April 2026
Storms, pelicans, bears, owls, warblers, sunset, swans, a mixed bag
A trumpeter swan. I think the swan had been trying to clean itself. After repeatedly and forcefully dunking its head, it flapped its wings a few times to, I assume, dry off. I was lucky to be close to the swan. I don’t think it ever knew I was around. It was not paying attention. I think its mate was supposed to be the lookout.
These two are not the greatest photos. I took them to document my two rare sightings. There were two cubs accompanying the mother bear. The mother bear was standing and looking at me. When I shot the snowy owl, I thought I was shooting a northern harrier. The two have similar hunting styles and are hard to tell apart from far away. It was only when I got home and looked at the photo on my computer monitor that I realized that the bird was a snowy owl.
Magrating american white pelicans at Crex Meadows State Wildlife Area in Wisconsin and the Whitewater Wildlife Management Area in Minnesota.
Yellow-rumped warblers
This is a blandings turtle, an endangered species. This is only the second one I’ve spotted in a dozen years.
The stream is the Whitewater River. The other shots are all from the Crex Meadows State Wildlife Area.
“ . . . greatness is doable. Greatness is many, many individual feats, and each of them is doable. . . . consistency of effort over the long run is everything.”
— Angela Duckworth, “Grit: the Power of Passion and Perseverance.”
