Up close and personal

The birds let me get really close today...4.9ft to be exact, the minimum focal distance on my 300mm lens. Chickadees I expect to be a bit brazen, but the red-breasted nuthatch was definitely being brave. The photos of the downy woodpecker are uncropped, he must have been very hungry to tolerate my proximity.

Mocking Jay

Greetings from Maryland; I'm near Baltimore for an accreditation workshop. I was gonna take another nap, in addition to the two I had on the flights here, but there was gray jay outside my window mocking me take a picture of him. Well, he was too skittish, but I found some other stuff to photograph. Things like flowers that I won't get to see around Duluth for six months or more!

hydrangea

Holly and berries

hydrangea

Yew and "berries"

Immature European Starling in a Black Cherry tree

A flock of acrobatic starlings

rose bush

Departing Terminal 1 of 1, Gate 4 of 4

Despite the very early flight times, begrudged by my wife who drove me here, the joys of air travel from Duluth International Airport include 3-minute security screenings where the security helps you place your belongings into the little trays, your own row of seats, and the quiet.

Partial solar eclipse

Used my 20yro BluBlockers as a filter...

From home

From home.  A well placed reflection inside the lens makes it appear as if the dark side of the moon is lit up.

As viewed from the Pike Lake boat ramp.
Two lens refections

Grousing about the foliage

A ruffed grouse hanging tight to the tree line.

Apple gobblers

In the low afternoon sun a pair of deer and a pair of wild turkeys, one of which is a smoky gray phase hen, scout the ground for fallen apples.

Near! Far!!

This morning a female Downy Woodpecker let me get as close as I could with my telephoto lens (5ft). This afternoon a Bald Eagle surveyed a marshy area in the seasonal drizzle (~1200ft).

Audubon Autumn Birding Stroll

Early morning birding for migrants on the Park Point Trail. Bird list: Greater scaup, lesser scaup, horned grebe, bald eagle, merlin, brown creeper, ruby crowned kinglet, white throated sparrow, Lincoln's sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, pine siskin, red-breasted nuthatch, hermit thrush, yellow-rumped warbler, starling, junco, and chipmunk in a juniper tree! A big thanks to our guide Clinton!

Brown creeper

White-throated sparrow

Yello-rumped warbler

Sea smoke at Superior Entry Lighthouse

Lincoln's Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

Hermit Thrush

White-throated sparrow

Brown creeper

White-throated sparrow

Roadside flower in some landscaping along Minnesota Ave

Lake Superior Sunrise

From Park Point Trail

Sunrise with sea smoke and glitter path.

Atmospheric effects distorting the sun's appearance. 

Lake of Fire!

Sunrise with sea smoke and glitter trail

Waning moon setting. Nice shadows in the craters on the bottom edge.

Birds everywhere

Lots of birds to be seen as many migrate for the nearing winter. I got a much better photo today of the red-breasted nuthatch. I also spotted a yellow-rumped warbler and a green warbler, as well as numerous woodpeckers.

red-breasted nuthatch

male Hairy Woodpecker

female Hairy Woodpecker atop a wooden bear carving

male Hairy Woodpecker

Junco