Monthly Archives: January 2018

Car 54, Where Are You?

Year 5

Hunting along the shores of Traverse Bay, Michigan! Yup, Snowy Owl #25 has been found this past Christmas two years after it spent the winter in the Northland, mainly over in Superior, Wisconsin. The good folks of the Traverse Bay area got smart and when Snowy #25 was first found by Gerry Erickson, these birders did a reverse Google image search (at least I assume that is how they found me). I in turn made certain that this information was passed along to the person who bands Snowy Owls in the Duluth area.

Unlike many birds, Snowy Owls are nomads. These owls breed up near the Arctic Ocean, but their nests may be hundreds of miles apart in subsequent summers. Somehow the Snowies learn where there are lemmings, their primary food up north, and nest in the vicinity. Thus, when it is time to head south for the winter, these same owls can end up in dramatically different locations. Two years ago Snowy #25 was at the Head of the Lakes on Lake Superior. This winter the same owl is wintering 348 air miles away over on Lake Michigan.  If you would like to learn more about Snowy Owl research, please visit Project Snow Storm.

Finally, many of you will not remember the TV sitcom, Car 54, Where Are You. It was in reruns even when I was a young boy, and that was a long time ago! To further your TV education, here are two links about Car 54 … Wikipedia and an Episode via YouTube.

Snowy Owl #25 … my thanks for Michael Jorae for having contacted me, and Gerry Erickson who originally found the owl.

  • My post from two years ago: Spectre and two images (pre banded and banded). I know it is the same bird because of markings and it was using the same exact fence down to the pole for a perch.
  • eBird Report from the Traverse Bay area on Dec. 24, 2017 (Snowy Owl #25).

Sea Smoke Ship Sunrise Over Lake Superior

Year 5

Ships that go bump in the night! (actually the pre-dawn Sea Smoke). The vantage point is Silver Cliffs near Castle Danger on Lake Superior’s North Shore. Thus, the advantages of going out before dawn in search of Great Gray Owls!

One Ship

Two Ships

One Owl (vole being triangulated with hearing)

Year 5 of 365!

Year 5

This post starts my fifth year of blogging on 365 Days of Birds. While this blog was not my first online effort, my passion is showing through here via myattemps to introduce the reader to the region I call home, the Northland. In my prior life and blog, I was the NorthStarNerd, and while the techie side of me often shows through, the star these days is the wilderness.

Kick back, throw your feet up on the foot stool, and get ready for 2018. Who knows where this journey will lead us, but hopefully it will be both fun and beautiful. To start 2018 for the birds, I focused upon one of my favorite birding subjects, the Hairy Woodpecker. I am not certain the implications of all three photos being moth wide open … even with some tongue … a Bronx cheer?!

One interesting item … this must be a good spot for finding grubs on this tree. The male Hairy Woodpecker chased away the female shortly after it was successful in finding some food.