The Yellow Roses of Lake Superior …
Were these roses left as a remembrance for Memorial Day? Part of an engagement proposal? Or another special moment?
I will never know, but when I arrived looking for shorebirds at the Superior Entry on Lake Superior not long after sunrise I found these three yellow roses in the sand leaning against a log. The weather was brisk, only 47F. Thus, the roses had not wilted.
Lake Superior always has a new surprise for me.
The opening verse from the Song of Hiawatha:
On the shores of Gitche Gumee,
Of the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Stood Nokomis, the old woman,
Pointing with her finger westward,
O’er the water pointing westward,
To the purple clouds of sunset.
Lake Superior is magical, which Henry Wadsworth Longfellow knew, and I learned at a very early age. This morning, like many days, I went down to the beaches of Minnesota Point shortly after sunrise. For 45 minutes I had miles of beaches to myself (in terms of humans), but the south wind meant Arctic shorebirds were working their way north and stopping off for a rest on their way up to the Arctic Ocean.
Today’s visitor was a Black Bellied Plover and lots of Ruddy Turnstones. These birds time their migration to hit Lake Superior as it finally comes alive after a long cold winter, and then wait before going much further north. The Arctic is still frozen and the lakes iced over.
Both species of birds nest in approximately the same area, and when I say Arctic regions … I mean WAY UP North!!! This map is from the Cornell School of Ornithology.
Ruddy Turnstones Wave Dancing!
For the first time in centuries it is actually raining this morning in northern Minnesota, with some thunder and lightning thrown in for good measure. Thus, for a change I am sitting at home this morning … a rain delay. This is fantastic news as the bog water levels are amazingly low, and I was fearful of drought / wildfire conditions. Last week when hiking into a Great Blue Heron rookery, I was amazed to discover I could hike across the bog without getting my feet wet … not good. I was wearing muck boots, but they really were not necessary.
As some of you know I spent three delightful mornings birding last week down near Minneapolis in the Plymouth Wetlands. I have a few images I have been meaning to post, but to which I had not gotten around. My biggest excitement was finding three scarlet tanagers. Hopefully they will nest where I found them and provide continuing enjoyment over the course of the summer.
Scarlet Tanager (looked almost orange in the direct sunlight … red in the shade)
Great Egret Take-Off
Wood Duck Sunrise
Baltimore Oriole
Catbirds
Green Heron