Tag: ruffed grouse

Late Fall Photos With a Touch of Winter

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 white
Dawn breaking on a river in Superior National Forest – Minnesota
The freshly flocked forest of northeastern Minnesota’s Superior National Forest
River rapids and a flocked forest
Temperance River along the Superior Hiking Trail
Tucked 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 edge
Cow moose heading for the buffet
A morning moment for this pair
I think I’ve been spotted
Swampside breakfast
A 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 grouse
Ol ruff – cleaning up under the feeders
The gorgeous ruffed grouse in snow
Spruce 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 Forest
Who doesn’t love a fall color drive on the 600 Road?
Muskrat on the thin ice of Fourmile Lake
Pine grosbeak checking out the winter tracks
Winter sets in on a forest creek
The MV Edwin H Gott cruising past Grand Marais Minnesota
Freshly fallen
Oh 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/

Take Care for now!