With the year coming to a close, I thought I’d put my favorite wildlife moments of the year together in no particular order. It was a good year. A handful of Canada lynx, lots of spring and fall moose with a few from summer mixed in. I saw a lot of red fox, including a few “cross fox” color morphs. It was also a fun year of birding with a few unique encounters. Here’s a collection of wildlife pictures from the past year.
Red fox in summer cover in Superior National Forest A beautiful bull moose with velvet covered antlers enjoys some summer swamp vegetation. Minnesota 🌲A pair of Canada lynx prowling the back roads of the forest in Northeastern Minnesota 🌲A common loon in the Temperance River dead waters. Spring 2022.A porcupine feasting in the tree tops of Superior National Forest. I rarely see these critters, so getting a few photos was a treat this year. A black throated blue warbler in Tofte, Minnesota. This one was a happy surprise right in my own yard last spring.Scarlett tanager on the edge of the BWCA in Superior National Forest.Red headed woodpecker – Tofte, Minnesota One of my absolute favorites from this year. This beautiful bull on a frosty fall morning gave me many fine silhouettes. The largest bull moose I encountered this fall was a truly magnificent animal. Superior National Forest – Minnesota 🌲Frosty the bull moose. Our first frost of the season and a big bull in a logged area of the forest. A young little “cross fox” kit checks me out from a roadside. This is a color variation of the red fox. Around 25 percent of red fox get this cross color variation. I ran into a little family of red fox numerous times over the summer. It was fun to catch these two in a moment 😍Spruce grouse with tail flash. The spruce grouse has a strut and dance that often ends with this brief, spectacular tail flash. It only lasts a fraction of a second, so you’ve got to be quick on the shutter.
A little video of the dance and tail flash Spring morning fog and smoke on the water. I think this scene speaks for itself.
Breakfast with a group of bull moose It’s always a treat to catch a bull moose in summer velvet antlers. The velvet contains vessels that “feed” the antlers. Their antlers can grow up to 3/4 of an inch per day! Golden morning light and a beauty bull moose. This one is the cover of my 2023 Minnesota North Shore calendar. You can click the photo for calendar ordering link. Thanks for all the orders this year 😊I just loved this encounter. This big bull almost disappeared into the swamp. He’s actually standing up in this photo in a wallow in the swamp grass. Definitely in my top 5 favorites from 2022. Mama moose overlooking the landscape as her young feeds in the river. Superior National Forest – Minnesota 🌲A recent Canada lynx encounter led to many fun photos. This one will probably make the 2024 calendars! Until next time…
Thank you all for taking a look and following along this year. I appreciate all of the support. The wildlife opportunities in Superior National Forest and the surrounding areas are second to none. It was a wonderful year of wild encounters. I’ll do a post in the coming weeks with my favorite landscape/Lake Superior/northern lights pictures. Be sure to subscribe here to be notified when I post. 🎁🎅🎄❤️
Late fall has suddenly turned to winter in the Northland. It has certainly made for some fun photography. I have a lot of photos to share in this post. I had a couple of fun moose encounters before all the snow arrived. They cooperated well for photos! Areas of the North Shore and the forest have anywhere from 8 or 10 inches of snow to 24 inches plus! I’ve got some fun grouse photos included with all the snowy landscape pictures. Thank you to everyone who has ordered my 2023 North Shore Calendar! I really appreciate it. I’m very happy with how they look this year. If you’d like to take a look, follow this link. Calendar! I’ll be pretty short on words in this post, just wanted to share all the recent photos. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
The Temperance River with the first winter coat of whiteDawn breaking on a river in Superior National Forest – MinnesotaThe freshly flocked forest of northeastern Minnesota’s Superior National Forest River rapids and a flocked forestTemperance River along the Superior Hiking TrailTucked in for the winter in Superior National Forest
Before the snow blanketed the landscape, I was still seeing a few moose around. The first part of November is typically when I stop seeing moose with any regularity until spring thaw. Mating season has long passed and the moose just don’t seem to wander around as much in winter, so they get harder to spot. Most of their watering holes are frozen, so they probably stay put when they find what they need in winter. That’s OK, winter brings so many other opportunities for wildlife sightings and the added feature of winter tracks, which is a huge aid in finding and photographing any critter in the wild. Anyhow, here are a few photos of a beautiful cow moose with her young from last season.
