All posts by richardhoeg@gmail.com

Wisconsin Point Sunrise!

Year 7

Daylight savings time meant it was easier to arrive at my selected locations before sunrise. After two owling stops before sunrise I moved over to Wisconsin Point for sunup. Yesterday’s strong winds from the south had resulted in a major movement of Bald and Golden Eagles through the region. As expected, I found some stragglers this morning. The combination of the early morning light on this immature Bald Eagle was gorgeous.

A few minutes later I drove down to the actual harbor entry and caught this one one fisherman out on the breakwater next to the lighthouse.

Even with the snow and ice, everyone has spring fever! It’s now 49F at 1:40 pm. Time for a bicycle ride up the shore of Lake Superior. However, in during my 800 yard descent to the road along the lake, I know from experience the temperature will drop into the high 30’s!

Good bye, Snow!

Year 7

It was -6F a bit inland from Lake Superior this morning a touch after sunrise. I was birding the Boreal Forest, but did not find much. I didn’t mind as the scenery including this farm was gorgeous. It is now 28F at 2:20 pm, and will perhaps reach 50F tomorrow. Good bye, snow!

The other excitement of the day was being called out to do a “Bald Eagle Rescue”. Apparently our nation’s bird had become entangled in some kind of net. Thankfully, the eagle managed to free itself before I arrived on scene, and thus I was not pressed into service. That is a good ending when the bird frees itself, as although I have hand captured two Snowy Owls in my life, both of those owls were not in the best of shape (i.e. easier to handle). I was a bit worried about trying to free a healthy eagle.

You may ask, what does one bring to an eagle rescue? Here is my answer based upon items in my home and garage:

  1. Raptor gloves (insures the bird can not sink their talons into your hands and arms)
  2. Various wire cutters and pliers to cut the bird free
  3. A large blanket (come up from behind to subdue the bird)
  4. A very large moving blanket (same as above)

One always comes up from behind a raptor as talons can not move backwards. If you would like to read about one of my prior rescue escapades, here is my rescue of Silver. (a Snowy Owl)

Northern vs Southern Owls!

Year 7

Yesterday I posted an image of a male Great Horned Owl. This owl lives down in the NW suburbs of the Twin Cities. As noted it dumbfounded me by perching right out in the open at 10:30 in the morning.

Today I am posting a photo of my northern friend which lives in the Duluth area … 180 miles to the north of my southern owl. I visited him at 3:30 this afternoon, and even though I had a pretty good idea where to look due to prior visits, it took me over 10 minutes of scanning with my binoculars to find said owl. As you can see, Mr. Great Horned Owl is pretty bored with me. I hung around for ten minutes once I found him, and he never once looked directly at me! Apparently my Norwegian stocking cap does not look like a squirrel.

I will repost yesterday’s image. While it could be that my southern owl was in direct sunlight while my northern bird was in heavy shade, but “sunshine bird” appears to be much lighter in color. Given the number of pine trees in the Twin Cities area is dramatically fewer than up north here in Duluth, this could be “natural selection” in terms of better camouflage against all the deciduous trees. Interesting to speculate. Remember, the male does all the hunting for the family until the young are quite large. Better camouflage would be an asset.