The American Dipper and Childhood

Year 10

The location … Gold Creek Pond

The memory … National Geographic Songbirds of North America

The bird … the American Dipper

When I was a boy, the first bird book which my parents bought me was “National Geographic Songbirds of North America”. This book moved with me to prep school (Exeter), college (Dartmouth), my job in the Twin Cities (Honeywell), and finally back to Duluth! Some books are worth keeping. I think the combination of this book and our two bird feeders near the “8th Street Woods” at my house while growing up drove my interest in birds. How did all of you become interested in birds?

My specific memory … I spent many hours perusing the birds in the book. Some photographs mesmerized me more than others, including the American Dipper. I was fascinated by the idea of a small bird which walked under water in mountain streams searching for bugs. Please realize I had never seen a mountain in my life at that point (about age 10). In addition the book came with a small record inside the front cover which had the songs of various birds, including the American Dipper. The sweet song of this bird with gurgling water in the background was a winner for me! My video of yesterday’s dipper has all those elements (video link for email subscribers). You may wish to read my full post about this super book, National Geographic Songbirds of North America.

A few more American Dipper images, and a Dark Eyed Oregon Junco (also from yesterday but no childhood memories)

Bears and Bird Feeders

Year 10

There are those of us who love to keep their bird feeders filled throughout the year. The local animals in addition to birds are our friends for that very reason. Last night, momma bear and her three cubs visited my seven feeders. As we move towards hibernation time the bruins were grateful for the free food. I was away from my house, but my real time alerts from my feeder camaras alerted me to the visit. Earlier in the day two large white-tailed bucks also visited the Amity Creek Feeders … occasionally I even get a few birds! In case you would like to read my review about my trail cameras.

Momma Bear and her Three Cubs (video link one and two for email subscribers)

The Bucks of Amity (video link for email subscribers)

Sax-Zim Bog American Kestrel Morning

Year 10

Tuesday morning there were an amazing number of American Kestrels migrating through Sax-Zim Bog (in addition to lingering residents). The Kestrel, America’s smallest falcon, has seen their numbers crash over the years (see Audubon’s American Kestrel Project). Sax-Zim Bog has put up a huge number of kestrel boxes in the farmland which borders the bog. The numbers of kestrels I now see are truly great, and I consider myself lucky.

Normally getting close to a kestrel is very, very difficult. These birds are shy and spook quickly. However, with the sun extremely low in the sky and right behind me just after sunrise I managed to get fantastic close-up views of a Kestrel. It could not see me given the sun. “Life” is good!

Sax-Zim Bog American Kestrel