WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2025   |   SUBSCRIBE    ARCHIVES   

BACKYARD BIRDING
With so many things happening online these days, why not backyard birding too? Actually, we want to bring an informative online birding course to your attention: “Growing Wild, Gardening for Birds” is a helpful Bird Academy course that provides you with information and inspiration to help you transform your outdoor spaces into attractive places for certain species of birds – birds you would like to attract and benefit in the process in your yard. In this easy to follow course that you can take at your own rate, you will learn what plants and natural features attract a list of birds.
BIRDING NEWS
In addition to getting outdoors for a fresh level of activity and getting a little exercise in the process, engaging with nature and the simple act of birding can be a powerful pathway to improving your personal well-being. Birding offers a chance to clear your mind, walk at your own pace, and reconnect with yourself and the natural world. A search for birds always seems to help redirect your thoughts as you walk among trees or along the edge of a waterway. Spending time in nature, observing the behavior of birds, and simply visiting green spaces can have a profoundly positive impact on our mental health too.
For most of the summer, the Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras is probably the most consistent and one of the most convenient places in the western North Atlantic to find a variety of pelagic seabirds on any given day. Seabirds typically associated with the Gulf Stream offshore from North Carolina are Black-capped Petrels, Audubon’s Shearwaters, Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, White-tailed Tropicbirds, Red-billed Tropicbirds, Masked Boobys, Bridled Terns, and Sooty Terns, but there is always the chance to see rarely sighted seabirds in season.
EDITOR AFIELD
Over the early July vacation period I managed to do some birding in 4 states, driving west to the Badlands in western North Dakota and checking a couple locations across the border in Montana. It’s amazing how different western North Dakota is from my home turf, even though it’s only 250 miles away. Then I crossed the border that divides the Dakotas to do a little birding in the midst of Hecla Marsh. And finally I headed 200 miles northeast to the forest and lakes country of west-central Minnesota for a water-based birding cruise with my friend Andy.

PRODUCTS
We are always looking for a new twist on feeders, so the appearance of the Kettle Moraine Small Wave Finch Feeder definitely caught our eye. Just the right size for a variety of finches, including goldfinches (7x6 inches x 16 inches tall), the Small Wave Feeder is made of solid cedar and constructed with stainless steel screws. This attractive finch feeder will last for years. Aluminum perches at screened feeding ports serve up to 6 finches at a time, and the stainless steel mesh sides provide additional feeding areas that add up to 4-sided finch feeding opportunities.
Hot off the presses last week, Birds of the Tropical Andes is a beautiful, large-format book that evokes a one of a kind photographic celebration of the diversity of South American birds, represented in images of more than 200 different bird species in this impressive volume. Following 7 years of immersive fieldwork in the heart of the Andes Mountains in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, the book also presents insights into the latest research and conservation work in the field with valuable first-person perspectives.
RARE BIRDS
The first rare bird finds of the summer provide an especially impressive list of birds, including a First State Record Mississippi Kite in North Dakota, and much farther north 2 First Territorial Record birds were documented in Northwest Territories – a Burrowing Owl and a Red-necked Stint. There was also a Brown Booby in Colorado and a Crested Caracara in Indiana that established Second State Records, while birders reported 5 Fifth Record birds, including another Yellow Grosbeak in Colorado, Orchard Orioles in Alberta, a Curve-billed Thrasher in Wyoming, and a Plumbeous Vireo in Saskatchewan, and there’s many more rare birds to report.
 

For birding observations at the highest level, Leica Sport Optics presents 2 new lines of spotting scopes that provide you with unprecedented top performance. To compliment the new Leica Televid Spotting Scopes, a complete range of accessories caters to demanding applications including advanced digiscoping photography. The new top-class model Leica APO Televid offers the highest image quality and maximum image sharpness with a minimum of color fringing, while the exceptional new Leica Televid HD delivers the world’s best level of brightness in its class.

Each of the new spotting scope lines includes 2 models with 65mm and 82mm objective lenses and an angled view. The new High Lux Pro (HLP™) system ensures the best performance for birders in low light conditions, along with unsurpassed color neutrality and brilliance. All of the spotting scopes feature the unique dual-focus system developed by Leica, a rugged yet lightweight magnesium housing, and timeless ergonomic design.

Two high-performance eyepieces make the new Leica Spotting Scopes even more versatile. You can choose the proven and sophisticated Leica Vario eyepiece, a versatile 25x-to-50x zoom eyepiece, or the new Vario 20x-to-60x zoom eyepiece that provides an even wider range of magnification. A new premium tripod rounds out the new Leica Spotting Scope system.

