During the fall migration there are two spots along the North Shore of Lake Superior which I check religiously. The first is 61st Avenue East. This dead-end road has a small parking area near the mouth of the Lester River and its ravine. Stairs directly across from the parking make it easy to descend to the river. Either this spot is “on” or totally birdless. Right now there are lots of Mountain Ash Tree Berries and Spruce Trees loaded with cones. Over the next few weeks this great food source will get eaten.

My other spot is Stony Point including Alseth Road. Even this morning with a 30 mph wind gusting in off Lake Superior, the dead “tuning fork” tree on Alseth Road was fantastic. For over 20 minutes I watched a small flock of Red-Headed Woodpeckers. While there were only three adults in this flock, please understand that seeing even one Red-Headed Woodpecker is rare in NE Minnesota.

Reds x3!

Today was my first “birding day” since surgery. While I still have definite pain, it was fantastic to get back out in the field. I even took a 1.5 mile birding hike just after sunrise at Greenwood!