If a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, how much are three worth? That's what Paul Nelson had to say about today's first photo. Then he added that these three Redpolls feeding right out of his hand are just a few of approximately 150 Redpolls that have been at his feeders lately. If you're wondering how he managed to capture this shot, Paul gives us the scoop on that, too. He said that he pre-focused the camera (on a tripod and aimed where he expected his hand to be), then he used a wireless remote that he held in his other hand in the pocket of his coat to trip the shutter when the birds were there doing something he wanted a picture of. Pretty neat!

As for the series of Snowy Owl shots, Paul explains that he took these photos in the Rudyard area on the east end of the U.P. He was able to find a couple Snowy Owls there, but this female was the only one that was close enough to the road to get good photographs of. It was early evening and she flew up to that fence post for a little while. He said she was quite animated while she was there and once she took off in flight, she went to the top of a utility pole for the evening then. Those are some pretty amazing shots of her, especially the one showing the wingspan she has. I'm just guessing, but I'd say that's a good 4.5 to 5 foot span with her wings stretched out in flight.

Paul has many other bird photos, along with a variety of other subjects on his Facebook photography page. You can check it out on the following link and be sure while there, that you click the "LIKE" button! The Creator's Hand.

Utterly amazing photos. That must have been really hard to do.

Great photos of my two favourite birds of the north!

Breathtaking~!!

Nice pictures and very clever!

What a treat...thanks, Paul!

The photos today are all magnificent!I enjoyed each
one!

Thank you all for the kind comments! I have spent much of
the Winter getting the birds around my house accustomed to
me. There was another time that I had a Red-breasted
Nuthatch and a Chickadee in my hand at the same time. This
requires a lot of patience and the ability to stand very still. I
was fortunate to find the Snowy Owl where I could sit in my
vehicle and photograph it from there.

Beautiful birds.

What terrific photos. You captured them
beautifully. I love birds...any kind of birds.
Started my morning off in a good place. Thanks,
Paul!!

Just love these photos, especially the squawking
Owl, that's a hoot!

I figured it couldn't have easy, Paul Good for you.

Speaking of owls, every once in a while I have to re-post this, it's such a stunning video. This certainly is (was) an appropriate day. Too bad I missed this on the 13th. (Income Tax time! <wink!>):

From Cam Notes - 2015: September: Sep 08-15:
Check out this high speed super-slow motion video (recorded at 1000 fps with a Photron Full HD High Speed Camera SA2) of an … (click →) Eagle Owl (a.k.a. Horned owl) swooping in for a kill.

Be sure to click on the little gear wheel in the lower right corner of the screen and set Quality to 1080P HD for the best view!

If the prey saw the unblinking, unwavering stare of that face zooming in (in absolute silence) it might have a heart attack before the eagle got it!

As one commenter said (and as a pilot myself):

---

Quote:

Watching the transition-to-approach and slow-flight dynamics in this video is just amazing. As a Pilot myself (though inactive for over 20 years), it's interesting to watch the owl leave cruise flight, go through flaps extension and gear extension (though performed somewhat out of order compared to how a flier with metal wings would do it), and finally at the end be operating at very high angle of attack, low airspeed, and close to the stall.

---