Optimum Image Quality & Maximum Brightness

The new Leica Spotting scope lines provide optimum image quality and maximum brightness! The Leica APO Televid models emphasize a minimum of color fringing with the highest level of detail, while the Leica Televid HD models achieve maximum brightness and outstanding image quality. The new spotting scope observation system is comprised of 4 spotting scopes: 2 compact models with a 65mm objective lens and 2 models with an 82mm objective lens.

The top model Leica APO Televid offers the very lowest level of color fringing. This is appreciated by birders who want to precisely identify birds when there is the need to ascertain the small details, color variations, and nuances of plumage and body structure. Apochromatic correction ensures maximum color-fringing suppression and thus even better sharpness and greater detail.

The Leica Televid HD Spotting Scope offers the world’s highest image brightness and very high color fidelity. This makes it ideal for birding under low-light conditions due to clouds, shade, and even in twilight’s waning light. Both spotting scope lines feature the new High Lux Pro (HLP™) lens system for unparalleled color neutrality, high image brightness, and maximum contrast sharpness. They also share the dual-focus system developed by Leica, which allows you to adjust the focus by gently turning the broad focusing wheels. Thanks to the close focus of 9½ feet on the 65mm Televid Spotting Scopes, even the smallest hummingbirds can be observed.

The name Leica is a byword for perfect photography and outstanding product quality. Leica’s new spotting scope system accessories provide easy and successful access to the world of digiscoping. By using the Leica Q adapter, the Leica Q digital camera (with a full-frame sensor and special program) can be easily attached to the eyepiece of the spotting scope. Owners of Leica SL and M cameras can also photograph directly through the eyepiece by using the optimized Leica 35mm digiscoping lens. The T2 adapter makes the Leica 35mm digiscoping lens suitable for you to use all cameras with interchangeable lenses.

Photographing your observations with a smartphone is also quick and easy when using the sophisticated adapter system with Ollin magnetic mounts. It permits you to simply attach nearly any smartphone securely to a Leica Televid Spotting Scope; plus the digiscoping photographs can be edited directly on the smartphone by using the Leica Fotos app.

The Complete System with Practical Accessories

The new Leica Spotting Scope system includes the top-class Leica Vario 25x-to-50x Eyepiece with the largest field of view and unsurpassed edge-to-edge sharpness, as well as the new Leica Vario 20x-60x Eyepiece for more distant birds, smaller birds, and for checking thedetails of identifying markings or colors. The Leica 1.8x Extender fits all 4 spotting scopes and almost doubles the eyepiece’s magnification.

A perfectly coordinated Tripod from Leofoto is a brand new addition to the number of Leica accessories. This very light carbon tripod model features a fluid video head that helps to make observations more comfortable, and Televid Spotting Scopes can be inserted directly into the Arca-Swiss rail.

The Cordura Ever-ready Case with magnetic protective elements is precisely tailored to the spotting scope and protects it securely while traveling, in storage, and when birding in the toughest environments.

Each new spotting scope system from Leica Sport Optics will give birders the superlative imaging to have greater confidence when identifying and observing birds anywhere The new APO Televid and HD Televid models will truly create and enhance special moments of observation. Just released last week, the new Leica Spotting Scopes and corresponding accessories are now available worldwide at Leica Stores, from authorized Leica dealers, and at the Leica Online Store at Leica Camera Inc (leicacamerausa.com)

Just when you think you understand a bird, a group of birds, or a species, a new wrinkle adds another element of interest to your line of thinking. And that’s exactly what happened at the Pelican Lakes this year. Just when we thought we had a pretty good grasp on the nesting chronology of the loons that nest and raise their hatchlings on these closely associated lakes, we were surprised beyond our collective imagination.

The mid-afternoon sunlight provided perfect highlights in the plumage of this adult and hatchling. The photographs illustrating this feature show the dramatic difference in age between this 2-week-old downy Common Loon and the 5-week-old feathered loons photographed in adjoining lakes (600mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/1250 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

During the previous 3 years, my friend Andy and I observed and photographed Common Loons on Little Pelican Lake, where Andy resides. I kept track of the apparent hatch dates each year and it was quite clear that young loons on Little Pelican Lake hatched during the last week of June each year. And although we boated along the connecting river to the much larger Pelican Lake other years, we never encountered a family group of Common Loons in the eastern third of that lake – we saw adults, single and in pairs, but never young loons.

