No photographers were harmed in the making of this video, but he did get cold and wet (video link for email subscribers)
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Actually the owling is great, but I am getting way to used to photographing in dark clouds, dizzle and 30 mph winds. It truly provides a challenge, and I arrive home from my hikes to see the Great Horned Owl family rather cold! Sometime next week this horrible weather is supposed to break, but in the meantime Lake Superior is delivering strong NE winds daily, with accompanying rain. Glad I’m not an owl! Mom Owl is doing a great job as her perch provides a windblock for the owlets to the huge winds blowing in off Lake Superior.
And two very short videos (video links for email subscribers: One | Two)
Migration is both in full force, and stalled out. Many bird species are stopping on their northern journey when they discover the land north of Duluth is locked in ice and snow. While getting back to breeding grounds first is important, being able to find food is also imperative. Over the past few days, I have watched birds raid my feeders forcing me to refill three times each day … using 10+ in bird seen every day.
This morning the rush seems to be a bit calmer. The hordes of redpolls and juncos are now just small flocks. Yesterday afternoon during a 30 minute period, I saw all of these birds in my yard … a few are obviously not feeder birds.
Here are three very short videos, which show just how crazy active my feeders have been. From sunrise to sunset normally there were always hundreds of birds in my yard. I have six feeders. (video links for email subscribers: Video 1 – Video 2 – Video 3). It never ceases to amaze me how many redpolls can attach themselves to a thistle seed feeder (vid #2)
Photographs (a photobombing squirrel was even captured in the final image!)
Great Horned Owl Pic of the Day: I visited my owls three times yesterday. Last year Les and Amy were essentially yard birds; this year they are making me hike a bit to see their family.