Category Archives: Year 12

Red, White & Blue Patriotic Birding Plus Our National Bird!

Year 12, ,

Today was a great day of birding which started with a Sea Smoke Sunrise Over Lake Superior. Yup, only 10F as I headed inland from Two Harbors 20 minutes before sunrise, and the air water temperature differential made for spectacular conditions out over the lake. Now some folks might wonder about birding on opening day of deer hunting season in Minnesota, but if you know your habitat (deer hate bogs), and stay well away from any parked vehicles next to the forest (indicative of hunters) you will be fine. However, even if I think I am in the forest w/o anyone for miles around, I ALWAYS wear blaze orange or red.

Okay … why patriotic birding? The answer was simple. I saw beautiful red, white and blue colored birds … plus our national bird, the Bald Eagle! In additional I finally put out meat suet (hope the bears are asleep, or at least woozy). I am trying some bone marrow this year to entire Boreal Chickadees. I just drilled two holes through the bone, and then hung everything up using wire and ring eye screws. My final assignment was to place a BirdNet-Pi birdsong listening device deep in the wilderness.

On to the photographs … the Pine Grossbeaks were real special. Essentially nary a Pine Grossbeak was seen last winter. Today I watched a small flock.

Red: Pine Grosbeaks

White: Snow Buntings

& Blue: Blue Jays

and our National Bird: Bald Eagle

Super Moon Over Duluth Bentleyville Holiday Lights

Year 12

Last night’s Super Moon with Duluth’s Christmas City of the North song!

I had been photographing the Aerial Bridge with the Super Moon, and when I went to drive home … Eureka! The Bentleyville folks were testing their lights and the Super Moon was lined up with the Christmas Tree! (video link for blog email subscribers)

We’re only three weeks away from Thanksgiving. I hope the holiday seasons is peaceful and and full of joy for everyone. See beneath the still images for the movie!

The Other Chickadee … Mr. Boreal!

Year 12

Most folks think chickadees are all year round residents, but in fact many, many chickadees migrate a bit further south each winter, while some stay all winter in the Northland. Over the past few weeks I have known that Boreal Chickadees were coming south … many along the North Shore of Lake Superior. How did I know that fact when Boreal Chickadees are normally NOT a feeder bird? My Raspberry-Pi Birdsong listening devices. The listening stations at my house, French River Lutheran Church and my friend who lives near the mouth of the Sucker River suddenly showed lots of Boreals migrating … from zero present only two weeks ago.

I love these little birds, and yesterday I decided to visit a Boreal Chickadee hot spot (the Admiral Road Feeds in Sax-Zim Bog). Another friend put out peanut butter, and for over an hour it was a non stop parade of Boreal Chickadees.

Meet Mr. (or Ms.) Boreal Chickadee!

As a fyi, earlier this week on a very gloomy day the Birdnet-Pi’s indicated White-Winged Crossbills were migrating along the North Shore of Lake Superior in the hundreds. After church I visited some spruce trees which I knew were loaded with cones and was rewarded with lots of sightings of crossbills. Actually I saw hundreds of crossbills. Both examples from this post are essentially non feeder birds. Both species will visit feeders on rare occasions, but it is not common.