The BRRRRdathon—World’s Coldest Birdathon episode of Virtually Live. The BRRRRdathon is an annual fundraiser for my non-profit, Friends of Sax-Zim Bog.

This week we are birding in Grand Marais, Minnesota on Lake Superior just south of the Canadian Border. Sparky is participating in the Wintergreen non-motorized division. We go along with his fat bike birding. But he takes an early morning detour inland into the Superior National Forest where he finds an amorous bull and cow Moose! During the BRRRRdathon we see Long-tailed Ducks, White-winged Crossbills and more. Find out who won this year’s event.

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!

This is the last of my “Top Tens” from 2016…I guess I didn’t do much landscape photography last year so there won’t be a Top Ten Landscape 2016. Without further ado, here are my favorite mammal photos from 2016…(Most are from my April trip to Yellowstone and Teddy Roosevelt National Parks.

Bighorn ram in Yellowstone National Park.
I like this desaturated look that I applied in Aperture. It gives a gritty feel that seems to fit for this species. It is a classic (boring?) head-on portrait, but I think it works in this shot.
[Canon 7D with Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm; 1/160 at f9; ISO 400; Manfrotto tripod with Whimberly Sidekick]

Leaping for Lunch; Coyote in Yellowstone National Park
Voles are an important source of calories for Coyotes, and this guy is after one. Incredibly sharp hearing allows them to hear a vole under the snowpack. Once pinpointed, they leap high in the air in order to get enough force to break through the snow and get down to the vole’s tunnel. This time, he was unsuccessful.
[Canon 7D with Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm at 227mm; 1/4000 at f7.1; ISO 200; Manfrotto tripod with Whimberly Sidekick]

Young Moose; Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota
I spent a fair amount of time with this tolerant young Moose cow along a backroad in northeastern Minnesota’s Sax-Zim Bog. The Moose herd in Minnesota is not doing well, but this gal was looking to be in fine shape.
[Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6L; 1/500 at f5.6; ISO 320; Manfrotto tripod with Whimberly Sidekick]

Paws-itively Black Bear in Yellowstone
Ridiculous to put this image in my favorites from 2016, but I like the light pattern on the sole of its hind paw.
[Canon 7D with Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm; 1/640 at f7.1; ISO 500; -1.0 EV; Manfrotto tripod with Whimberly Sidekick]

Awkward Elk; Yellowstone.
This ratty looking young bull Elk was just too “cute” to not take a photo…and he stuck his tongue out at me just at the perfect moment. I was not offended!
[Canon 7D with Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 300mm; 1/1600 at f5; ISO 200; Manfrotto tripod with Whimberly Sidekick]

Grizzly; Yellowstone National Park
I only included this image because, well, it’s a Grizzly!..and a good looking one.
[Canon 7D with Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm; 1/1000 at 5.6; ISO 400; Manfrotto tripod with Whimberly Sidekick]

Bachelor herd of Bighorn Sheep in Yellowstone
Another desaturated image that works well here. This bachelor herd had all age groups from younger rams to battle-scarred old-timers. They are focused on some action that we weren’t privy to.
[Canon 7D with Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm; 1/200 at f8; ISO 400; Manfrotto tripod with Whimberly Sidekick]

Mule Deer at sunrise; Teddy Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
Even deer can make a nice photo when in the right light. And I loved the morning sunrise light that made this nice and subtle silhouette.
[Canon 7D with Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm; 1/5000 at f5.6; ISO 640; Manfrotto tripod with Whimberly Sidekick]

Red Fox and Bison; Yellowstone.
I only included this because how often do you see a Bison and a Red Fox together?

Wild Horse family; Teddy Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.
I really don’t like the word “feral,” so I use the not-entirely-correct term “wild horse” instead. They are “wild” indeed in Teddy Roosevelt, and their behaviors and interactions with other bands is fascinating to observe. When we were there in April, the foals were still quite small.
[Canon 7D with Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 300mm; 1/400 at f5; ISO 200; Manfrotto tripod with Whimberly Sidekick]

My hand was actually shaking…I eyed my “escape route” one last time, wondering how fast I could really climb that birch…Because I could hear large branches breaking and the deep guttural grunt of a bull Moose getting closer. I calmed myself and found the very tall dark blob through the vegetation in the viewfinder, focusing until the blob became the sharp image of a bull Moose. He was staring straight into my eyes…or the singular “eye” of my lens… I couldn’t tell which. His nostrils flared, trying to catch the scent of a cow Moose, and drool dripped from his mouth. Now was the critical time when he had to decide if he should come closer or retreat. He circled around me to get a better look…Maybe to actually get a better smell, since their eyesight is not great. As he shook his back and head violently, morning dew flying off his hump, his ears making audible flapping sounds, one could get a glimpse of the strength and power these animals possess. After another stare down, he moved off towards the west, grunting a few times as he departed. Sorry buddy…Hope you get lucky next time.

I’ve called in Moose before (see this post about a 2-Moose Adventure), but each time it is a rush…a thrill. Of course there are many unsuccessful attempts that make the successes so much sweeter. It was just a good day to be in the woods and there were many more highlights to come…a male Spruce Grouse feeding on the road, a Timber Wolf that appeared about 40 yards from me but then disappeared silently before I could get a shot, a Goshawk streaking through the trees. Then the most bizarre encounter…I drove a remote 2-track road a couple miles to a little used trail head…I’d only seen a couple grouse hunters all day…but there was a car here…odd, I thought…then my friend and fellow wildlife photographer Jason comes out of the woods on the trail. Crazy! We talked wildlife encounters for about an hour before my day-ending hike into the Boundary Waters Bog Lake. Yeah, a good day.