Boats, not Birds!

Year 5

It was blustery over the weekend. Lake Superior showed one of its infinite varying moods. Our region experienced lots of rain, winds gusting to 40 mph, and big waves out on Lake Superior. Like any “young boy” (now in my early 60’s), I love boats. Thus, with birding being difficult I migrated to the lake. On Friday I photographed the Michipicoten (built in 1952), one of my favorite ore boats, as it arrived at Duluth’s Canal Park.

Some of you may not know that Duluth is one of America’s largest ports, and is located at the western terminus of the St. Lawrence Seaway. In addition to ships like the Michipicoten which ply their trade wholly on the Great Lakes, Salties sail to Duluth carrying cargoes from around the world.

Duluth’s port is managed by the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. With their permission I am attaching a pdf of the most current issue of their magazine, Spring 2018. If you are a boat nerd like me, a historian, or just like pretty photos of ships on the lake, take a look. Back issues may be accessed via their web site.

Birding Off the Grid!

Background, Year 5, ,

Or in a metro area, you should consider using Google Map’s offline feature. In my case, over the past nine days I have birded “The Big Bog” near Upper Red Lake Minnesota, Sax-Zim Bog (NW of Duluth), Cloverland (NW Wisconsin) and finally this morning … deep in the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. Now you may be thinking, I live in a metropolitan area, why should I worry about accessing data offline?

The answer is simple, using the offline feature of Google Maps dramatically increases the response time of your maps / navigation. While you may not be off line like me, metropolitan areas can be difficult to navigate whether your birding or just trying to find that new restaurant where you are meeting friends. Your phone will not need to download maps as you move around a region. If you have a restricted data plan, the maps can be downloaded at home while connected to wifi (i.e. no data charge).

Finally, believe it or not the navigation system with audible commands works when offline. Your GPS chip will find your location, and most smartphones will work with the offline data and speak / give directions.

Here are two of my better images found while “birding offline”

Common Merganser Trio (Guess what they were chasing? Love!)

Upland Sandpiper (rare for these parts … found 200 yards west of Cloverland town hall on Wisconsin Hwy #13)

Google Maps Offline Images

Leaving for The Big Bog from my cabin … offline and early in the morning … my phone is hooked up to my car’s display … also works fine w/o being integrated with your car.

Two Google Maps screenshots from my phone … remote and urban … shows my downloaded regions … two of my three children live in the Twin Cities. Regions update automatically.

An Explosion of Color in the Northwoods!

Year 5,

The winters are long and white here in northern Minnesota. The final snow this year did not melt till early May, and ice out on area lakes was mid May. While I love the winter, it also fantastic when the Northwoods finally explode with color once again. Over the past week color has been coming back to my world.

As a wildlife photographer, the combination of birds and blossoms is addicting! Over the past week I have camped out next Lilac and Crab Trees with my camera. This morning I almost despaired that I would find anything till a flock of migrating Common Grackles appeared. Jackpot!!!

Common Grackles … not so common!

Lilac Trees and Butterflies … Tiger Swallowtail and Monarch

Chestnut Sided Warbler