A Few Birds and a License Plate

Hunter, the Great Horned Owl. In rehab after some accident that left him unable to be on his own.

Acadia, a female Saw Whet Owl.

Here is my best shot. These are a flock of Pine Grosbeaks at a feeder. The male is red and the females are bronze headed. I caught one flying into the feeder. Lucky.

Last weekend I had the privilege of going up to Finland, Minnesota and taking lots of pictures. My Nikon got too cold and didn't come through, but the Panasonic nailed some good ones.



Here we have a Red Chested Nuthatch.

Next up is Common Redpoll.

Since the beginning of the year I have started playing the License Plate Game. Tonight on the way home, Maura and I saw "005". Excellent. It only took two weeks to get that last plate.

January 5 - Plus Two

On the way home from school, Karyl spotted this guy out on the ice eating someone's catch-of-the-day. In the horrible picture to the right the eagle has just finished his meal. He then flew around and landed in a tree just above me, but the light was so faint I didn't get a quality shot.

Earlier in the day I saw a pair of Northern Cardinals grazing at a feeder. That puts the old Minnesota bird count up to 12 for 2009.

According to the folks that know, there are 435 species of bird in Minnesota. Yahoo....

Fort Snelling with The Moonie

Shot of the Day: Wild Turkey

After I took the first shot, all of these guys came over to the car. Someone must be feeding them.

Deer crossing the ice.

Four Trumpeter Swans enjoy a hole in the ice.

A Downey.

A White-Breasted Nuthatch

A horrible shot at a very cool Red-Bellied Woodpecker. Honest.

Day Two - Up to Five Birds

I believe this is a Hairy Woodpecker, as opposed to the Downy. This guys singing sent me running for a camera.

Here are Mr. and Mrs. House Sparrow, looking for some sunflower seeds.

This is Mrs. Hairy. Quite shy. I could not get a side shot.

Here is Mrs. House Sparrow. Best shot of the day.

This is a Black-Capped Chickadee on his/her way to the feeder for some seed. Moving too fast for me to get the focus too sharp.

Day One at Fort Snelling

This afternoon I had the unmitigated joy to go walk around Fort Snelling State Park with Karyl and Moonie. We saw deer, robins, crows, and a few other suspects who escaped being identification. This was the first time out with my Panasonic LX-3. We shall see.

The Moonie.

I didn't realize I was shooting in black and white at the beginning, and it wasn't until the end that I got some better shots.

Today was a great way to usher in the New Year.

Two deer.

American Robin

I Want My Money Back......

Tonight I had the pleasure of going to see the Gopher vs. Iowa Hawkeyes game. This is the last Gopher game at the Metrodome.

The Gophers played a good first quarter on defense, but the offense did nothing all night. The game ended with a 55-0 Hawkeye victory.

I don't know what we are paying the head coach, but I want our money back. Last year we went 1-11, and this year we got up to seven wins, and then we have lost the last four in a row.

Our offense was non-existent.

The only hightlight of the game was meeting Matthew and John Steinbergs - who sat right behind us.

I can't wait to read the paper tomorrow. I hope they skewer the head coach. I can't believe we are paying this bozo millions to coach our time.

55-0.

Peace.

I Don't Understand...

The beer bong.

I just don't get it. I completely get the idea of getting tuned up. Great fun - if done in moderation.





On the right the woman is struggling to keep from spilling beer all over herself. Not my idea of a good time - but a number of people gave this a try at the Packer-Colts game.

Seems to me this is a waste of a good beer and a good buzz. After all, the quicker it goes down, the quicker it comes back up....

Cheers.