Nobody is dancing around the May Pole in northern Minnesota. On the first day of May, winter continues to resink its grip. A bit up the Lake Superior shore from Duluth over a foot of snow fell two days ago. Thankfully we did not get whacked. This morning the strong winds out over Lake Superior directed me to head inland. Deep in the Boreal Forest I found some courting in progress. As you look at the pictures of Tom Turkey there are a number of oddities …
- Snow on the ground on May 1st … more expected tonight and tomorrow.
- Turkeys in the northern Minnesota Boreal Forest. I do not think of a turkey as a forest bird, and they used to be a rare sighting in these parts. Over the past two days I have seen turkeys five times, but three times in a deep forest location. These birds have dramatically expanded their range over the past ten years, and into habitat not traditionally associated with turkeys. I understand turkeys are almost becoming a “pest bird” in suburbs of large cities.
I also found my first shore bird of the season yesterday afternoon, just not down on Park Point. The sand spit jutting out into Lake Superior and which forms the Duluth harbor is still covered in ice. Thus, smart shorebirds head inland while migrating north. This Greater Yellowlegs was hanging out at the Forest Hill Cemetery Pond.
Oh yes … Molly and I got “beared” last night. Yogi knocked down four feeders. The bent pipe has a one inch diameter. Thus, Yogi is not lacking for strength. The bummer is I never got to see the bruin, who decided to attack our feeders in the middle of the night. Often we get to watch the destruction in progress, but last night our final visitor before my bed time was a skunk underneath the feeders.
Richard – I LOVE your new format! It’s so much easier to read than the last one and the pictures are quicker and easier to see than the old format. I was a little worried because I didn’t get a post yesterday or the day before.
Sue: I owe you and everyone who subscribes to my blog via email an apology. I broke one of the cardinal rules of web development. While I subscribe to my own blog via RSS, and always check how it looks both on the web (via multiple browsers on PC’s and mobile devices) and also from within the Minnesota Birding News App, I had not subscribed to my own blog via email (now rectified). For a guy who built some of Honeywell’s first web site dating back to the early 1990’s, and then worked in various web project management roles till my retirement a few years back, my lack of testing and reviewing all formats is dismaying to me! Once again, sorry. I will admit the new format is more driven by WordPress technology than any actions I took, but you reminded me of an important aspect of web development.
In terms of my not having posted much over the past few days, the weather has been horrid here in northern Minnesota. Since late Saturday my region has experienced snow, rain, high winds, pea soup fog and sleet. Wildlife hikes and outdoor photography are limited by this kind of weather. The forecast says late tomorrow the weather may break for the better … I certainly hope so!
Over the past few days I have been chasing two particular species of birds … Brown Creepers and Red-Throated Loons. While I have seen both multiple times, I’ve yet to get a photograph of either bird. Once again the weather is severely limiting … no light for photography and very wet.
Rich