Taken at Porcupine Mountain State Park, in Upper Michigan.

One of my favorite things about northern Wisconsin (where I just returned from camping) are the common loons that spend the summers there.

They’re beautiful and kind of elusive. They don’t like to get close to humans at all. But I was armed with a new telephoto lens I bought several months ago, and was determined to get some decent shots.

The haunting call the loon makes at night is probably the biggest reason I like them so much. There is nothing quite like laying in your sleeping bag and hearing the loons wail as you’re drifting off to sleep.

I mentioned the loons being a bit elusive. Even with my telephoto zoom all the way out to 300mm, I did crop all the photos here (except one). This next picture…

was cropped from the one below, which is about the closest I was able to get to the loons I saw last week.

Occasionally, if you’re patient and watch them long enough, you may be able to see the loons come out of the water a bit to stretch their wings.

This turtle was posed in that position for at least ten minutes. I guess sometimes you just need to stop and stretch your legs for a while.

Taken at Olbrich Gardens.

Hiking around Olbrich Gardens the other day I came across this beetle, smack in the middle of the sweetest part of a flower.

I surprised this mallard when I came through some brush. He looked me over for a while, decided I wasn’t a threat, and just stood there until I walked away.

I think the common mergansers (below) were my favorites. The black and white males are striking, and the brown females have a cool crest on their heads. The duck taking flight is also a common merganser.

You’ll also find blue-winged teals along the peninsula.

While walking the neighborhood the other day, I came across this robin, perched regally on the top of the railroad crossing sign.

The robin was very tame, and let me get within 3-4 feet to take her portrait.

Taken with my macro lens. The spider was about a half-inch wide.

The picture below (using a flash) shows a little more of the hairy details.

Red-winged blackbirds have returned to the marshy shore along Lake Wingra.

To attract females and claim their territory, the males spread their wings, and puff themselves out when they call.

While the males compete, the females just hang around and watch.

Here’s what their call sounds like (from Wikimedia Commons).

Store it up girls. Winter is on the way…

My favorite happened late one afternoon while I was reading in a lounge chair at my campsite. Dark movement in the sky hit my peripheral vision. I looked up, and there was this eagle, soaring on the wind, scanning the shallows of the lake for fish.

I grabbed my camera and got close to the shore. I did try to stay under a tree so I wouldn’t spook it away. As I scanned the sky I realized there were TWO eagles looking for dinner in the lake.

For the next twenty minutes, the two raptors circled around my end of the lake, putting on an great show (and gave me a chance to shoot some pics).

Unfortunately, even with my 200mm telephoto lens, the eagles were still a bit too far away (these photos are all cropped, and are about 1/3 to 3/4 the size of the originals). This makes me want to buy a longer lens.

The other notable eagle sighting I had took place while I was hiking around Lake of the Falls. Where an eagle attempted to swoop down and grab a fish. After he missed, he scooted away as fast as he could (probably left out of embarrassment). Unfortunately the best camera shot I got was of his quick exit.