Monthly Archives: May 2014

Day 128: Day of the Trumpets!

Back in the 1960’s when I was a young boy the trumpeter swan almost became extinct. Over the intervening 50 years the swan has clawed itself back where several thousand now live in North America. In northern Minnesota I am privileged to often see and hear these noble creatures.

When trumpeter swans fly and sing out, it an amazing sight and sound. Their call truly sounds like a trumpet, and their stretched out necks looks like a medieval trumpet.  For this photo, I was using a very, very long zoom to not disturb this pair of birds … and hiding in some bull rushes. For more information on this largest swan in North America, please link to the Trumpeter Swan Society.

While walking back to my car, I also finally photographed the “bandit bird” (my nickname). For almost ten days I have been trying to get a good photo of a common yellow-throat. Normally these birds would be deep in thickets and marsh making a photograph impossible. Not today!

Trumpeter Swan
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Common Yellow-Throat
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Day 127: A Hike on the North Shore of Lake Superior

This morning my wife and I headed up the North Shore of Lake Superior from Duluth. Although the weather was calm and peaceful at 6 am, the cold winter which still had Lake Superior’s water temperatures in the high 30’s on this late day in May meant fog was present out over the lake.

However as the day progressed the fog burned off, and depending upon how close one was to the lake, the weather ranged from 48F to 70F. We took a long hike in Split Rock State Park and enjoyed the cascades as the water flew down to Lake Superior.

Fog at Sugarloaf Cove
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Today’s Bird – Least Flycatcher
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Split Rock River
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Split Rock Highlands
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