Late summer visit to Crex Meadows - 2016

As some of you may have noticed, my blog and web pages are sporting a new logo design. I have received a number of compliments on it and I really enjoy the look of it. The design was crafted by Jose Pelaez of Pelaez Creative here in Winona. Jose is a very talented graphic designer and I am honored to have a sample of his work on my pages.

The new logo includes "digital art" in the title along with photographer so I can now add some of my other digital works without being misleading. I will be adding more of this type of image to my blog in the future along with my wildlife images. I hope you enjoy.

Lanesboro, Minnesota Dam after recent heavy rainfalls. I created a painterly
version to increase the image interest.
 

Last Tuesday, September 20, 2016 Pam and I headed up north to check out the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area in late summer. Now that Pam has retired, a midweek trip was no problem. We arrived in Turtle Lake by noon for a nice Wing Ding lunch at the casino with Marjorie and Dennis and took about and hour and a half to catch up on each others news. Apparently another novel is almost complete in Marjorie's detective series for all of her mystery fans.

Then it was off to Siren, Wisconsin to check into the Best Western Northwoods Lodge. This lodge is a great gateway to the wildlife area and we have stayed there a number of times when visiting Crex Meadows. We are not good campers and enjoy the amenities provided by the hotel such as a hot breakfast, fresh coffee 24/7 and friendly staff.

Tuesday evening and Wednesday were spent cruising around the wildlife area taking photos of the wildlife that was present and gracious enough to pose for me. One stroke of luck we had was when a Pied-billed Grebe caught a Bullhead that was a little large for him and watched as he tried numerous times to swallow the fish. He finally figured out, from past experience I am sure, that he had to break off the sharp barbs from the fish's fins in order to swallow him. The Grebe never noticed us as he went about his business and allowed us to be entertained by his ability to work around obstacles in order to swallow that Bullhead.

A preening Blue Heron

Belted Kingfisher

Preening Sandhill Crane

The Pied-billed Grebe just after he caught a Bullhead that appeared
too big to be swallowed.

It was very interesting to watch him as he maneuvered the fish around
so he could grab the spiny barbs and then shake the fish to break them off.

After quite an ordeal, he finally got him lined up just right.

We were so happy for him when he finally got to swallow the fish.

Pam spotted this Sharp-tailed Grouse on the road early Wednesday morning.

She also spotted these two young Grouse hiding in the grass as the adult
tried to lure us away.


A small flock of Young Trumpeter Swans with digital effects applied.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts