Finding Paradise: A Photographer discovers Burnsville is the place to BE

I have long believed wonder is an inside job. Of course, nothing inspires a strong sense of wonder like Mother Nature. If you ask me, she works overtime in Burnsville, surrounding us with eye-popping gloriousness daily. Here, there’s no such thing as an ordinary walk. Whether fog, flowers, wildlife, etc., there’s always something special to feed the spirit. 

Recently, I was heading home from my early morning walk on the Cane River when I noticed a parked car ahead. From a distance it looked like something was protruding from the window. As I got closer, I realized it was a camera lens. On the opposite end, sitting in the passenger seat, was Roger Rogers. Next to him was his wife and photography chauffeur Julie. I had a sneaking suspicion they were there to photograph the eagles I spotted the day before. I had only moved into the neighborhood a few weeks prior and was still learning about my new surroundings.  

Sure enough, that, and the resident great blue heron, are some of Roger’s early morning and sometimes late afternoon muses. 

In his corporate days, Roger never had the time to stop and notice. In his retirement, he’s got nothing but time, enthusiasm, curiosity, and an impressive amount of patience. He’s endlessly grateful, too, for community members who support him in his photographic meandering. 

“Capturing the eagles on camera is one thing, but seeing their interactions, like how they reinsulate their nests by swooping down and grabbing grass in their talons, is something so much more,” Roger says. On occasion, he’s noticed how they incorporate small tree limbs into the nest. While the male may place a limb into the nest, the female, according to Roger, literally rules the roost and has the final say as to where it may or may not be placed. 

Time loses all relevance when Roger and Julie watch the eagles feed their eaglets, help them fledge, keep predators at bay. “If you watch an eagle catch a fish, you’ll learn it eats everything, bones and all,” he says. “There is no waste. You also realize you’ve captured and been part of a scene so few ever see.”  

His eagle eye has helped him spot local river otters as well. “I’ve watched an eagle, while hunting for food, follow an otter, knowing that otter is looking for fish. The eagle may not steal the fish, but he knows, thanks to the otter, the fish are there.” 

Understanding what he’s seeing is part of the fun. Between seeing with his own eyes and being devoted to online research, Roger now knows, for example, that eagles will mate between the end of December and the end of January. Once they’ve mated, eggs will be laid between eight and ten days later. “Once there are eggs, there will always be an eagle in the nest laying on them,” he says. An eaglet will be born 30 days later. “While I can’t see the fledgling for the first two to three weeks, I know the egg has hatched because I can see the parents feeding them.” 

Roger’s story of the fox kit that was trying to feed itself isn’t just humorously heartwarming; it’s a lesson for all of us.  

“I had just come home after being at the eagle’s nest when something shiny caught my eye. I ran to get my camera.” He assumed a groundhog had gotten its head caught inside a chip bag. Setting his camera down, he walked over, snatched the bag, and discovered a stunned fox kit. 

“When I pulled the bag off, it looked up and froze.” He tried to get his camera as the kit began tipping back and forth from lack of oxygen. “It was the funniest, strangest moment. He probably would have suffocated soon if I hadn’t been there.”  

According to Roger, it’s not uncommon for wild animals to get caught like the fox kit. “When you live near wild animals, it’s helpful to cut the sides of chip bags before disposing of them.” 

When I asked Roger where he might send visiting wildlife-inspired photographers, he answered Burnsville’s rivers and streams, teeming as they are with an assortment of wildlife. Julie adds, “No matter where you decide to photograph, the starting point is being present.”  

To learn more about Burnsville’s vast natural riches, stop at the Visitor Center at 106 W. Main Street, ask about area trails, and pick up a new Explore Burnsville brochure, which offers a helpful pullout map.