All posts by richardhoeg@gmail.com

Now Arriving on Track 9 from Hudson’s Bay and Points North!

Year 8

What is unusual about this bird species? (not the individual, but the type of bird, a Rough-Legged Hawk) I watched this hawk hunt early yesterday morning just north of Duluth during its migration down from the Hudson Bay / Arctic region. Scroll down beneath this image for the answer to my question.

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If I am not mistaken there are only three raptor species (other than owls) in North America that have feathers down right to their talons … Rough-Legged Hawks, Ferruginous Hawks, and Golden Eagles. These birds breed in locations where even in the summer, snow and extremely cold temperatures are not unheard occurrences. Thus, all three species have evolved to have feathers down to their talons to keep warm. The above image shows feathers very much reaching down to the talons.

If I am lucky this individual will stick around hunting near my house for approximately the next month. I have seen this bird two days in a row, and the habitat it has chosen is great for hunting small mammals. However, when the snow covers the ground the hawk will move south (most hawks are not able to hunt effectively through the snow).

Hanging Out and Take-Off

Forest Fire Burnout Aurora Borealis

Year 8,
Ever wonder what an Aurora looks like against a forest fire burned out background?! I wondered also and drove up to the Greenwood Forest Fire Burn Area last night (27,000 acres). This is actually the Sand River (45 miles north of Two Harbors). At this specific location as one looks up the river, lots of the smaller trees burned out, and some of the pines. Amazingly right next to burned out pines there will be sections of untouched trees. One other interesting fact on the night of November 3rd, the backwaters of the river were iced over and there was about one inch of snow on the ground (temperature was 19F).
Camera settings: ISO 3200, Aperture 2.2, Exposure 6 seconds (Sony a6300)
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This second image is what the sky looked like as I waited and hoped Lady Aurora would come out and dance. Notice the Big Dipper waiting to get filled (it did). You may need to maximize these images to get the full effect.
This final photograph was taken about 11:15 pm at Greenwood Lake (40 miles north of Two Harbors … just out of the burn area). Although my drive between locations was only 8 minutes, I about had a cow when I pulled into the public access.
Sub-Storm! This is what I actually was seeing with my naked eye. The Aurora filled the sky up to the zenith.
Camera settings: ISO 3200; Aperture 2.2; Exposure 4 seconds (Sony a6300)

Golden Glory Owling

Year 8

Knowing that the tamarack needles in their golden majesty would soon all be on the forest floor, and thereby heralding the start of winter, I drove up to Sax-Zim Bog for a final version of “Golden Glory Owling”. Thankfully the star performer eventually did arrive. Unlike the other morning when I saw three unique Great Gray Owls, only one wanted its photograph taken this morning. Here were the results.

On a final note, if you live anywhere up north with no light pollution, get yourself outside by 7:30 pm TONIGHT. Find a spot with low light which faces north (public boat launches can be great). The numbers for the Northern Lights are looking great at 4 pm CDT. Unlike the big media blitz of last weekend, my own technical read of the data shows something is very much happening. See my Northern Lights Web Page for more information.