Always keeping the welfare of the birds first, we try not to disturb the birds during the photographic process, especially when photographing from a boat. So it’s always good to see the birds continue with their on-going activities, including preening, feeding, or in this case, napping (550mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/800 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

However, this year during an earlier than usual first visit to see Andy on June 5th, we couldn’t resist checking for territorial loons on Litte Pelican Lake. After circling Little Pelican and photographing a lone Common Loon, which we imagined had a mate incubating eggs on a nest nearby, we progressed along the small connecting river to Pelican Lake. There, near the eastern shoreline we were astonished to find a pair of loons with 2 newly hatched downy young – on June 5th!

The morning was overcast and although we managed some nice photographs of the loon family featuring the newly hatched twins, I set my sights on returning the following week when we would have the benefit of ample sunlight to photograph and try to learn more about the early nesting loons at Pelican Lake. Was this a freak early-nesting effort by this loon pair? At the time, it seemed that was the case considering past experiences on Little Pelican Lake.

The young hatchling floated stoically in the midst of the dramatically colored water that was accented by the rippling effect of the light wind. From behind, we could see that the small loon spread its body wide to keep as stable as possible (600mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/640 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Returning 6 days later, on June 11th, my friend Andy and I were especially surprised to find 2 more pairs of loons with newly hatched downy twins – but all on Pelican Lake. On Little Pelican we observed a pair of Common Loons actively diving and covering a wide swath of the northwest side of the lake – hmm.

On Pelican Lake, the loons nested 3 weeks earlier than the hatchling illustrated above on Little Pelican Lake. The resulting photos show how quickly the young loons develop during the period between 2 weeks and 5 weeks after hatching (400mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/800 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Fast forward to last Wednesday’s loon cruise (July 9th): We immediately saw a pair of loons with a downy hatchling about 2 weeks after hatching from Andy’s dock on Little Pelican Lake, and moments later we enjoyed an afternoon photo session with them. So laid back was this loon family that as the male preened, the female and hatchling dozed in the afternoon sun. The timing of this young loon’s hatching was exactly when we expected Common Loons to hatch on Little Pelican. But now the question was: Why were pairs of Common Loons laying eggs 3 weeks earlier on neighboring Pelican Lake?

While that will be a tough new question to answer, we left the loon family and headed toward the much bigger Pelican Lake, and even before we made the first turn out of the river channel into the east side of the big lake, I spied a pair of loons with 2 large hatchlings. Judging by the positioning of these loons, it seemed that this might be the first family group we encountered on June 5th.

The 5-week-old loons had well-developed plumage, with only small tracts of down remaining on areas of their head, neck, and rump (600mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/1000 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

The big surprise was how well-developed the 5-week-old hatchlings were. They already replaced their brown-colored down with most of their first-year plumage, but they still had vestiges of down on their neck and head in places, soon to be molted too. These feathered hatchlings were about 2/3rds the size of the adults, and it was amazing to see the difference in size and plumage development between the 2 loon families in the 2 adjoining lakes. But why was there such a considerable difference in nesting and hatching dates at 2 lakes that are only a few hundred yards apart?

In this case, it was bird photography that made me initiate planning for this photo cruise, but it turned out that our observations helped to answer an interesting birding question that came up before: “Why did loons nest 3 weeks earlier this year?” We learned that Common Loons didn’t nest earlier on Little Pelican Lake where all our previous loon families have nested. But this loon cruise added a new question to press forward with: “Why did the loons on adjoining lakes nest 3 weeks apart this year?” That question will be harder to answer, with the search for an answer probably stretching into future years of study and photography at the Pelican Lakes, which is an especially good thing.

Whenever photographing more than one loon, an f-11 aperture was used to increase the area in focus and thereby ensure all loons were sharp in the resulting photographs (400mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/800 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Another question that arises is: Why haven’t we seen evidence of Common Loons nesting in the eastern third of Pelican Lake before? We have done expansive searches, but never observed hatchlings there until this year when we found 3 pairs with downy twins. We’ll keep those queries in mind, but in the meantime it is especially enjoyable to be in the company of loons, to watch their activities, interactions, and growth, and to take photographs of these special birds throughout the Minnesota loon season.

This particular Bird Photography feature is a bit less about the photo techniques than it is about the kinds of things that may be revealed when you make repeated photo trips to a given location. It also shows how birding can open a new way of appreciating the behavior of birds on a larger scale – even on a scale that spans years of observations and photo encounters. Enjoy any water or shore time you can muster this summer with birding a part of the activity mix, and consider searching out a Common Loon sighting of your own, especially if you live near a lake within the range of loons.

Article and Photographs by Paul Konrad

Share your bird photos and birding experiences at editorstbw2@gmail.com

 
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