Meet the Amity Bears! Videos!

April 14, 2024Year 11MN North: Amityrichardhoeg@gmail.com

The Northland Forest is waking up, and Momma Bear wanted to introduce her three cubs to Molly and me! Thursday night I looked up from the couch and realized there was a bear happily eating sunflower seeds at one of the bird feeders … only 10 yards from where I was sitting. When I stood up I quickly realized that the entire bear family was visiting Hoeg Hollow. There isn’t much food in the woods right now, and my seven bird feeders was just too nice an attraction to miss during their evening ramblings. The four bears spent over 45 minutes at our home on Amity Creek! Occasionally they would scamper into the forest, but within seconds one or more of the cubs would reappear.

We have a window seat which is only a few feet from the feeders, and I got down on the floor and crawled across the room to the light switches. Dousing the lights provided the two of us perfect viewing from our darkened house without scaring the bears.

As a fyi, we are NOT turning lights “on and off” during any of the videos. My security cameras automatically switch between infrared and normal modes based upon the amount of light, which accounts for the perceived “flashes”. Given the intensity of the floodlights the cameras took some video “in living color” as Walt Disney would say!

And now as Ed Sullivan would say … Let’s get on with the show!
My cameras were either my Decko Security / TrailCams … read full review, or my Pixel 7a phone. I did not use my Sony A6300.

Movies may be found underneath the still images!

The Bear Family first arrives … one of the cubs is very, very brown, not black

Radom Black Bear Family Photographs. Notice the “brown cub” is “in process” at ripping the suet feeder down … 3rd image!

Oops … the BBQ is Hot! The cub jumped back quickly. It was smelling the pork chops I BBQ’d three hours earlier. Brownie learns about Smokey Joes!

Aftermath the Next Morning! Molly and I were sitting on the window seat … closest window.

Black Bear Family … The Movies!

Bears Arriving … Trailcam … No Sound (video link for email subscribers)

Our Reactions … Pixel 7a Phone … Taken from Inside (video link One and Two for email subscribers)

Up a Tree … and Down Again! (video link for email subscribers)

Inspecting the TrailCams (video link for email subscribers)

End of Post

Owl Missed Viewing the Eclipse

April 10, 2024Year 11MN North: Amityrichardhoeg@gmail.com

The Cornell School of Ornithology wanted to study and learn how North American birds reacted to this week’s eclipse. Would Amy, Momma Great Horned Owl who lives near Lake Superior think night was near and start her evening hoot / hunt? We will never know!

Day #6 (since Easter Morning first appearance)

The days leading up to the eclipse were warm and sunny.

The owlets now may be left by themselves while both parents hunt at sunrise and sunset. Momma tends to still be nearby on guard duty. She returns to the nest later each morning. These are still young owlets.

Day #8 ( since Easter Morning first appearance)

Lake Superior decided Cornell did NOT need to study Great Horned Owls! Rain reigned supreme, and Amy needed to keep her owlets warm and dry.

Eclipse Day Storm (owlet under Momma owl)

The Movie (video link for email subscribers)

I am still amazed with this nest. The fact that I have been able to see right into the nest and even directly underneath Momma Owl is is stupefying.

Northland Bird Migration!

April 9, 2024Year 11MN North: South Bog, WI North: NW Wisconsinrichardhoeg@gmail.com

During the long cold winter months, we hearty Northlanders often wonder if the birds of spring will every return. This past weekend provided just a hint, and the next few days should give us a HUGE push of our feathered friends into Northwestern Wisconsin and the Northeastern Minnesota.

Over the weekend, the rest of Minnesota and Wisconsin actually had some southerly winds (not up here), but it still helped a few intrepid birds reach our environs. However, over the next few days the winds will be extremely favorable for migrating birds … even near Lake Superior. Better yet, the forest near my home is almost devoid of snow … not just spots out in the open. If you decide to look for birds remember these few facts:

Forecast southerly winds often run smack dab into Lake Superior. Many times there are winds out of the NE in the spring and early summer when the US Weather Service assures us to expect otherwise. My point is I normally do not bird the shores of Lake Superior (or just inland) at this time of year. Instead I prefer non Boreal forest habitat which warms earlier and quicker in the spring … think farmland with scattered forest interspersed habitat. I particularly like regions where southerly winds do NOT blow across Lake Superior. Thus, I tend to avoid the forests inland from the North Shore.
Remember your migration highways and if possible bird near those migration paths. The Mississippi River Flyway is only 60 miles west of Duluth, and birds will also come up through Wisconsin along north / south rivers … ultimately figuring out how to either migrate along or avoid Lake Superior.
Most songbirds do their major migrations at night, but will still move in a northerly direction during the day. Unlike the fall migration, birds do not tend to linger long in one location. They are in a hurry to return to breeding territory.

Here were some of my own cool finds over the weekend …

The South Bog Region of NE Minnesota (farmland and forest south of Meadowlands)

Northern Shrike Returning to its Canadian Homeland