Shorebird Cycling Send Off!

Year 3

Tomorrow Molly and I leave on the Liberation Tour, a 1,200 to 1,400 self-support bicycle tour. Hopefully as we bike the northern Great Lakes in addition to some great scenery we will also find a few migrating birds. Hope to stop by Whitefish Point on the eastern end of Lake Superior. Here is our planned route:

liberation-tour

If you wish to follow our bike tour, in addition to this blog, my wife will be blogging about our experiences. In Molly’s case, she is actually a professional writer, often featured in Lake Superior Magazine. In other words, she writes better than me! In addition, I will be updating a bike diary on the portal, Crazy Guy of a Bike.

This morning was my last chance for some local birding. The Park Point Recreation Fields were busy with migrating birds, particularly shorebirds. Had a nice chat with Tom Samuelson who was up from the Twin Cities. Check out his images, including the Merlin. His pics are definitely better than mine!

In addition to Tom, a Duluth friend and professional photographer was also standing next to me. He took some FANTASTIC photographs of the Merlin attack. It’s worth checking out Mike’s Facebook page (no FB account required) or his own web site. Mike shows me quality to strive for in my images. I’ve also included his web site:

And now on to my images … perhaps I’ll need to upgrade my camera and lens one of these days?!

Semi-Palmated Plover
y3-m09-park-point-semi-palmated-plover

Merlin Kills Sandpiper
y3-m09-park-point-merlin-kill

Short Billed Dowitcher
y3-m09-park-point-short-billed-dowitcher

American Golden Plover
y3-m09-park-point-american-golden-plover

American Widgeon
y3-m09-park-point-american-widgeon

 

Marcell Magpie Morning

Year 3

Was amazed this morning to find a flock of 12 magpies near Marcell, Minnesota. Although there are a few farms a couple miles to the west, this area is noted for being Boreal Forest. As the wind has been out of the south for the past few days, it is unlikely this flock was blown off course while migrating. Last Fall I saw one magpie in the same area while hiking the woods. Thus, I am wondering if these are local birds which are extending their range.

I did submit an eBird report. Although I don’t submit eBird lists often, here are my reports.

Y3-M09-Marcel-Magpies-4A Y3-M09-Marcel-Magpies-2 Y3-M09-Marcel-Magpies-1Molly and I also had some fun biking to the Lost 40 … this area has 300 to 400 year old white and red pines, and was only saved from being logged early in the 1900’s due to a surveying error.
Lost-40-Molly-Tree-Hugging-2

Kayaking Under the Aurora Borealis!

Year 3

I could have named this post … The Northern Lights and the Same Time Next Year Gang, but I chose kayaking instead. The Labor Day 2016 holiday weekend finds friends and family gathering for our 27th annual gathering at our small Northwoods cabin. This year is already the year of the Aurora … with two great nights of watching dancing lights in the heavens. NOAA is now predicting an Aurora Watch for tonight (was not predicted the past two nights). Does this mean a ThreePeat?!

Molly and I arrived on Thursday and enjoyed a great display the first night, but yesterday evening was special as we shared the experience with 3 generations of Hoegs. We had folks from age 1 to 61 down on the dock watching the dance. Life is good!

I will admit to sheer fatigue. I have been staying out to the wee hours of the morning with my camera, and then getting up before the grandkids by 7 am. When you combine this with a daily bicycle ride the body is beginning to demand more sleep!

Kayaking Under the Northern Lights
Labor-Day-2016-NorthStar-Lake-Kayak-1B

3 Generations of Hoegs watch Pillars in the Sky
Labor-Day-2016-NorthStar-Lake-3-Generations-of-Hoeg

Smith Lake Aurora Borealis
Labor-Day-2016-Smith-Lake-N2

Suomi Lutheran Church … a humbling and peaceful experience
Labor-Day-2016-Suomi-Lutheran