Mama moose surveys the scene while her little one feeds along the river edgeCow moose heading for the buffetA morning moment for this pairI think I’ve been spotted Swampside breakfastA little swamp vegetation makes a fine morning repast
I’ve got a couple of ruffed grouse living nearby, and they visit my big tree often. I was surprised to notice the cool heart pattern on the back of one one day. Take a look! Perfect little hearts. A friend told me they also look like little barn owl faces! Ain’t nature fun?
Patterns in nature – note the almost perfect little hearts My neighborhood ruffed grouseOl ruff – cleaning up under the feedersThe gorgeous ruffed grouse in snowSpruce grouse tracks in the snow. This one was doing a display for another grouse in which it’s wings are out and were dragging in the snow a little on either side.
So many new opportunities for photography with the changing landscape. If you can find a way to tolerate the snow, ice, wind, freezing temps and bad roads, winter can be one of if not THE best season for photography. Looks like we could be in for a long one!
Driving in the tall pines of Cook County – Minnesota = Superior National ForestWho doesn’t love a fall color drive on the 600 Road?Muskrat on the thin ice of Fourmile LakePine grosbeak checking out the winter tracksWinter sets in on a forest creekThe MV Edwin H Gott cruising past Grand Marais MinnesotaFreshly fallenOh deer, it’s November! Forest scene with snow
Thank you all for taking a look! Have a great Thanksgiving and Holiday Season. If you’re looking for a gift or two, grab a calendar or check my website for prints at this link https://thomasjspenceimages.smugmug.com/
A little collection of feathered visitors during spring bird migration on the North Shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota.
After a long, cold, snowy winter, we have finally turned the corner along the North Shore of Lake Superior and in the woods of Superior National Forest in the Arrowhead region of Minnesota. The lakes have only recently opened up from their frozen, icy, winter covering. The rivers raged with historic, record breaking levels along the North Shore as the snow-pack and spring melt moved downstream. You can still find some snow in the shadows of the woods, but for the most part, signs point to spring. The cow moose are currently giving birth to this years calves and the bull moose are just starting to sprout their velvet covered antlers. Bears are awake and on the hunt for this years crop of nuts and berries and the deer seem to be moving into the woods, away from the shore. All good signs. All welcome signs. For me, one of the most reliable signs that spring may truly be here is the arrival of the variety of spring birds to the area. Weather it’s at the feeders in my yard, along the shores of Lake Superior, deep in the woods of Superior National Forest or just along Highway 61, there are always signs of the arrival of a new season if you are watching closely. You can almost predict who is going to show up and when.
Here’s a collection of feathered spring arrivals to the North Shore woods, along Lake Superior and in my yard the past few weeks. Keep your binoculars and bird books handy on your next spring visit. You never know what you’ll see flitting around in the trees this time of year.
Warblers are a nice arrival in late April and May in our area. The yellow-rumped is one of the earliest. It’s always nice to see those little flashes of yellow that give them away. Here are just a few that I have seen so far this spring. I’ll include a few of the strikingly beautiful, black-throated blue warbler that graced me with it’s presence in my own yard. Prints available of these and many others at this link. Thanks for your support! https://thomasjspenceimages.smugmug.com/2022/
Yellow-rumped warbler – Tofte, MNYellow-rumped warbler – Tofte, MNTennessee warbler – Schroeder, MNRuby Crowned Kinglet female – Tofte, MN – May 2022Black-throated blue warbler – Tofte, MN – May 2022Black-throated blue warbler – Tofte, MN – May 2022
You can’t imagine the thrill… I was on my deck photographing a red-headed woodpecker that has been hanging around. I had ok light and it was eating worms in my yard, so I was standing still on my deck waiting with my camera in hand and ready. From the corner of my eye, a small bird landed. In a flash, I went through the ID process in my mind. Chickadee? No. Nuthatch? No. Warbler?!?! Yes. It stood on my deck for a second, flew to a branch for a second, landed on my railing for a second and landed on a planter for a second. It was a great yard bird to have visit and I’m glad I was ready! You can click on these to open the gallery.
