The wildflowers are gorgeous right now. Get out into the countryside and enjoy the explosion of color. Whether you like daisies, buttercups, lupine or our state flower, the Showy Lady Slipper, there are colors for everyone. I would be happy to share privately the location of the Showy Lady Slippers with anyone … just contact me.
Showy Lady Slippers of the Northstar Lake Region … 1,000’s in bloom right now.
In case you are partial to Lupine, drives some back roads near Lake Superior (or Scenic 61 between Ryan Road and Lakewood Road)
How long does it take to capture nice photographs? In the instance of the Northern Flicker Chicks at the Woodpecker Hole, a long time!
I found the Flicker nest 7 weeks ago (35 days) … just as the pair were claiming their home
Once the chicks hatch, they spend about 12 days in the hole before fledging (data from the Cornell School of Ornithology)
Multiple visits to the nest hole in the final days waiting for the chicks to appear for a feed
70 minutes last Friday evening on site waiting for a feed to happen! I was actually not planning on heading over to the nest location after supper that night, but when the sun unexpectedly came out, I knew I had no choice if I wished to experience this event. Juvenile Downey and Hairy Woodpeckers were already visiting my suet feeders, and their parents would teach them about bird feeders. Time was of the essence.
Thus, my process involved finding the nest hole … researching the the nesting data for Northern Flickers … making repeat visits the final few days when the chicks would be sticking their heads out of the hole and demanding to be fed. Believe it or not, I actually saw the older chick fledge on Friday evening.
Northern Flicker Chicks at the Woodpecker Nest Hole
Where’s Mom or Dad? We want food!
Video taken during the feed (video link for email subscribers)
The older chick often pushed its smaller sibling back into the hole. If one controls the opening you get more food!
Mom flew to the top of the dead tree when she wanted a break. The youngsters could not see her up there!
For six years I have followed two Great Horned Owls which live in the forest near my home in northeastern Minnesota. This year, Les and Amy (my names for the parents) selected an amazing nest location, which was low to the ground and thus vulnerable to harm from humans. For most of the owl’s nesting experience, I managed to keep the location a secret, but I owe a HUGE thanks to everyone who once they learned of the nest location also protected the owlets till they grew in size and fledged. Not a single person, including me posted anything to social media till the owlets had could fly!
Now that the leaves are out and the owlets have moved far away from the nest, I decided it was time to tell their story. No drones were used to obtain any images. The hills and topography of the land near my home provided amazing views of the owl family and their nest.
Here is one image from the owlet’s early days in the nest, and the video!
The Lester / Amity Owlets – Their Early Life (video link for email subscribers)
