First gull of summer

HERRING GULL (LARUS ARGENTATUS), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 24, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/1000 sec. f9.5
ISO 400

Gulls, both the ring-billed variety common to these parts and the slightly rarer herring species, have been scarcer on the Lake Superior shore this season than expected. I was happy to see this one, for unlike most people hereabouts, I think gulls are graceful fliers as well as appealingly snow-white against the sky. They photograph well, and that should be good enough for anybody.

Great horned owl

GREAT HORNED OWL, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 23, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 88mm
1/90 sec. f6.7 with on-board flash
ISO 800

Deborah Abbott captured this striking portrait of a Bubo virginianus at a "Birds of Prey" presentation by a wildlife refuge in the auditorium of the state park down the road from our cabin in Ontonagon, Michigan. As with human eyes, camera flash with owls often results in bright red pupils that have to be fixed with photo software -- as was done with this owl's right eye.

He was a good friend

ROADSIDE SHRINE, ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, APRIL 23, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
Sigma 17-70 at 48mm
1/500 sec. f5.6
ISO 400

From time to time, friends of a popular young man killed when his motorcycle struck a deer on a country road just outside Ontonagon in upper Michigan gather at the spot where he died to toast his memory with a few brews and hang familiar baubles to leaven the boredom of eternity. The site feels hallowed, like a private cemetery.

First hummer of summer

FEMALE RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 22, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/500 sec. f9.5
ISO 400

The hummingbirds just arrived this week on the Lake Superior shore, and a pair has discovered one of our feeders. At this time of year they are exceptionally tough targets to photograph, being unused to our presence. They flit in quickly for a drink and flit away with the same alacrity. As time goes on, however, they'll dine at leisure and make this photographer happy.

Another landing

CANADA GOOSE ON LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 17, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/750 sec. f11
ISO 400

Watching aquatic birds coming in for landings is instructive for small-plane pilots like me. Note how the trailing feathers on the wings are extended like Fowler flaps, with the tailfeathers spread and hanging out in the airstream to further slow the goose before its wet touchdown. The black outboard feathers on the wings serve as ailerons to keep the bird straight and level.

Scat!

CANADA GEESE, LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 20, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/750 sec. f11
ISO 400

A nettled male honker, neck low and curved and hissing furiously, chases a hapless fellow goose that got too close to the two-week-old goslings belonging to the former.

On short final, gear down and locked

MALLARD ON LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 20, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/750 sec. f11
ISO 400

This is the first time I've been able to capture a mallard as it comes in for a splashdown. It lands just as an airplane does, wings at an acute angle of attack as if the flaps have been lowered, its speed just above stalling. Except there's no rollout.

Forget-me-not

FORGET-ME-NOT (MYSOTIS SCORPIOIDES), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 19, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 50mm with Raynox 250 macro add-on lens
1/60 sec. f16, on-board flash
ISO 400

There's a large patch of swamp greenery just behind our cabin that's a riot of these tiny (1/4 inch) but vivid blue flowers, growing in a large mat along an extensive fibrous root system. The Forget-me-not, or Scorpion Weed, is a cultivated import from Eurasia that has escaped gardens everywhere and is now common in the wild.

Freight depot

E & LS FREIGHT DEPOT, ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, MAY 15, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
Sigma 17-70 at 37mm
1/2000 sec. f9.5
ISO 800

Old railroad structures evoke ghosts of lost technologies, especially passenger stations and freight houses. This Escanaba & Lake Superior depot, built by the Chicago & North Western and later used by the Milwaukee Road, is still in service as an outlying office by the crews of maintenance-of-way trucks and freight trains that carry kraft paper and pulpwood south to Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Sauna

SAUNA CABIN, LAKE SUPERIOR SHORE OF MICHIGAN, MAY 17, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
Sigma 17-70 at 35mm
1/750 sec. f9.5
ISO 800

Old summer homes on the shore of Lake Superior in upper Michigan often feature sauna cabins in the Finnish style, and this one is a classic. Hardy bathers sweat by the wood-fired stove for an hour, then run screaming into the frigid lake.