Black-throated blue warbler – Tofte, MN – May 2022Black-throated blue warbler – Tofte, MN – May 2022Black-throated blue warbler – Tofte, MN – May 2022Black-throated blue warbler – Tofte, MN – May 2022Black-throated blue warbler – Tofte, MN – May 2022A few photos from a brief visit from the black-throated blue warbler. Tofte, MinnesotaTennessee warbler (I believe!) Tofte, MNHaving a tough time confirming ID on this warbler. Comment if you know! Cape May? Pine? Bay Breasted? Tofte, MN
Here are a few more interesting and notable visitors to the area including a new one for me here, a yellow-headed blackbird.
Yellow-headed blackbird – Taconite Harbor near Schroeder, MN – May 2022Yellow-headed blackbird – Taconite Harbor near Schroeder, MN – May 2022Gray catbird – Tofte, MNHairy woodpecker with avian keratin disorder AKD which can cause beak deformities. This one has been enjoying neighborhood suet for weeks. Harris’s sparrow – Taconite Harbor near Schroeder, MN – May 2022
Another surprise, entertaining visitor this spring has been a red-headed woodpecker. I can’t recall having one in my yard, and this one seems to have all it needs here. I mostly observe it eating worms off the lawn. It eats, then rests for 20 minutes, then eats another worm. Not a bad day, really. It’s been a welcome addition to the array of feathered friends in the yard. https://thomasjspenceimages.smugmug.com/2022/
Red-headed woodpecker – Tofte, MN – May 2022 peek-a-booA favorite roost for this red-headed woodpecker – Tofte, MN – May 2022Blue jay and Red-head. They usually get along fine. Usually…Taking a break in another favorite tree. Eating worms, taking breaks. Red-headed woodpecker – Tofte, MNIndigo Bunting male – Tofte, MN – May 2022A pair of male indigo buntings – Tofte, MN – May 2022Indigo Bunting male – Tofte, MN – May 2022Ruby-throated hummingbird – Tofte, MN – May 2022 We can be certain that most years, the hummers show up on Mothers Day here on The Shore.Brewers blackbird – Tofte, MN
Lastly, I had a fantastic close encounter with a scarlet tanager deep in the woods of Superior National Forest. I usually see one of these birds at home near a feeder during migration, but I hadn’t had one yet. On a drive looking for moose and other critters, I spotted an orange/red dot along a gravel road. Upon inspection I was shocked to see a scarlet tanager just hopping and flittering along the road. I thought it was injured, but it was hunting some kind of bugs and having great success! It may have been off course, but is was getting all it needed, it appears.
The glowing scarlet tanager – Superior National Forest – MNHunting for insects in Superior National Forest – Minnesota – Scarlet Tanager – May 2022Hunting for insects in Superior National Forest – Minnesota – Scarlet Tanager – May 2022Hunting for insects in Superior National Forest – Minnesota – Scarlet Tanager – May 2022Hunting for insects in Superior National Forest – Minnesota – Scarlet Tanager – May 2022
Thank you for reading along and taking a look at some spring birding photos. Please take a look at my online catalogs and consider a print purchase if you see anything you like. Stay tuned and subscribe to this newsletter. I’ll do a recap of photos from my early spring trip to Utah and the southwest in my next post. Happy Spring everyone! Tom https://thomasjspenceimages.smugmug.com/
Thomas J. Spence Images 