Val Cunningham

One common sight in spring is a line of goslings paddling after a parent on a local lake or stream, as in Mary Krueger’s photo. Having seen dozens of these “goose trains,” I’ve still never noticed the scene she captured. “It made me chuckle to see goslings honking for Mama’s attention.”

Eagles can be thieves, sometimes stealing the hard-earned catch of other birds, like osprey, ducks, even other bald eagles. Linda Rappel and her husband like to watch eagles and recently came across an adult defending its catch from a younger bird. Rappel could almost hear the eagle saying, “This is mine, bug off!”

This must be the busiest time of year in the natural world: migration is well under way and winter sleepers have awoken. Most animal species are courting a mate and some are even starting their families.

Anyone who sees a great gray owl will never forget this large, almost ghostly bird that inhabits the boreal forest and far northern bogs.
It doesn’t happen often, but some of these owls visit our region in some winters, and this past winter the owls “irrupted,” allowing many to view their daytime hunts.

Doug Wonders’ trail cam caught an interesting photo some nights ago, indicating that there’s a great deal going on while we sleep.

A red fox runs along a shoreline, apparently not interested in the waterfowl in the open water near Kip Earney, who was intent on photographing the ducks. Oh, to be so lucky (and so prepared) to take a wonderful shot like this one. And so patient! Earney was outdoors for a long spell before the fox appeared.

On a winter day, a short-eared owl drops down into a grassland, talons extended to snag a vole, a dietary staple. A northern harrier – a hawk that often shares the same hunting territories and prey as short-eared owls – was hunting over the same field and decided to check things out.