All posts by richardhoeg@gmail.com

Enjoy Northeastern Minnesota’s Ice Palace!

Year 13

It is 100% required if you live in Northeastern Minnesota to enjoy our Ice Palace. Unlike the Twin Cities versions, ours is totally created by Mother Nature! Drive inland from Two Harbors via Lake County 2 (Forest Road #15), and after about 20 miles the world will be transformed. The damp Christmas weather including wet snow has transformed the forest. It’s is now flocked and iced … deciduous and pines trees alike. Stop off at the Greenwood Creek Bird Feeders, which is where I photographed this Blue Jay. The parking area is perfectly plowed, and if you have a warm enough day … enjoy a hike along the snowmobile trail (Forest Road #813). Although snowmobile traffic is very rare, make certain you do not block the trail when parking your car. Check the forecast in advance and visit on a sunny day. You will fall in love with the region. Yesterday I saw two different foxes hunting the roadside within a couple of hundred yards of the birdfeeders. I normally turn around at Sand River. Do NOT walk on Sand River. Although the overnight lows have been way below zero, the current makes for thin ice in spots.

Greenwood Creek Bird Feeders Blue Jay

Langley River Frostscape

Bird by Location via 365 Days of Birds

Year 13

Over the past year I had come to realize  whether you were on a micro-computer or a mobile phone, location tags in the sidebars had become overwhelming. This website has been live since January 2014, and now has over 2,500 archived posts. I needed to make these 2,500 posts easily viewable by birding location, but limit confusion. Thus, on this first day of 2026 I have hopefully fixed the HUGE number of sidebar location tags which can overwhelm the user, BUT still kept them easily available and readable.

Via the any device’s top menu there is now the menu item: Bird by Location.

If you select that menu option the Northeastern Minnesota Birding Locations PDF and every other birding location tag loads. Take a look. This gets the location tags off the sidebars where the location numbers were overwhelming and also increased website load times.

Here are two screenshots taken on a PC. This menu also appears in a mobile phone’s root menu. Location data / tags will still be published with every post.

First Birding Sunrise of 2026 (2025 ReCap)

Year 13

Before sunrise this morning I visited some Snowy Owls near my home. While it was below zero and gloomy at my house, surprisingly the sun tried to break through the clouds at sunrise behind a Snowy Owl. Thus … the first birding sunrise of 2026 on New Year’s Day. How poetic!

Snowy Owl Silhouetted at Dawn

I think this owl must be a “war bird”. It loves to hunt from this plane being reconstructed!

And the best birding by month of 2025