Waiting for Godot Bird

July 9, 2019Year 6MN North: Mouth of the Lester River, WI North: Brule Riverrichardhoeg@gmail.com

I am not certain who was Waiting for Godot (YouTube link), me or the Northern Flicker chicks. Over the past few days they have been screaming for their supper (hard to call it singing). Mom and Dad are starting to ignore them in an attempt to get them out of the nest hole. This is not cruel on the part of the parents, but smart. I’ve already watched as some local crows raided the nest hole one week ago and ate one of the chicks. While I took photographs of that event, they were gruesome and I decided not to post same.

Yesterday evening after supper I decided it was time to take the classic photos of the flicker chicks trying to eat a parent. It is dangerous feeding these youngsters given the sharp long beaks! This feeding took place about ten minutes before I lost my light. I had been outside watching the nest for over an hour before the parent decided to give the kids a final feed of the day.

Northern Flicker Feeding

In the first two images one of the chicks is looking for a meal, and then demanding same!

The other images tell “the rest of the story”

I also want to thank Jeannette L. for inviting me over to her beautiful country home near Brule, Wisconsin. While most of the birds were not interested in posing for the camera, we had a delightful birding excursion. Highlights for me were seeing all the Eastern Towhees and an American Bittern. This Bluebird was at the limit of my camera range. I thought it was going to fly down and feed its hatchlings, but this meal was for itself!

Bluebird

Finally, I’ll end with two duck photos from this morning’s bicycle ride. Near the end of my ride I took a brief hike off bike along the Lester River. I will admit I could not identify the Hooded Merganser juvenile till I got home with my photographs. The Common Mergansers were an easy ID, and I have been watching this family for over a week. An excellent resource for bird identification is Merlin Bird ID from Cornell University. This app takes your photograph and displays likely matches. For my juvenile hoodie this was very helpful.

If you’re still with me, this morning’s 20 mile bicycle along Lake Superior was memorable in many ways. The world is quiet and calm at 6:15 in the morning. Unfortunately my enjoyment ended in a painful manner. A hornet flew into my cycling jersey (zippered down at the neck partway down my chest to help keep me cool). I was stung multiple times on my chest before I could stop my bike and resolve the situation. Ouch.

Snowy Searches for Color (poll results)

July 7, 2019Background, Year 6richardhoeg@gmail.com

Snowy Searches for Color … the polls are now closed and the results are tabulated.

Wow! My thanks for all the great feedback. 145 of you voted, and many people provided additional comments. You voted in a resounding manner … for … Snowy in a Field! 82% of you voted for this cover. Thank you so very much.

The most common comment for this cover is it looked like this owl was searching for color. Many of you also noted I needed to increase the cover text font size (done).

Here is a low-res mock up of the new cover as voted for by you!

Lester River Beaver Birding (videos)

July 7, 2019Year 6MN North: Mouth of the Lester Riverrichardhoeg@gmail.com

My beaver is still hanging around at the mouth of the Lester River. Now that the current has slowed considerably and the water temperatures have risen, the river is starting to yield some fun quick birding trips from my home. The mergansers are often found in the river feeding on newly spawned fish, and small bugs. The kingfishers are actively feeding which means their young will soon appear.

Oh … yes, and my beaver. I was surprised to find Mr. Beaver (or Mrs. Beaver) in the river three days ago. I do not think of Lester River as being prime beaver habitat, and said mammal had to swim quite a ways on Lake Superior to reach the mouth of this river (the barrier falls would have prevented a downstream arrival).

I like to arrive at the river a few hours after sunrise. Given the deep ravine, there is very little light on the river till the yellow orb gets a bit higher. As it is, I am still always dealing with low light photography. Thus, before heading to the river I explored some local highways this morning where this American Kestrel was most cooperative.