Good Grebe Morning (Reprise!)

Year 6

Another day … another Grebe, but in this case a lifer for me! I drove over to the Superior Entry shortly after sunrise in hopes I might get lucky and find some Red-Throated Loons feeding upon smelt while taking a break from their Arctic migration. No such luck, but this Eared Grebe which was definitely at the extreme eastern edge of it migration range was present.

Then I was dumbfounded as the only two Red-Breasted Mergansers present at the Superior Entry (HUGE area) swam right over to within five yards of me. It never hurts to be lucky; however given the angle of the sun they would have had difficulty seeing me. A good morning. Just wish I would find a Red-Throated Loon that is not 1/2 mile distant out on Lake Superior.

Good Grebe Morning to You!

Year 6

The Lester Park Golf Course Ponds in Duluth are an excellent spot to bird early in the morning during migration. This Horned Grebe checked me well over shortly after sunrise this morning, and then decided I was harmless. I watched it hunt for about ten minutes till I went to check the other four ponds.

In the last two days I have seen:

1. Ruby Crowned Kinglets (major migration numbers)
2. Yellow-Rumped Warblers (major migration numbers)
3. Palm Warblers
4. Phoebes
5. Tree Swallows
6. Buffleheads (courting battles underway each day)
7. Greater Scaup
8. Great Horned Grebes

and the usual suspects!

One thing I like about the ponds is while the numbers of ducks are not huge (normally 2 to 10 of a given specie), the smaller flocks normally don’t spook so easily giving me a chance to watch. Visit very early in the morning before golfers scare the ducks off the ponds.

Horned Grebe

Migration and Ponds

Year 6

Do you know where all the small ponds are in your neighborhood? These ponds are songbird food factories and “turn on” long before their deeper water cousins, northern lakes. Every day brings some different birds as the migration continues. While I had seen a few Yellow-Rumped Warblers, today with the south wind and warmer weather migration of our first warblers was in full swing.

Striking a Pose for the Photographer

Scaring a Bug … Yellow-Rumped Warbler