DULUTH — Photographers Debbie Porter and Steve Haupp traveled from San Diego, California, in search of birds. Specifically, they came looking for owls. They had already found some success with photographing great gray owls.
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On Tuesday morning, Porter and Haupp faced the subzero temperatures by visiting Brighton Beach Park, hoping to find snowy owls and American black ducks. While they couldn't find the birds they sought, they did find something else to photograph: sea smoke on Lake Superior.
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While Haupp continued searching for birds, Porter took the opportunity to photograph the sea smoke rising from the lake and caught a ship surrounded by steam. They eventually found a flock of ducks floating on the lake, but it wasn't the type they were looking for.
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Unable to find the birds they sought, they returned to their car. As they were about to leave, they saw a different bird that stoked their excitement: a pileated woodpecker.
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"We don't have these in San Diego," Porter stated as she began photographing the bird pecking away at a tree across the road from the beach. "This is what we came for."
Porter and Haupp took hundreds of photos. Haupp, at one point, made a bird call in an unsuccessful attempt to have the bird look in his direction. The woodpecker was unbothered as it pecked away at the tree.
It may not have been the specific birds they were looking for that morning, but for them, it was a find worthy of filling up the space on their cameras' memory cards.
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