Come along on a wildlife photography and video day trip in Minnesota’s Superior National Forest (April 17, 2020). This Shooting with Sparky episode takes you along as I search for Moose and displaying Spruce Grouse. Guest appearances by drumming Ruffed Grouse, Red Crossbills, Saw-whet Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, Hairy Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Trailing Arbutus and more. Enjoy this virtual field trip!

More and more I like photos that show the bird and its habitat. One of my favorite artists, Robert Bateman, often placed the birds quite tiny in the surrounding landscape…so tiny sometimes that you really had to search!

These photos tell more of a story than close up bird portraits, they often have to be viewed in a larger format to fully appreciate them. So go ahead and click on each image to see them larger.

This very white mature male Snowy Owl hung around the Sax-Zim Bog all winter, and he spent most of his time in just two fields. This field had hay bales which made a convenient perch in which to scan and listen for voles.

I do love old fencelines with weathered and lichen-covered posts, and I scan for subjects perched on them. Fortunately this day I ran across a hunting Red-tailed Hawk that actually allowed me time to get my camera out the car window and snap a few shots. I think the falling snow adds a lot to this image, as does the red tail feathers which add a spot of color.

Dawn in the aspen parkland of northwest Minnesota and a Greater Prairie Chicken booms on its lek. This spring courtship display is the essence of prairies on the Great Plains. About 18 other prairie chickens are just out of frame. I spent about 5 hours in a blind watching and filming their antics. No better way to spend a spring morning!

See the expanded blog post with many photos here

See the link to the Shooting with Sparky Greater Prairie Chickens video here

Half way through our epic journey home from Yellowstone in a massive stalled out blizzard, Ryan and I stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park for a night. The early October storm caught many birds off guard and this flock of Mountain Bluebirds were feeding on the only snow-free spot available, the recently plowed road shoulder. But they would perch on this nearby barbed wire fence.

I had never seen anything like the congregation of geese in western Minnesota this past April.  It was like stepping back in to an old-timer’s memory when they reminisce about “the skies filled with flock after flock of geese.” And there were literally flock after flock of geese filling the skies. (Where have I heard that before?). These Greater White-fronted Geese filled the frozen marsh.

Abandoned Pileated Woodpecker cavities provide homes for many critters in the North Woods including Flying Squirrels, Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, Pine Marten, and owls such as this Northern Saw-whet Owl. I have scratched on 100s of trees with Pileated cavities over the years, but never found a Saw-whet, but this spring I got lucky. I wish I could have checked on the cavity more times, but other commitments got in the way. I hope she raised a brood of little Saw-whets.

A classic northern Minnesota scene that we would not have seen 30 years ago. Thanks to the efforts of the Minnesota DNR, Carrol Henderson and many others, we now have a “bumper crop” of Trumpeter Swans each spring. They arrive at first ice-out to claim the best nesting territories.

Like a Les Kouba painting from the 1970s, this scene includes a flock of geese and a weathered windmill in the farm country of western Minnesota.

I guess the icy landscape of Minnesota’s North Shore dominates the birds in this photo. But it is how you often see Long-tailed Ducks on Lake Superior; bobbing and diving in the icy waters of Lake Superior.

Three species of thrushes wait out an early October snowstorm in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota: Eastern Bluebird, American Robain and Mountain Bluebirds.

A week in southeastern Arizona allowed me to finally thaw out from the long winter. And I got to see many desert and mountain specialty birds that I hadn’t seen in 20-plus years. This Gambel’s Quail is singing from about the best perch available in the Chihuahuan Desert…a huge stalk of a Yucca.

Winter was finally loosening its grip in mid April in northern Minnesota. Lakes were starting to open up and any patch of blue was occupied by early-returning Trumpeter Swans in order to claim the best nesting territories. A drone allowed me to get this shot. The swans never even looked up at the strange “whirring bird” over their heads.

Heading east from Thief Lake WMA I decided to check out Norris Camp, a remote Minnesota DNR station in the Beltrami Island State Forest that I’d heard had a nesting Black-backed Woodpecker. I was pretty sure that I was too late as most woodpeckers had fledged young already. But I was in luck! And I spent a couple hours with this pair of rarely seen boreal woodpeckers.

Black-backed Woodpecker nest at Norris Camp in Beltrami Island State Forest; Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.
The folks at the camp pointed out that this was the same mated pair that nested on the grounds last summer. How did they know? Notice the band on the adult’s leg; they actually banded them last year and both the male and female returned to nest only 100 yards from last year’s nest. Woodpeckers NEVER use the same cavity twice but always excavate a new nest; it may be in the same tree but usually not. In this case, the tree they used last year had blown down since last summer. I don’t know much about site fidelity or mate fidelity in woodpeckers but this was a very interesting anecdote that I will for follow up on.
Also note the male’s yellow cap; the female shows only black on the head. He’s feeding a young male who is already sporting his jaunty yellow forehead feathers.

