Andy Raupp photography

Name: Andy Raupp photography
Address: Oneida county, Minocqua, WI, 53939, US
Telephone: +18476449386

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Andy Raupp photography

Bird & Wildlife photography in Northern Wisconsin. 🙂
Website: andyrauppphotography.com

09/11/2026

Loon parents and their chick! 📷

This photo is of the first two loons I happened to see shortly after moving up north, and their 1 chick they had this year.
We moved up here during the end of May, and the first encounter with these two adult loons they were actively hunting fish in the bay of this small lake.
The next time I saw them they were working on a nest, and shortly after that they were busy incubating their one egg. Then finally it hatched!
I have been keeping an eye on this loon family over the summer as the loon chick grew.
We stopped by the small lake again over the weekend, and for the first time the family had left the lake. The loon chick, now a juvenile bird, is capable of flight now and able to travel with its parents to other nearby lakes.
It usually takes about 10 to 12 weeks of age before young loons are able to achieve short sustained flights and can visit and explore other nearby lakes.
The lake these birds nested on is a small 45 acre quiet lake. However just a 100 yards away, over some national forest, there is another 850 acre lake that I am guessing these loons may have traveled to. Although there’s a lot of lakes nearby so that is just a guess lol .
I have read loons will often reuse the same nesting sites the following year if they had a successful breeding season the year prior. So I’m already looking forward to next spring and summer, and can hopefully observe and photograph this loon pair again!

09/10/2026

A Chipmunk eating an acorn 🐿️

🌳 More than just an acorn…

Oak trees are some of the most important trees in a forest for supporting wildlife. They are considered keystone plants for wildlife because they produce an unmatched volume of food and habitat that sustain entire food webs.

Their leaves and branches host hundreds of species of insects, including over 450 species of native caterpillar here in Wisconsin, along with hundreds of other species of insects .
Which in turn provide an important food source for countless birds. Then, late summer and autumn, the acorns arrive—feeding chipmunks, squirrels, mice, deer, turkeys, and many other animals.

And some of those smaller animals then become food for predators such as owls, hawks, foxes, and other carnivores.

It’s all connected. 🌳🐿️🐦🦉

An oak tree isn’t just producing acorns—it’s supporting an entire food web, from tiny insects all the way up to the forest’s top predators.

🎥 A little Northwoods moment: a chipmunk enjoying one of this year’s acorns in our yard 🙂

09/03/2026

A short video of a couple of Red breasted nuthatches!

While there is a few backyard bird species I do really miss from the old property, like bluebirds and the tufted titmouse, I have really enjoyed the almost constant presence of the red breasted nuthatches at the new home/yard.
They are super friendly little birds with some big personalities. Over the past month or so they have been regularly at either the feeders or birdbath/water feature in our yard.
This video is of a male and female, visiting the water feature to get a drink and to splash around and cool off on a hot summer day.
I hope you all enjoy the video!

09/02/2026

A Pileated woodpecker!

A recent photo of one of my Nemesis birds… 🙂
The Pileated woodpecker has been one of those birds for me that I seem to see or hear fairly often, but rarely get a good opportunity to photograph.

They’re surprisingly elusive and skittish for such a large, unmistakable bird. I’ll hear that loud distinct call or the sound of them hammering away at a tree, only to catch a quick glimpse before they disappear into the forest. So I’m especially excited to finally share a photo of this one!
I believe this is only the second Pileated woodpecker photo I’ve ever shared on my photography page over the past six years or so.

One thing I’m really looking forward to with our move to Northern Wisconsin is having more opportunities with these incredible birds. I’ve already noticed that Pileated woodpeckers seem to be considerably more common here in the Northwoods than they were in central Wisconsin where we moved from. So I’m optimistic that this might be the beginning of many more encounters.

08/31/2026

Come along on a short visit with a Loon family!

This footage is from a couple weeks ago on one of the quiet northwoods lakes nearby us. This video shows a little more behind the scenes of the encounter I had with this loon family on the lake.

This family consists of two young ones and two adults, the male adult is the 16 year old banded loon I mentioned in a previous post.
Hope you all enjoy the video!

08/26/2026

Happy Warbler Wednesday!

Here is another recent batch of warbler photos in our yard.

