Spring Bird Photos by Kayak, Floating Blind Hide Minnesota Lake Osakis Felton Prairie Thief Lake WMA

[@normanfranke4041]

I still cannot fathom why Sparky Stensaas doesn't have 50K+ subscribers. Magical experiences, genuine personable commentary, perfect production values -- a channel with a soul. I guess it's a "boutique channel"!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you so much, Norman! That is so nice of you to say.

[@vandamner]

I totally agree he is a hidden gem as they say. Glad I was able to find this channel.

[@johnwelchphotography]

Totally agreed!

[@kentwilken7144]

I agree. The photography, the editing, the narration, and adventure are all amazing!

[@johnlai4129]

Oh my gosh that Great Grey Owl was beautiful!

[@SparkyStensaas]

They are stunning birds!

[@ryanmarshik8971]

Superstar photo for me was that mallard shot. Gorgeous. Lots of lovely tern footage - another great episode👍

[@SparkyStensaas]

I thought you might like that mallard shot. As usual, image I thought would be my favorite was not. This one kind of came to life on the computer screen, not super sharp, but I guess it doesn’t have to be in this situation.

[@scarface1961]

Sparky, I really enjoy your videos. Mix your passion about nature with your impressive knowledge of of wildlife and add exceptional photography skills and you have very enjoyable videos. Great job. A big fan, Bob.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you so much, Bob! I really appreciate that. Fun bringing everybody along on these solo field trips!

[@4star62]

Thanks for your "mucky" lake travel, so we don't have to! Beautiful images, thank you!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Mucky is right! Thanks for joining me virtually!

[@brighteyedbirding]

The sun sparkle shot was fantastic Sparky! Thanks for the awesome video!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you!!

[@Pedro-nf2rr]

Interesante video.Saludos.😊

[@shreecreativearts5132]

Wonderful

[@TracyBirds]

Beautiful pix and video, Sparky!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks so much, Tracy!

[@almeadows8277]

There’s nothing like a trip to the prairies in spring. Great photos, Sparky; well done. And congratulations on not dropping your glasses overboard this time! 😊

[@SparkyStensaas]

Ha!! You remembered! Though I didn’t have a glasses strap, I had spare contact lenses in the car.

[@almeadows8277]

@@SparkyStensaas Belt and suspenders!

[@RoseGrace100]

All the photos are beautiful, especially love the Prairie Chickens. They are so pretty up close.

[@SparkyStensaas]

I also love Prairie chickens. This is the first time I’ve been able to get video of them dancing without being in a blind (no not very good video).

[@randywendel4671]

I'm jealous...there sat a Great Gray just waiting for you. Love those Gray's! Great Forster Tern shots too, Sparky!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks Randy! I’m joking when I say that I can’t get away from great grays… Because every encounter is special. How are you doing? What are you shooting lately?

[@randywendel4671]

@@SparkyStensaas I was up at the bog late May, spent 2 hrs alone with a gray, then Mr. Hoeg appeared and we enjoyed it for another half-hour before briefly finding another one a bit further down the road. Made my day (and nice to beat the skeeter infestation which likely followed the moist weather while I was there. I'm doing well otherwise...busy work, etc. Hope you're well also. Summer is here so enjoy the season. Hope to run into you sometime soon. I'll wait until the mosquitos disappear before another visit up that way. Ha

[@SparkyStensaas]

That’s a nice long encounter! ….the best kind

[@BirdBrainBrian64]

Great video as usual. I especially liked the grouse.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you, BirdBrainBrian. PS love your username!

[@BirdBrainBrian64]

@SparkyStensaas Thanks Sparky. Birding is serious business but we can't take it too seriously ha ha.

[@NathanWebb-c5h]

Those were wonderful photos of the birds you took. I have seen 212 birds on my life list.

[@SparkyStensaas]

That’s a great start! Keep it up!

[@jonathansteinbach580]

What an amazing video! Your footage was phenomenal. What's crazy is that I live within 1-2 hours of most of these places and have never visited them. Maybe someday.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks Jonathan! I hope you do get to visit these awesome locations. They are best in mid May to mid June.

[@Hulbatross]

Great vid Sparky

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you so much, Hulbatross!

[@servanfotografie15]

Love the episode very much again Sparky many beautiful moments but the Prairy chickens hit for me stunning birds and sounds..Pitty the grass was so high.think it’s very difficult to find a prairy chicken leckplace where you can photograph them without high undergrowth?

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you Servan! There is a fantastic place in Northwest Minnesota that has the blind and the grass is very low. I made a video about it. I’ll put the link here. Greater Prairie Chicken Lek Minnesota Tympanuchus WMA April 2019 kzbin.info/www/bejne/opO8int8e7GUo6M

[@servanfotografie15]

@@SparkyStensaas thanks very much Sparky! truly beautiful video and experience! and Tip for visiting Usa I stored it in my favorites:)

[@keithdraycott]

Amazing. How do you keep the camera so still in a Kayak? The Shoveller and Mallard photos look like paintings. 👍👍👍

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks for the specific feedback, Keith! I also like those photos since they’re a little more “artsy.” To be honest, shooting out of a kayak is a royal pain. Thank goodness the canon R5 has such amazing image stabilization so it makes it possible. But I usually also have to stabilize the footage in Final Cut when I’m creating the KZbin video. Of course you’re not seeing the Bulk of clips that aren’t even usable even with that technology :-)

[@SawyerM420]

Do you ever sell prints of your photos? Your photos are all stunning and look great.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Very kind Sawyer! All photos at www.sparkyphotos.com are for sale via the website. Thanks for asking!