Honkers and honksters

CANADA GEESE AND GOSLINGS, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 17, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/750 sec. f11
ISO 400

We'll be keeping a close eye all summer on this family living on our Lake Superior beach. The goslings look to be about ten to 14 days old and are already being taken for outings 200 yards out on the lake. Geese are so populous up here that they're humdrum subjects for photography, but it will be fun to watch the youngsters grow.

Yellow Trout Lily

YELLOW TROUT LILY (ERYTHRONIUM AMERICANUM), ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, MAY 15, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/180 sec. f8
ISO 400

We'd never seen this wildflower before, but that was because we always had arrived at our cabin on Lake Superior after its brief blooming period in May. Its name comes from its leaves, speckled like a trout, and it's also known as the dogtooth violet (although it's not a violet but a member of the lily family). I used the 300mm lens because that's what was on my camera when we spotted the blooms.

Mourning dove

MOURNING DOVE, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MAY 10, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/180 sec. f11
ISO 400

Some people consider the mourning dove a mere upscale version of a pigeon, and I have to say they are not the most exciting birds to photograph. They always seem a few sticks short of a nest and are the last to depart when a predator arrives. Yet they are peaceable almost to a fault and get along with sparrows and squirrels, quietly feeding beak by jowl with them on the ground.

White-crowned Sparrow

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MAY 10, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/750 sec. f8
ISO 400

White-crowned sparrows are the cheerful Charlies of my back yard, hopping about on the ground underneath the feeders and dashing for safety inside the shrubs when danger approaches. Their bold little heads constantly bob and dip as they scratch for seeds, adding to their appeal.

Goose No. 1 of 2009

CANADA GOOSE, LOVELACE PARK, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MAY 8, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 200mm
1/180 sec. f11
ISO 400

The geese in the pond at a local park are extraordinarily tame, having been fed all winter by small children. This enables a photographer to get in close, and the medium (50mm-200mm) zoom I used helped, too. Unfortunately the day was overcast, flattening the lighting.

On your marks . . . (Squirrel No. 8)

GRAY SQUIRREL, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, APRIL 12, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/250 sec. f6.7
ISO 400

This squirrel looks for all the world as if he's going to steal a medal from Michael Phelps. Poses like this are one reason why I keep photographing those animals. Besides, there are so many of them and they're around all the time.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MAY 4, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/350 sec. f8
ISO 400

I was sitting in a lawn chair near the feeders, camera at the ready, when this colorful male of the species came to call, making a nice change from the ubiquitous sparrows. The Cornell bird site has this to say: "The grosbeak's song is like that of the robin, only as sung by an opera singer, being mellower and more sweetly melodic." Classy fellow.

Red-winged Blackbird

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MAY 2, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/750 sec. f8
ISO 400

If a red-winged blackbird feels uneasy, he can hide most of his red shoulder patch, leaving only the pale yellow tip. On the other hand, this specimen may just be an immature one whose red won't appear for a while yet. There are quite a few of these birds in my backyard, and watching them is instructive -- they are feisty little bullies that often drive much larger grackles from the feeders.

Mystery blossom

BLOOM, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, MAY 1, 2009

Pentax *ist DS
SMC Pentax-DA 50-200 at 150mm
1/750 sec. f5.6
ISO 800

I have no idea what sort of flower this is -- some kind of carnation, perhaps? -- but the baseball-sized bloom caught my eye yesterday on a visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden because of its coloring, fiery brilliant even under a dark and leaden overcast.

Sparrow No. 5

ENGLISH SPARROW, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, APRIL 26, 2009

Pentax K10D
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/180 sec. f6.7
ISO 400

I'm getting closer to the birds, I am! This specimen on our backyard deck railing fluffed up his feathers in a steady rain, perhaps to get clean, perhaps to insulate himself against the wet. Shot through a window. Click photo for larger version.