Black-backed Woodpecker nest at Norris Camp in Beltrami Island State Forest; Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.

Macoun’s Arctic (Oenis macounii) at Norris Camp, Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.
While waiting and watching at the Black-backed Woodpecker nest, I was treated to a lifer butterfly. Not 20 feet away I noticed an orange butterfly that was repeatedly landing on the same fallen log. I finally took a closer look and lo and behold, a Macoun’s Arctic! This species only flies every other year in the North Woods so I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. They are found in openings in sandy Jack Pine forests, and that is exactly the habitat I was in. Males use the same perch as they wait for females.
[Canon 7D with Canon 70-200mm f4 lens at 184mm and Canon 500D close up attachment; 1/1250 at f7.1; ISO 320; -0.67ev; hand-held]

Macoun’s Arctic (Oenis macounii) at Norris Camp, Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.
When perched with wings folded, the Macoun’s Arctic is well camouflaged, like just another piece of bark. This species has a fairly limited range in North America extending from the North Shore of Lake Superior west and north to Churchill, Manitoba, British Columbia and just extending north into the Northwest Territories.
[Canon 7D with Canon 70-200mm f4 lens at 135mm and Canon 500D close up attachment; 1/1600 at f7.1; ISO 320; -0.67ev; hand-held]

Silvery Blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus) in Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.
[Canon 7D with Canon 70-200mm f4 lens at 100mm and Canon 500D close up attachment; 1/1250 at f7.1; ISO 320; -0.67ev; hand-held]

Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) in Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.

Fringed Polygala or Gaywings (Polygala paucifolia) in Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.

Pale Corydalis (Corydalis sempervirens) in Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.

Ram’s-head Ladyslipper (Cypripedium arietinum) near Norris Camp in Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.
One of my favorite orchids found in the bogs of north central Minnesota, the Ram’s-head Ladyslipper. This small group was past prime as you can tell by the collapsed dorsal sepal on top of the slipper pouch. This may mean that the flower had already been pollinated. It is a very small ladyslipper, maybe 6 inches tall. This group was growing in a Cedar bog.

Ram’s-head Ladyslipper (Cypripedium arietinum) near Norris Camp in Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.
[Canon 7D with Canon 70-200mm f4 lens at 113mm and Canon 500D close up attachment; 1/250 at f8; ISO 250; -0.67ev; tripod]

Yellow Ladyslipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) near Norris Camp in Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.

Mosquito on Hooker’s Orchid (Platanthera hookeri) in a Cedar bog near Norris Camp in Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota

Hooker’s Orchid (Platanthera hookeri) in a Cedar bog near Norris Camp in Beltrami Island State Forest, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota.
[Canon 7D with Canon 70-200mm f4 lens at 104mm and Canon 500D close up attachment; 1/100 at f6.3; ISO 400; -0.67ev; tripod]

My last stop was Big Bog State Recreation Area (SRA) near Waskish, Minnesota on Red Lake. This is the largest patterned peatland in the lower 48, and massive in size. It was once home to Minnesota’s last wild Caribou herd which disappeared in the 1930s and 40s. Their trails can still be seen from the air.
The boardwalks is one mile long and a very pleasant hike. MANY interpretive signs highlight the human and natural history of the Big Bog.

A portion of the mile-long Big Bog SRA boardwalk near Waskish, Minnesota.

Tamarack cones along the bog boardwalk.

Bog Fritillary (Boloria eunomia) on the Big Bog SRA boardwalk.
This was my lifer Bog Fritillary! Unfortunately I mistook it for a different, more common species, and I didn’t take the time to get a really good photo. Oh well, just a reason to go back!
I was going to camp overnight in the area, but I got a text message on my phone that a Calliope Hummingbird had shown up in Duluth…in breeding plumage! This is a bird of the mountain west that has only been recorded in Minnesota a couple times…and never in its stunning breeding plumage. This was reason enough to head for home.

Usually I don’t recommend photographing birds while at the nest. This is especially true of songbirds who are easily disturbed and may even abandon a nest with eggs if the photographer is too intrusive. But woodpeckers are a bit more tolerant, especially once you can hear the young begging and calling from the cavity. At this stage, mom and dad are making frequent trips to the nest just to keep the babies full and happy. You don’t even need a blind as they will usually tolerate your quiet presence. But don’t overstay your welcome! A half hour to an hour or so is probably plenty. After that, the parents may become annoyed with the unwanted attention.

