Are bogs really dark, dank, mosquito-infested swamps? Naturalists know better and through Sparky Stensaas’s video and still images, we’ll explore our northern black spruce and tamarack bogs… without getting our feet wet or frozen! It takes tenacity and adaptation to live in this harsh environment. Meet the bird that grows snowshoes, the devious orchid that outsmarts bumblebees, and the death-defying frog. And of course, the stars of the show will be some cooperative great gray owls and northern hawk owl families caught on high definition video!

Sparky Stensaas is the founder and executive director of Friends of Sax-Zim Bog (www.SaxZim.org), a non-profit which preserves bog lands for future generations of birds and birders. A birder since age 13, Sparky is also a naturalist, publisher, wildlife photographer, and YouTuber. He is the author of 6 books on the natural history of the North Woods. Sparky, his wife, Bridget, and two sons, Birk and Bjorn, make their home under the big pines in the Nemadji Valley of Carlton County, Minnesota. You can see more of Sparky’s images at www.ThePhotoNaturalist.com, Instagram (@sparky_stensaas) and his videos on YouTube (“Sparky Stensaas”).