Birds / Owlets in the Rain

Year 11,

The weather has been ugly. In addition to the rain, winds have been gusting to just shy of 50 mph in Duluth. This is not weather that Great Horned Owlets love (or me). I took this image of the Amity Owlets early yesterday morning just before leaving for a small cabin on the Mississippi River just north of Dubuque, Iowa.

Great Horned Owlets in the Rain (Day 17 .. 27 days old)

However, the wet weather followed me south. I found many migrating birds hanging out near Dubuque … perhaps their northward migration stalled out at the John Deere Dike Park to await better conditions. It was still wet and windy as I watched a small flock of Great Egrets this morning.

However, we did have some nice sunny warmer weather during the past five days, and of course I also visited the Great Horned Owl nest on those days! The nest is getting real crowded as the owlets grow!

Great Horned Owlets + Mom (Day 14 .. 24 days old)

Great Horned Owlets + Mom (Day 15 .. 25 days old)

One item you may note, birding and photography in the rain and other bad weather often yields interesting images … both the egrets and owls. Don’t always wait for the perfect day to practice your craft!

Blackbacks, Bluebirds and Bears … Oh my!!

Year 11,
  • Blackbacks, Bluebirds and Bears … Oh my!!
  • Blackbacks, Bluebirds and Bears … Oh my!!
  • Blackbacks, Bluebirds and Bears … Oh my!!

Yup, that pretty much sums up the birding over the past few days. Two days ago I hiked from my home through the Lester / Amity Woods over to the Lester Park Golf Course Ponds. Upon approaching the largest and third pond, aside from seeing Tree Swallows for the first time this Spring, I heard Bluebirds singing. Eventually I tracked the singing down to a couple of males chasing one early arriving female. She was not yet choosing a home or making a commitment to a mate. (as a fyi … I have nominated myself to the citizen committee which will help determine the future of Lester Park Golf Course)

Lester Park Ponds Bluebirds

Yesterday I knew it was time to head north of Two Harbors and refill the Greenwood Creek Bog Bird Feeders (learn more about this region) which I maintain.  There is a pair of Black-Backed Woodpeckers thinking of nesting about 500 yards down the trail / forest road #813 from the feeders!

Greenwood Creek Bog Female Black-Backed Woodpecker

And finally … the bears. Momma Bear and her three cubs returned last night after a five day absence. Their visit was obvious when I got up in the morning. Thankfully, I have been able to fix all the damage the bears cause up to this point.

Momma Bear and the Cubs Pull a Tag Team! (video link for email subscribers)

Wood Ducks, Mergansers and Daring Drops … Oh My!

Year 11

It is the time of the year when I give a callout to my friend Paul down in the NW suburbs of Minneapolis. You should get to know Paul, or more accurately his “bird blog”. Paul has three duck boxes on his property which abuts a small, fast flowing creek. The ducks like his hospitality.

Did I mention that Paul is a retired engineer from Honeywell? We worked together to years and you should know engineers do not retire, they just move on to non-paying projects. In Paul’s case, one of those projects are his wood duck boxes which have an amazing number of cameras which watch the ducks through incubation and then “THE DROP”! You are even able to watch “THE DROP / jump” live via the internet. Last year I had the please of watching the woodducks jump with Paul in a bird blind in his back yard.

Like my blog, Paul’s does not have advertisements or solicitations. He enjoys his birds and shares that enjoyment with his readers.

Perhaps you would like to read my blog post from last years Duck Drop … plenty of photos.

And a copy of the banner from Paul’s website …