EQUIPMENT and TECHNIQUE
Ideally you’ll find a nest that is not too high in the tree. Eye-level would be wonderful but this rarely happens. Cavities up to about 20 feet in the tree are workable. Look for an angle that is more of a side-view than a straight-on shot that will only get you many “back shots.” Then look for an uncluttered background. For me the perfect scenario is a background mix of blue sky and green leaves that is a fair distance away so they blur nicely into green and blue blobs of color (see the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker nest photo below).
A flash is essential in many situations. Dappled sunlight is a very tough photographic situation and most nests are deep in the woods. A flash alone will be better than no flash, but a flash with a Better Beamer attached will throw your light much farther. Grab your tripod for rock solid shots. Since you know exactly where the action is going to happen, it is easy to set up your tripod/camera combo in exactly the perfect spot. Then, when a bird comes in, you don’t even have to look through the camera, just press and hold the shutter. And since with flash your shutter synch speed will likely be 1/200 or 1/250 of a second, the tripod will help keep your images sharp.

A Northern Flicker pair decided to nest right along our driveway this summer. And they chose an interesting site. They excavated a hole in a “widow maker” …a large branch that had broken off the main tree but was still hanging by a “thread.” But the branch stayed intact and they survived. It was fun to watch them feed the young ones. [Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens, f8 at 1/250 second, ISO 1600, Canon 420EX flash and Better Beamer, hand held]

Golden-fronted Woodpeckers are the southern cousin to our Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Note their golden yellow nape and the red atop the head (only the males show this mark).This male in a nest cavity in south Texas near the Rio Grande River was not calling, just yawning. Raising kids is tiring work! [Canon XTi with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens and 1.4x teleconverter, f8 at 1/125 second, ISO 400, -1.0 ev, tripod]

Northern Flicker in nest cavity, Carlton County, Minnesota. Flickers often excavate nest holes in living aspen trees, though most trees likely suffer from heart rot. The [Canon 40D with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens, f5.6 at 1/2000 ISO 400, braced on car door]

Northern Flicker feeding young in nest along the Gunflint Trail, Cook County, Minnesota. Cavity is in a pine that was amidst a burn following a forest fire. [Canon 40D with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens, f7.1 at 1/250 second, ISO 400, Canon 420EX flash and Better Beamer, tripod]

Thanks to Paul Sundberg for sharing this Pileated Woodpecker nest location a few years ago. It was in a very photogenic Paper Birch too! Look closely and you can see that the male (red “mustache”) is doing some “house cleaning” by removing the young’s fecal sacs from the cavity. He will fly off and dump them away from the nest so as not to advertise its location to predators with a pile at the base of the home tree. [Canon XTi with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens, f5.6 at 1/640, ISO 400, Canon 420EX flash and Better Beamer, tripod]

Male Pileated feeding the crew. The female lacks the red “mustache.” Abandoned Pileated nest cavities (the birds never reuse a nest hole) are readily adopted by many species including Flying Squirrels, Red Squirrels, Pine Marten, bats, nesting ducks (Wood Ducks, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Bufflehead), nesting owls (Boreal and Saw-whet), other woodpeckers (Hairy, Northern Flicker) and Kestrel. Pileateds are true “keystone” species in the North Woods…a species that is very important to the habitat and to many other species.

A few years ago we had a nesting Yellow-bellied Sapsucker near the house. This female (no yellow on throat) brings a beak full of ants to the youngsters. I like how the blue sky and green leaves background blurred in this shot. A Better Beamer on my flash lit up the bird nicely.

A juvenile Hairy Woodpecker boy begs from his aspen home (aspen tree, not Aspen, Colorado!) Baby woodpeckers can be LOUD when hungry. This is usually how I find the nest cavities.

The Northern Flicker was actually my “trigger bird” many years ago. A trigger bird is the one that got one excited about birding. As a kid I was a fanatical collector of many things—baseball cards, beer cans, barbed wire, to name just a few. When I was 13 I saw a strange bird land on the light pole in front of our house. It had many field marks—spots on the breast, a red mark, a black “moustache”, and lots of yellow. I somehow found out it was a Yellow-shafted Flicker (now called Northern Flicker) and I wondered how many other birds were around. I basically started “collecting” bird sightings. This led to a lifelong fascination with birds, and eventually wildlife photography. [Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens, f5.6 at 1/640, ISO 1000, braced on car window]

My flash had run out of batteries and dusk was approaching, but I didn’t want to miss the shot. What to do? I simply cranked up the ISO to 3200 and kept shooting. I was even able to freeze the action as this Flicker fluffed her feathers. Sure its “noisier’ than if I would have shot it at ISO 200, but I still got the shot. [Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens, f5.6 at 1/1250, ISO 3200, braced on car window]

Black-backed Woodpeckers are a bird of remote boreal forests. Then NEVER come to bird feeders and rarely leave their Black Spruce/Tamarack bogs. You can usually tell their cavities by the ring around the hole that has been completely debarked. This female is feeding a young male (note his yellow cap). Interestingly, the following year another Black-backed nest was occupied just above this one in the same Tamarack. Was it the same adults? Or one of the offspring? Black-backeds often nest in living spruce, tamarack and pine near water or other openings in bogs, burns, and upland spruce-fir forests.