pond!), Eurasian Green-winged Teal and more.

We go to Cape Spear (first spot the sun touches each morning in North America) and find a flock of over 200(!) Purple Sandpipers, plus learn a bit about its WWII history.

Six days below zero and the birds of Sax-Zim are doing just fine! We visit Mary Lou’s feeders and find over 40 Evening Grosbeaks! Sparky shares his BRRRRdathon: World’s Coldest Birdathon experience as he birds northern Minnesota’s Superior National Forest and Grand Marais. Highlights include multiple flocks of Bohemian Waxwings eating Mountain-Ash fruits.

Temperatures during the Polar Vortex of late January 2026 hit as low as Minus-37ºF but the Northern Hawk Owl along CR47 is doing just fine!

We also walk the Bob Russell Boardwalk and install a plaque for one of our Bog Buddies. Then we are off to Yellow-bellied Bog for a walk on the snowshoe loop to look for Snowshoe Hares.

The Welcome Center feeders host plumpfy Canada Jays, Pine Grosbeaks and Redpolls.

An amazing coincidence occurs on Sparky’s first leg of his Newfoundland birding and bird photography trip. A flight delay and rerouting lands him in Quebec overnight. A quick Google of “Montreal Birds” reveals a very recent sighting of Canada’s first (4th(?) North American) sighting of European Robin! Sparky has never taken an Uber before, but he quickly downloads the app and calls for a ride. Will he find it?

Sparky also interviews Sabrina who shares how she discovered this bird.

In his annual exercise to find his favorite photos of the year, Sparky shares stories and images that he was especially proud of. Creative bird and wildlife photography is his main interest but he will share his best portraits as well. Creative wildlife photo categories include Dramatic Light, Opposite of Tack-Sharp, Foreground Blur, Animals in the Landscape, Owl-icious, Behavior is Better, Winging It, Flashy Fotos, Saved by the Silhouette, White & Black, High Key Highlights, Head-On, I’m Invisible, The Four-Leggeds, and Far Side Fodder.

Do you hate them? Love them? Which are your favorites?

Virtually Live 57 S6E2

Roll that beautiful owl footage! Sparky shares his favorite video clips of owls he found in early 2025. Highlights include a pirouetting Boreal, Great Gray pouncing. Between January and March 2025 an irruption of northern owls flooded into northern Minnesota; dozens of Boreal Owls, hundreds of Great Gray Owls and a couple Northern Hawk Owls were seen. The bulk of observations were from south of Duluth, Sax-Zim Bog, Two Harbors area, Lake County, Superior National Forest to Grand Marais.