Category Archives: Year 6

Bohemian Birds!

Year 6

As in waxwings … the latest in my sub-Arctic birds seem to be arriving in the Duluth area. Given Lake Superior is 100% iced over in our neck of the woods, my friends should feel right at home. Yesterday morning I watched a flock of over 200 Bohemian Waxwings undulate through the sky, occasionally stopping in some preferred tree to eat.

These are the best photographs I could get. It was early morning with thin clouds, not the best for photography/ However, the best time to find any bird is to get out early when my fine feathered friends will want to feed. Given the cold temperature (about 7F), the waxwings were all puffed up against the cold. I tired to refind them this afternoon when the sun finally popped out, but nada.

Actually, my primary activity these days is shoveling (two 6+ inch dumps in the past four days, with another due to arrive after midnight) and cross-country skiing. The snow depths in the woods are amazing.

Bohemian Waxwings

Yard Bird. Northern Shrike!

Year 6

I first noticed this Northern Shrike on Wednesday before the snowstorm. I wondered if it had found my bird feeders, and was now taking advantage of the situation. This morning I discovered the answer to my question is a definite yes. It took a run at a mourning dove (unsuccessfully).

My tweety birds had better watch out, a new guy is in town! It was fun to watch it hunt. I was amazed that the shrike was willing to announce its presence by singing, which is what originally attracted me to it a few days ago. While I am familiar with the rasping call of the shrike, the more melodious sound I had never heard. When that song appeared in my yard on Wednesday I looked around to find the source. It was familiar to the second song down in the list on this Cornell page on shrikes.

I hope to get some real close-ups if the bird sticks around for the winter. There is certainly plenty of prey to hunt.

Sunrise Over the Arctic Riviera!

Year 6

I have been waiting for clear skies for seven days. Some storms on Lake Superior piled up ice at our end of the lake, and then the water froze solid. Two days ago I noticed ice fisherman off the mouth of the Lester River, and I knew this weekend’s cold snap would provide me the clear skies and eventual sun I desired.

This series of photographs start 90 minutes before dawn, and end five minutes after sunup (the sun is not even completely over the horizon). While the differences between pre-dawn and moments after sunrise is obvious, moments prior to actual sunup conditions were changing extremely fast. I often had to run to my next “photoshoot location”, which is no mean feat when you are on ice and plowing through five foot tall snow drifts!

The temperature was pretty consistent … -9F (-23C) and a decent wind to make for a chill factor of -32F (-36C). Thankfully I live about five minutes from the mouth of the Lester River. Thus, while the total duration of the photoshoot was 95 minutes, I never spent more than 15 minutes outside at any one time. For the first image I was 300 yards off shore. The light reflecting off the ice was provided by some flood lights from a University of Minnesota building where I parked my car.

90 Minutes Prior to Sunrise (my favorite image of the sequence … I am 300 yards out on Lake Superior)

25 Minutes Prior to Sunrise (the Sea Smoke in the distance prevented any dramatic rose color which normally occurs about 20 to 25 minutes prior to sunup … a ho hum photo, but I wanted to include the picture as it shows how light keeps changing)

Seconds before Sunrise

Seconds after Sunrise (my second favorite image of the sequence … I have dropped down to sitting on the snow to get the light through the “shark fin” ice)

Five Minutes after Sunrise (image taken obliquely … even though the sun is not completely above the horizon, it was impossible to take a photo directly towards the sun … with my camera angle pointed somewhat away from the sun I have lost the “orangeness” of the sunrise)