View the November 2023 Nature Friend Magazine “What are you looking at, Father?” Joanna asked. She had just returned from the sink where she had swallowed a dose of cough syrup. Staying home from...
Sparrows
My Walk
View the July 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Spruce Grouse. Photo © Jessica Tschetter. It’s early May. Summer is now installed, and so is the itch to find and photograph summer wildlife—in me anyway....
This Morning was the “Tomorrow”
View the February 2023 Nature Friend Study Guide MacGillivray's Warbler. Photo © Kevin Shank. You may remember “The Photo Focus” in January ended with the sentence, “Plus, there is tomorrow.” Well,...
Favorite Focus, December 2022
View the December Nature Friend Study Guide
Building a Weight-triggered Perch
View the December Nature Friend Study Guide Chipping Sparrow. Photo © Austin Vinar. When trying to photograph skittish birds at my feeder, I’ve often thought, Wouldn’t it be nice to have a trail...
Sparrow Scramble
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine
Big Day Birding
Canada Warbler. Photo © Dogwood Ridge. On May 13, 2022, my brother and I, along with five others, joined my grandfather on a big day birding trip. My grandfather, Andrew Troyer, keeps an annual big...
A Week by the Creek
Stream and wild lupines. Photo © Dreamstime.com. With a last cautious effort, the sun finally peeked over the eastern horizon. Gaining confidence, it rose fully, flooding the earth with its warmth...
Acquiring Photographic Inspiration: Focus Illustrated and Favorite Focus, September 2022
The Day and the Crown
Spring Migration Bird Contest 1st Place
My Half-hour Hike…
Henslow's Sparrow. Photo © Dreamstime.com. I was in a hurry because I wanted to go on a hike before dinner, and I had only half an hour of free time. I could not expect to see much of anything in...
Favorite Focus, May 2022
Focus Illustrated and Favorite Focus, April 2022
Focus Illustrated, March 2022
Our Birding Day
Sunday dawned a beautiful morning. The first birds I saw were cardinals—male and female. There were Chipping, English, and House Sparrows at the feeder. Out the kitchen window I saw a Junco and a...
