Jade Romaine Nature Photography

08/21/2023

| Nashville Warbler on Cupplant |

This morning I was treated to several Nashville and Tennessee Warblers feeding on the cupplant in my small native prairie planting. If not for the gray head and white eye ring one could presume this bird was a cupplant flower itself!

02/21/2022

"Sometimes I wish I could photosynthesize so that just by being, just shimmering at the meadow's edge or floating lazily on a pond, I could be doing the work of the world while standing silent in the sun."
Braiding Sweetgrass | Robin Wall Kimmerer

02/05/2022

Smoke phase Wild Turkey | St. Louis County, MN

This was my first encounter with a smoke phase Wild Turkey and it happened at none other than Mary Lou's feeders. If you've been to Sax Zim Bog you likley know of a woman by the name of Mary Lou. She's a friendly face in the local bird watching community who welcomes bird watchers to her private property to enjoy her array of feeders and the birds they attract. This year she's managed to attract the attention of not one, but three smoke phase wild turkeys.

An article from the National Audubon Society states, "Smoke is the most common Wild Turkey morph: Biologists estimate 1 in every 100 wild turkeys has this muted coloration." Furthermore, of those smoke phase survivors that make it into adulthood, most or all seem to be female. There are other color morphs, too, all of which result from genetic mutations that can become more abundant in certain regions.

03/04/2021

In honor of today being the start of , here is a snippet from one of my favorite essays entitled The Sand Counties. The photos are of pasque flowers taken back in 2014 in south-central Wisconsin.

"Perhaps the farmers who did not want to move out of the Sand Counties had some deep reason, rooted far back in history, for preferring to stay. I am reminded of this every April when the pasque flowers bloom on every gravelly ridge. Pasques do not say much, but I infer that their preference harks back to the glacier that put the gravel there. Only gravel ridges are poor enough to offer pasques full elbow room in April sun. They endure snows, sleets, and bitter winds for the privilege of blooming alone."

10/16/2020

Secured a win with this photo in the NMB annual photo contest!

Fledgling Great Horned Owl and Magnolia bloom.

06/25/2020

Yellow Lady's Slipper Orchid | The Ridges Sanctuary, Inc.

05/22/2020

Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) | Red Banks Alvar State Natural Area

Mayapple - the "umbrella plant." Mayapple can be found in oak savannas like those at Red Banks or in mesic deciduous woodlands. The fruits, when ripe, can be eaten in small quantities; however, the foliage, rhizomes, and seeds are poisonous.

05/22/2020

Great Horned Owl | Green Bay, WI

A good friend called to say he had this fledgling Great Horned Owl in his yard and to come quick and bring the camera.

Wow. Brought me right back to working with Spotted Owls in California. And how about that Magnolia bloom?

05/17/2020

Wood Thrush | Point au Sable Nature Preserve, Cofrin Center for Biodiversity

Anyone who spends time in the outdoors hunting or photographing wildlife knows that you need to use your eyes and ears. That may mean seeing the animal of interest, seeing sign of its presence (s**t, feathers, tracks, rubs, scrapes), hearing it, or knowing what habitat to look for.

In the case of this Wood Thrush, I had heard it before I ever saw it. It was on the ground under thick cover kicking up leaf litter in search of insects to forage on. The sound was unmistakable - I knew to look low and scan the understory. I was birding a floodplain forest with some uplands - the ground was moist and free of dry brush, so my footsteps were muffled, which helped my cause. I was therefore able to walk close enough to this bird and sit with my camera, anticipating it to move into this small opening in the foliage - and it did.

What I captured was a brief glimpse into this bird's day to day existence as a denizen of shady deciduous understory. I wish the bird was a bit more in focus, but that is the challenge of owning a 250mm and shooting through brush - manual focus becomes your friend, but in the brief moments you have it can make or break your photo.

05/16/2020

The challenge of owning a 250mm lens for wildlife photography is that you have to be close, but not too close or your subject will leave.

The beauty of owning a 250mm lens for wildlife photography is that you end up capturing shots like this, shots that really put everything into perspective.

Wood Thrush | Point au Sable Nature Preserve, Cofrin Center for Biodiversity

03/29/2020

Door County Land Trust is posting as series of photo contests. First up, submit a photo of wildlife shot through your window!

Introducing the first Land Trust Wildlife in the Window photography contest!

The rules are simple - photograph something wild through your window!
- No pets / domestic animals, please.
- Only one submission per person.
- Post it in this thread so the submissions are in one place.

The winner will receive a Door County Land Trust sticker, and a new contest will begin next week!

03/29/2020

The National Wildlife Federation 2020 Photo Contest closes today! Get your submissions in!

The National Wildlife Photo Contest celebrates the power of photography to advance conservation and connect both photographers and viewers with wildlife and the outdoors.