Black Dog Lake

Winter in Minnesota can be both frustrating and rewarding if you are into wildlife photography. It is frustrating because over all there is a lack of wildlife activity. Plant and insect life is nonexistent outside, a lot of animals hibernate or survive under the snow, and many birds fly south for the winter. However the wildlife that remains seems to concentrate in specific areas so if you can find some good spots chances are good that you will find something to photograph.

Black Dog Lake is one of these spots. Black Dog Lake is a small lake that is adjacent to the Minnesota River and part of the Minnesota Valley NWR. An Excel Energy plant located here pumps warm water out keeping part of the river and lake open during the winter.

Open water is usually a big key to finding suitable winter wildlife habitat. Most waterfowl have layers of down feathers that help insulate their bodies while they swim in the icy waters, like this common merganser in the photo above.

Many different types of ducks are found in the open water, such as mallards, common goldeneye, plus common and hooded mergansers. Larger birds like Canada geese and trumpeter swans can also be found dabbling in the frigid water looking for plants and roots to eat.
In the large trees lining the river you will often see bald eagles perched using their acute vision to see fish in the icy waters. During the winter the mortality rate of fish goes up. This helps the eagles survive at this difficult time of the year since it is much easier to catch a dead fish floating in the river.