Monthly Archives: July 2015

In Search of Color on a Gloomy Day (Back Roads to Sax-Zim Bog)

Year 2, ,

Over the past few days I have been exploring back roads in northern Minnesota somewhat near to Duluth. My goal is to be ready for the fall migration and winter birding. During these travels the sun disappeared shortly after dawn two days ago, and it has not made a reappearance. The red fox photo in this post was taken five minutes before the clouds rolled in.

Today, I decided I need to find color to fight against the gloomy skies. Success! Some of my normal haunts yielded up photo ops of birds which stood still enough to let me deal with the long exposure times required. Now … if the sun would just reappear, I can’t wait to revisit the green-winged teal and my favorite wild flower location. Patience!

Finally, one of my explorations yielded a great new route to drive over to Sax-Zim Bog from Duluth. Just before the 36 mile marker on Mn #4 (Rice Lake Road) is the dirt road, Comstock Lake Road. The road is 21 miles long and ends right at Cotton, Minnesota on US #53 directly opposite Arkola Road … a favorite entry into Sax-Zim Bog. Comstock is excellent. From the 7.5 mile point, there is a power line which stretches all the way to Cotton (13.5 miles more of driving). The power line should be great for owling, and the countryside included bogs, heavy forest, and an occasional farm or meadow. This route required an extra 30  minutes to reach Cotton, but I was in beautiful surroundings in “bird friendly environment” my entire drive to Sax-Zim Bog (as opposed to a four lane highway, US #53). I’ve included a map and a photo of a typical scene of Comstock Road.

My own route to get to Comstock was Lester River Road (then a few local roads), Jean Duluth Road, Normanna Road, Rice Lake Road (Mn #4) and finally Comstock Road. This takes one right past the location on Jean Duluth Road I discovered Kelly J last December. Kelly J is a northern hawk owl that hung around till early March.

Last sun … Red Fox at Dawn
Y2-M07-Red-Fox-Breakfast

———-

Green-Winged Teal
Y2-M07-Green-Winged-Teal-1

———-

American Goldfinch
Y2-M07-Goldfinch

 

———-

Comstock Road Map & Typical Scene Along Powerline
Y2-M07-Comstock-Lake-Rd Comstock-Road

 

 

 

Boats, not Birds … The Alpena!

Year 2

Although the focus of this blog is primarily birds and the photographs of those same fine feathered friends, how can a Duluth native not love the ships that ply Lake Superior. While the newer 1,000 footers carry more ore, grain, and coal … for us folks who have watched the boats at Canal Park for years, it is the older ships which we love.

Today, the Alpena, made one of her two monthly visits to the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior. The Alpena is a grand old lady, built in 1942, and her classic lines make her a true “Queen of the Lakes”. Thus, I drove over to the overlook at Enger Tower and enjoyed her entry into the Duluth Harbor. I hope you enjoy my photos!

The Alpena enters the Duluth Harbor on a busy day at the waterfront.
Alpena-2 Alpena-3 Alpena-1

Summer Birds (Year 2, Month 7)

Year 2,

The days are now hot, and the bugs are out. Birding opportunities often slow down as folks wait for the early Fall migrants to start appearing in northern Minnesota. One fights heat, humidity and monster flies out on the Northland trails. Yesterday afternoon was just such a day … arriving at the Western Waterfront Trail in Duluth on a muggy hot summer afternoon I hiked for five miles w/o ever meeting another person … in the middle of a city with a population of 86,000. Folks, get out there! When the cold of January reappears everyone will miss the lazy, hazy, crazy days of Summer!

Brown Thrasher Immediately After a Dust Bath
Y2-M07-Brown-Thrasher

———-

Catching Flies … An Admirable Job (Least Flycatcher)
Y2-M07-Least-Flycatcher-2