Yellow-Shafted Sock It To Me Time!

Year 6, ,

During migration not only do I see lots of birds, but the results mean I debate in my own mind all the possible great blog post titles! For instance today’s post could have been:

  • Fighting Flickers
    or
  • Migration Madness

However, being a child of the 60’s I could not resist of throwback to Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In … It’s Sock It To Me Time! (YouTube short compilation) The reason this title works is due to the battling Northern Flickers living in my yard. Since last Thursday, one male has claimed our yard as his territory. Yesterday a female flicker showed up on the scene, but so did another male. The battle has been ongoing … the female sits quietly or feeds while the men posture or scream (sing) at each other and the lady.

Amity Creek Fighting Flickers

The Men (Sock-It To Me Time)

The Lady

The Fight

In addition over the past few days I have visited all of my favorite wetlands. It is worth learning how weather affects you own local area. In northwestern Wisconsin the wetlands have been ice free for over a week. In northeastern Minnesota most ponds are still ice bound. All the lakes in my northeastern Minnesota boreal forest have a thick coat of ice. The primary reason between the two different habitats in terms of when they “turn on” for birding is Lake Superior. In northwestern Wisconsin most winds do not blow across frigid Lake Superior. See yesterday’s post showing ice flows if you do not understand why. These open ponds also mean waterfowl stage in large numbers in this water. My two favorite wetlands are the Johnson Mitigation and MacQuarrie Wetlands. See my birding location page to learn more, including maps / directions. I understand most of my readers do not live in northern Minnesota, use this “real time” migration map from eBird to learn if the migration is “hot” in your local region.

In another sign of spring, I am home this morning for our “prairie grass” burn. Our yard is part forest, part grass. The grassland portion needs to be burned every few years to keep it healthy. My role is actually just to observe the burn, as professionals carry out this task.

Rough Legged Hawks (2 unique birds were hunting … heading north to the Arctic)

Trumpeting Swans (issuing a challenge to a pair on a nearby pond)

Hooded Merganser Love (two’s company … three is a crowd)

Staging Ducks in Flight

Red-Winged Blackbird

Magical Minnesota Morning (ice flow video)

Year 6

This morning a bit before sunrise while on the way to the “birding grounds”, I got distracted! As I drove across the Aerial Bridge a few minutes after sunup I noticed the beautiful first light of the morning reflecting off ice chunks which were flowing out into Lake Superior. The St. Louis River current was fast due to all the snow melt runoff.

Birding was very successful … images coming tomorrow.

Canal Park Lighthouse Lake Superior Ice Flow Sunrise
(photos taken about eight minutes apart)

White Pelicans at Sunrise

Year 6

Friday morning after watching the full moon set in Jay Cooke State Park I drove over to Chambers Grove at Fond Du Lac in Duluth. The park has been upgraded and there is nice new short hiking trail that heads up river from the park. With the water so fast right now due to snow runoff, the trail does not yield any interesting  wildlife. When the current slows down it will be fun to explore along this trail.

One sign of spring here in the Duluth area is White Pelicans return to the St. Louis River. Many different kinds of fish are now in the river to spawn from Lake Superior, and the pelicans are very aware of that fact. The clean-up of the river from my childhood days in the 1960’s is amazing. Back then the river was dead from industrial pollution. There are even sturgeon spawning again in the river! (sturgeon require extremely clean water)

I reached Chambers Grove shortly after sunrise at 6:15 am. However, I could have waited. The sun did not kiss the park and river where I was located till 7:00 am. The pelicans understood this fact, and huddled together with heads beneath their wings an attempt to stay warm. I took some short hikes and waited for the sun to finally appear. If you desire to photograph white birds it is important to use “first light”. Even 2 to 3 hours after sunrise, the whites will blow out in photographs.

White Pelicans First Light Photos and Video

Hey guys … Why did the Birders cross the road?!

And more images …