The first photo is of a pair of Black throated green warblers. Earlier this summer I would regularly hear these birds singing high up in the trees in our neighborhood. I’m not sure if these were the ones nesting in the area, or possibly some migrators passing through.

The second photo is of a Blackburnian warbler. These birds are one of my favorites as the males are very striking in color and feather patterns. This bird however is a female, as the colors are much more drab & muted.
I am pretty certain a pair of these birds also nested in our neighborhood this year as I would hear one singing regularly during the summer as well. This bird in the photo also came to the yard the other day and had a juvenile with it, which makes me believe it was likely this local pair. Still hoping to get a nice photo of a male Blackburnian this fall migration! 🤞

The third photo is of a Tennessee warbler. This bird is likely a migrator headed south, as it came to the yard to splash around in the birdbath with a few other warbler species recently.

The fourth photo is of a juvenile chestnut sided warbler. Possibly another migrator (although maybe a local) as it was with the Tennessee warbler along with a few others (Bay breasted & Nashville warblers).

The final photo is of a bay breasted warbler. This bird is also very striking during its breeding season, however in this photo it has already molted into its “non breeding” plumage.

Always fun to photograph these quick & colorful little birds. Hope you all enjoy the photos!

08/24/2026

A Black and White Warbler!

I took this photo recently of a black and white warbler as it briefly stopped and posed on this rock. The warbler migration is officially underway here in the northwoods. During their migration warblers (along with other songbirds) will often form what are called “mixed flocks” during their travels.
Mixed flocks are temporary groups of different bird species traveling and forging together as they move through an area.
Over the weekend I came across my first mixed flock of a handful of warbler species, along with some vireos, flycatchers, and a few other songbirds.
These black and white warblers are always nice to see as they are some pretty cool looking birds in my opinion!
The fall warbler migration is one of my favorite times of the year, as I get to see & photograph the various species of warblers passing through as they make their way south for the winter.
More warbler photos to come soon! 🙂

08/20/2026

A pair of Nashville warblers splashing around in the bird bath!

“Build it and they will come”
This summer we added a water feature/bird bath to the new yard, and it has been working like a charm lately to bring in the birds. The noise of moving water is a big attractant for birds, and is a great way to bring birds into your yard that won’t come to feeders.
Warblers in particular are almost all insectivores, meaning they only eat insects (so they won’t come to bird feeders). But thanks to this water we have had around 10 different species of warbler already stop by the new bird bath/water feature.
There is a family of Nashville warblers in the area that have been regulars lately in the yard that stop by for a drink or splash in the bird bath. The family consists of 5 of these tiny birds. They are about the size of ping pong balls, with toothpicks for legs lol. Very cute and sweet little birds.
Here is a photo of two of the Nashville warblers as they were splashing around in the bird bath the other day!
I will share a couple cell phone photos in the comments section of this water feature/bird bath.

08/19/2026

A juvenile Bald Eagle perched in a red pine tree.

By the looks of the almost all brown plumage on this bird, I would guess this eagle was likely born this year. Where we recently moved to, we are right on the border of two counties, Oneida, and Vilas. These two counties happen to have the two largest breeding bald eagle populations in the whole state of Wisconsin.
According to some of the most recent state surveys, Vilas County has around 175 occupied Eagle nests, and Oneida county has around 150 occupied eagles nests.
I haven’t spend a whole lot of focus on searching for/photographing eagles yet, as most of my main focus this summer has been on loons and warblers. But I am planning to try and put some more effort & time on eagles in the near future. So hopefully there will be some more Eagle photos to share with you all coming soon!

08/18/2026

A Gray Tree Frog on a Red Pine Tree!

It’s always cool to get to see one of these unique frogs. This guy was hanging out on our patio the other day, and needed to be relocated to this pine tree for safety away from our dogs.
They are generally nocturnal, and come out at night to eat insects. Their sticky toe pads work like suction cups, letting them climb high up onto trees (or windows or patios lol).
Their camouflage is also something really impressive! I thought this short video zooming in might give a little better perspective of how well they can blend in.

Address

Oneida County
Minocqua, WI
53939

Telephone

+18476449386

Website

http://andyrauppphotography.com/

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