Snowy Owl in Flight

 Snowy Owl in Flight

SkyWatch Friday

Here is another sky shot from Yellowstone. With all of the rainy cloudy days that we have had here in Minnesota since we got back its almost hard to remember what blue skies look like. Thank heaven for SkyWatch Friday.

Flock of Pelicans

As we were waiting to release birds at the annual Spring Raptor Release, last Saturday, a flock of white pelican. These birds traveled up the Mississippi flyway from their wintering grounds down south and will probably end up on breeding grounds in Canada, North Dakota or Wyoming. 

St Louis River

Winter is Eagle Time

Winter is eagle time in south east Minnesota. Minnesota has the largest population of nesting eagles in the lower 48 states. During the winter eagles from around the state and eagles that have migrated south congregate at the few spots where they can find open water. Most of these locations are along the Mississippi River in southern Minnesota. During the winter we also get a population of golden eagles that migrate down from northern Canada and spend the winter in southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin. Since they are not fish eaters the golden eagles are usually not found right along the river but they do like the rolling hills that are in the area adjacent to the river. Often time it is possible to see both species in the same area. Since bald eagles do not get their white heads and tails until they are 5 to 6 years old, it can be a challenge to distinguish the golden eagle from the immature bald eagle. In this photo we have one of each. Can you tell which is which?

Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean

I took quite a few pictures of the sun rising in the morning while we were in Florida. It works out well when we stay in an area where I can go out in shoot in the morning. That gives Michelle a chance to sleep in. She needs all the rest she can get while we are on vacation because I usually run around so much that you need a couple of days to recover. This picture was taken from the beach by our hotel near Boca Ratan.

Autumn Sky

I took this photo last fall at Crex Meadows as the sandhill cranes where flying in to roost in the pools for the night. I think that it is a great picture for Halloween. Not only is it orange but it also has that kind of eerie Alfred Hitchcock feel.

Denali

Denali is the tallest mountain in North America. Denali means "The High One" in the Athabascan language. The mountain was renamed Mount McKinley, after President McKinley, by William Dickey in 1896. The mountain was returned to its original name by the state of Alaska in 1975. Denali is the third tallest mountain in the world at 20,320 feet, however it sits on a plain that is only 2000 feet above sea level. This makes the mountain itself around 18,000 feet. In comparison Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world at 29,035, rises from a base that is around 17,000 feet above sea level. This makes Everest alone only 12,000 feet tall which is why in my book Denali is the king of the mountains. This photo was taken on film back in 2001. I hope to get back to Alaska some day.

I Love To Gaze At Sunsets by Juan Olivarez

I love to gaze at sunsets, 

At the fading of each day.

As the clouds on the horizon, 

For the evening pave the way.

And all the glorious colors, 

All around the setting sun, 

Announce the passing of the day, 

And that the night has just begun.

Skywatch

 Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.

Great Sand Dunes National Park

In the heart of southern Colorado sits the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It was established in 2004 and it is the newest park in the U.S. National Park system. Prior to 2004 most of the park was a part of the Great Sand Dunes National Monument which was established in 1932 to protect the tallest sand dunes in North America, rising approximately 750 feet off of the valley floor. The dunes were form from sand deposited by several rivers that run through the San Luis Valley. Strong winds blowing across the valley would pick up the sand and carry it until they lost steam when they ran into the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range on the edge of the valley. No longer able to support the weight of the sand the wind deposits it at the foot of the mountains building up a large field of dunes over the past 440,000 years.

The hot air balloon is the first form of human flight. The first documented human flights in a balloon occurred in France in October of 1783. In these flights the balloon was tethered to the ground allowing the balloon to ascend to 80 feet above the ground, the length of the tether. A month later in November of 1783 the first documented non tethered flight occurred in France. The hot air balloon is made up of a bag, called an envelope which holds air that is heated from a basket below. The heated air is less dense then the air around it which makes the balloon buoyant. A valve at the top of the envelope allows the pilot to release hot air which helps to lower the balloon when it is time to land.