Whenever Bruce Flaig heads outdoors, he brings along a trusted friend: one of his many cameras.

Most of the time, the pictures he captures nowadays are from his own backyard — a sprawling 100-plus property in Mentor, Minnesota. Here, he finds all kinds of birds and other wildlife perfect for his hobby.

As someone who’s traveled the world, photographing in many places — including many parts of Minnesota — he says Minnesotans don’t have to go far to capture bird and wildlife images. There’s plenty to see in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, including in northwestern Minnesota.

One is the Rydell National Wildlife Refuge, located in Polk County, a place he says is great for exploring, looking for birds.

“It’s got a nice mixture of open fields, trees and water,” he said. “At the right time of year – like right now – is when warblers are coming through. If there’s shrubs, trees and some water around they tend to cluster around there.”

Lots of birds

Flaig was the guest presenter at a photography lecture in March at Rydell, where he shared wildlife photography techniques and presented photos from his collection.

It was a good turnout, according to Gregg Knutsen, refuge manager with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Besides learning about wildlife photography, the event helped showcase the refuge and some of its offerings. As the weather heats up, it becomes even busier.

“It certainly is a very popular time at both Rydell and Glacial refuges,” Knutsen said.

Many people come to view birds, but Knutsen said it also is a good place to explore the area with its 6 miles of paved hiking trails, which, he noted, is also open to bicyclists. He said he can always tell who the birders are, because “they always have big cameras and other stuff with them.”

A couple of highly visible waterfowl species that seem to always get people’s attention is the trumpeter swan and sandhill crane, both of which breed in the refuges.

“We have a wide variety of waterfowl moving through the area as part of the spring migration and stop here to breed, everything from mallards to blue and teal ring-neck ducks,” Knutsen said. “Those are just some of the more common ones.”

Visitors also have reported seeing bears, beavers and otters.

“People get excited when they see one of those, especially the otter,” he said. “Those are some of the unique sightings people have when they’re out and about on the trail.”

Although Glacial Ridge NWR, also in Polk County, doesn’t have a paved trail, visitors may still self-guide at the site, which also has a variety of opportunities for bird and wildlife viewing.

“We manage about 15 miles to the west and people can come and go as they please at Glacial,” he said. “I have a feeling a lot of birders, prairie enthusiasts and the like are coming and going, and we’re not even aware of it. But when people show up at Rydell to walk our trails, they generally stop in the visitor center, maybe to report a bird they’ve seen, and so we have a little better sense of who’s coming and going there.”

“We have a wide variety of waterfowl moving through the area as part of the spring migration and stop here to breed, everything from mallards to blue and teal ring-neck ducks,” Knutsen said. “Those are just some of the more common ones.”

Visitors also have reported seeing bears, beavers and otters.

“People get excited when they see one of those, especially the otter,” he said. “Those are some of the unique sightings people have when they’re out and about on the trail.”

Although Glacial Ridge NWR, also in Polk County, doesn’t have a paved trail, visitors may still self-guide at the site, which also has a variety of opportunities for bird and wildlife viewing.

“We manage about 15 miles to the west and people can come and go as they please at Glacial,” he said. “I have a feeling a lot of birders, prairie enthusiasts and the like are coming and going, and we’re not even aware of it. But when people show up at Rydell to walk our trails, they generally stop in the visitor center, maybe to report a bird they’ve seen, and so we have a little better sense of who’s coming and going there.”

“These natural areas are becoming more and more rare every year, unfortunately,” he said. “When you have areas that are managed and they have some interpretive capacity to them, some signage — whether it’s an indirect thing where they read a sign that helps guide visitors to what they want to see or whether there’s people on site to answer questions — it helps with the experience. We have a lot of interpretive signage along the Rydell trail.”

Unique setting

Another place to see wildlife over the weekend of May 16-17 — and again later this summer — is to take what’s called the wildlife drive at Roseau River Wildlife Management Area. The 27-mile dike roadway will open to the public, weather permitting, for two days in May and for a longer stretch in July.

The May weekend will offer unique wildlife viewing and photography opportunities during the spring bird migration and additional fishing access to the WMA pools, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The Roseau River WMA is the second largest wildlife management area in the state, according to Wildlife Manager Tom Enright, and includes a series of wetlands that were built within it by the creation of the dike system in the 1950s.

Another place to see wildlife over the weekend of May 16-17 — and again later this summer — is to take what’s called the wildlife drive at Roseau River Wildlife Management Area. The 27-mile dike roadway will open to the public, weather permitting, for two days in May and for a longer stretch in July.

The May weekend will offer unique wildlife viewing and photography opportunities during the spring bird migration and additional fishing access to the WMA pools, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The Roseau River WMA is the second largest wildlife management area in the state, according to Wildlife Manager Tom Enright, and includes a series of wetlands that were built within it by the creation of the dike system in the 1950s.

There are also “hunter walking trails” on the WMA, Enright said, “which provide a great opportunity to hunt, forage or wildlife watch if people want to get out on foot.” Maps are available at dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/hwt/index.html. “Finally, people should look for where we have recently burned to enhance upland habitats.”