Eastern Screech Owl

EASTERN SCREECH OWL (MEGASCOPS ASIO), PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 27, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/45 sec. f11
ISO 1600

Michigan wildlife rescuer Joe Rogers opens his traveling raptor circus with this species, which flaps madly and tries to bite through the leather gloves holding its legs. But, despite its name it does not screech or scream; rather, it voices a piercing trill.

Northern Saw-whet Owl

NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL (AEGOLIUS ACADICUS), PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 27, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/180 sec. f13 with onboard flash
ISO 1600

Another member of Joe Rogers' traveling troupe, the robin-sized Saw-whet is one of the smallest owls in North America. Its name comes from its mating call, the sound of a saw being sharpened on a whetstone.

Barred Owl

BARRED OWL (STRIX VARIA), PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 26, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 260mm
1/180 sec. f9.5 with on-board flash
ISO 1600

This rescued Barred Owl, blind in the right eye, is a permanent resident at Joe Rogers' Wildlife Recovery Association in eastern upper Michigan. It was part of Rogers' raptor show yesterday at the Porkies State Park. Its distinctive call gives it the nickname "hoot owl."

Rough-legged Hawk

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (BUTEO LAGOPUS ), PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 26, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-30 at 230mm
1/180 sec. f9.5 with on-board flash
ISO 1600

Another in Joe Rogers' traveling raptor circus (see May 27 blogpost), this large hawk summers north of the Arctic Circle in the U.S. and Canada and visits upper Michigan in the winter. Its name comes from the feathering of its legs all the way to the toes, giving it the look of a biplane fighter of the early 1930s with fixed landing gear and wheel pants.

Buzzard

EASTERN TURKEY VULTURE (CATHARTES AURA SEPTENTRIONALIS), PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 26, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/180 sec. f11 with flash
ISO 1600

This vulture is the windup to Joe and Mary Rogers' popular traveling raptor show, an adjunct to their Wildlife Recovery Association. They rehabilitate wounded and sick hawks, owls and eagles, and provide a permanent home for those unfit to be released back into the wild. Vultures often vomit copiously as a defensive maneuver, and yesterday the crowd at the Porcupine Mountains State Park learned exactly how disagreeable buzzard puke can be.

Pink Lady's Slipper

PINK LADY'S SLIPPER (CYPRIPEDIUM ACAULE), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 26, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300mm at 300mm
1/500 sec. f8
ISO 1600

I stumbled across this member of the orchid family at the neighbor's driveway while looking for birds. It's not a bald eagle but it'll do for a morning's photo safari. It's also called Moccasin Flower in Upper Michigan and likes dry pine forests.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 25, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF) with Kenko 1.5x teleconverter (450mm total)
1/1500 sec. f8
ISO 1600

At first I thought this visitor to our cabin on Lake Superior was a male Black-chinned Hummingbird that had strayed quite a way east from its Western and British Columbia habitat. But a careful study of the bird books indicates it's a very close cousin, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, whose chin often looks black if the light isn't quite right. Identifying point: the Black-chinned has a narrow white collar while the Ruby-throated has a broader white "vest".

Juvie

JUVENILE BALD EAGLE, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 24, 2012


Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF) with Kenko 1.5x teleconverter (450mm total)
1/750 sec. f8
ISO 1600

This young eagle, perhaps a yearling, squatted for several minutes on a log crib just west of our place on the Lake Superior beach and allowed me to creep within photographing range before soaring off. He ducked repeatedly as two small birds dive-bombed him all the while; I wonder what he had done to piss them off so.

Omigod!

EASTERN CHIPMUNK, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 23, 2012


Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF) with Kenko 1.5x teleconverter (450mm total)
1/125 sec. f13
ISO 1600


The 'munk was just stuffing his cheeks, as the species is wont to do, and in making room for more he delivered a no doubt unintended expression of alarm.

Turtles

PAINTED TURTLES (CHRYSEMYS PICTA), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 18, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/350 sec. f13
ISO 800

Getting close to turtles sunning on logs is a lot harder than it seems, for they can see you coming in the next county. I crept up behind a sheet steel piling in Halfway Creek just west of our cabin and popped up quickly, squeezing off two shots before the reptiles spotted me and dove for safety. This is probably as close as I'm ever going to get.

Eagle

BALD EAGLE, ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, MAY 18, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/1000 sec. f11
ISO 800

I couldn't find any chipmunks or squirrels to shoot today, so had to settle for this bird. A friend told me about an eagle's nest located on the beach 1 1/2 miles east of Ontonagon, a town six miles from our cabin, so we drove over for a looksee and found the occupants. I do wish I was armed with more than a 300mm lens so the photo cropping wasn't so great, but am satisfied with this shot.

Chipmunk No. 2

EASTERN CHIPMUNK, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 14, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/350 sec. f11
ISO 800

After two weeks of replenishing the feeding rock in front of our cabin two or three times a day, we've found that our resident chipmunks have grown bold and cheeky. I turned around from the rock to find this little fellow sitting on a log a few feet away waiting patiently to stuff his face some more.

Chipmunk

EASTERN CHIPMUNK (TAMIAS STRIATUS), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 9, 2012

Pentax K20D
Sigma APO 135-400 at 400mm
1/750 sec. f9.5
ISO 400

Sometimes it's chipmunks that come to our chipmunk feeding rock in the beach riprap just outside our cabin, and here's one, stuffing his face happily. We replenish the rations at least three times a day, and within an hour they're gone. They're companionable little animals and amuse us when we're having our own dinner on the other side of the window.

Goslings

CANADA GEESE AND GOSLINGS, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 9, 2012

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/4000 sec. f8
ISO 1600

Usually geese don't take their goslings out onto Lake Superior until very late in May, often around Memorial Day, but the unusual two-week spring warmth in March seems to have upended the usual schedules of many birds in these parts.

Eastern White Pine

EASTERN WHITE PINE (PINUS STROBUS), PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 9, 2012

Pentax K20D
Sigma APO 17-70 DG at 40mm
1/500 sec. f9.5
ISO 400

Deborah Abbott (a k a The Lady Friend) captured this young white pine on the beach at Union Bay in the Porkies yesterday. The largest conifer in Michigan, this species of pine once was the backbone of the Upper Peninsula timber industry and, when mature, is a favorite place for bald eagles to build their nests.

American Tree Sparrow

AMERICAN TREE SPARROW (SPIZELLA ARBOREA), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 8, 2012

Pentax K20D
Sigma APO 135-400 at 400mm
1/60 sec. f8
ISO 400

This sparrow stopped at our chipmunk feeding rock yesterday on its way to the arctic tundra of northern Canada for the summer. (It winters in the Upper Peninsula.) Its rusty cap suggests the similar Chipping Sparrow, but the brownish eye stripe and two-toned bill are species markers for the American Tree variety. The sight made a nice change from the ubiquitous English Sparrow we see every day back in the Chicago area.

Delinquent

RED SQUIRREL (TAMIASCURUS HUDSONICUS), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 7, 2012

Pentax K20D
Sigma APO 135-400 at 320mm
1/350 sec. f8
ISO 400

Insufferably cute, isn't he, this visitor to the chipmunk feeding rock in front of our cabin? The North American red squirrel, however, is ounce for ounce one of the most destructive pests to prowl the woods of Upper Michigan. They love to chew their way into cabins and trash the joint. I have a plan to deal with this miscreant, but have to sight it in first.