Some BIF shots on the way home from work.

[finnbay]

Stopped at a beaver slough for a half hour and got a few:

Sorry, not a BIF

Okay, back to a BIF

Canon 40D 100-400 mm ISO 400, f/6.3 and shutter at 1/2000

[jonny_redhorse]

Nice Ken!.....That belted kingfisher sure is nice!....I"almost" got a capture of one this past week sitting on a perch at Carey lake...kingfisher outsmarted me though

[buzzsaw]

That second Goldeneye image is great, Ken!

[JayinMN]

nice, I like the king fishing coming of its perch best.

[dukhnt]

Gotta say I like the 2nd goldeneye best. Nice shots.

[Dbl]

I'm with the rest that second goldeneye is a beauty.

[mmeyer]

Those are all great Ken but like the rest #2 is really nice.

[Royce Aardahl]

yepper! that's a dandy!

[Steve Foss]

Nice stuff, Ken. Hmmm, I reckon I know EXACTLY which slough those were from.

[finnbay]

You got it, Steve! Good to see you back - and with a fresh(?) avatar, too?

[Steve Foss]

Yeah, well, since I don't have the Finnish flag to salute I gotta change them out from time to time.

[finnbay]

Quote:

since I don't have the Finnish flag to salute

Say, I've been seeing so many birds I've never seen before this year, can't believe how many there are. I swear there was a Cape May warbler on the deck last night. The yellow collar was incredible and the cheeks were orange. Three of us saw it and unfortunately it left as I was getting the camera but it was the only bird in Sibley's that was even close to it.

And, I shot 18 holes of a golf tournament today. On the 17th hole there was a [me] willow with several warblers in it, including yellows and yellow rumped which I got some pix of, but not good ones, and this fella which I can't find in the book. Any help?

[Steve Foss]

Ken, the Cape May is no surprise. The Minnesota Arrowhead boasts a ton of migratory and nesting warbler species.

This one is a first-year female northern parula warbler. Check it in Sibley.

[finnbay]

Aha! Thanks, Steve! Like I said, it's like my eyes are being opened for the first time. Unbelievable, the variety!

[Steve Foss]

Ken, if I remember correctly, the Arrowhead boasts the largest number of nesting wood warbler species in the world.

With the scrubby regeneration after the blowdown, the chestnut-sided warblers are particularly abundant. Check the Secret-Blackstone trail and other places with new growth after the devastation. The chestnut-sided is a beautiful bird.