Canosia State Wildlife Refuge – Opsreys & Great Blue Herons!

April 27, 2016Year 3MN North: Canosia Wildlife Arearichardhoeg@gmail.com

Here in northern Minnesota, given ice out finally occurred, birds who eat fish have returned. Yesterday evening I hiked back into a rookery with the goal of determining whether my friends were back. Yes!

Thus, this morning I set out before dawn and ended back at Canosia. After a hike I arrived at the rookery. The Great Blue Herons and Ospreys tolerate each others presence. Such was NOT the case when a local bald eagle dive bombed the herons, but struck out on obtaining breakfast.

The Ospreys nest must be prime real estate. At one point I saw from a distance four male birds sitting on the nest and calling out to attract a female! Still it was fun when I got closer to see the remaining three squabbling over who got to keep the nest. A video may be found of the “trio” at the bottom of this post.

Squabbling Ospreys

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Great Blue Herons at the Rookery

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Windblown!

April 27, 2016Year 3MN North: Amity, WI North: Superior Entryrichardhoeg@gmail.com

For the 3rd day in a row, high winds blasted the Duluth end of Lake Superior. For a change, however, we got some sun! Winds of 25 to 40 mph make birding difficult. Thus I returned the to the Superior, Wisconsin entry to the harbor. In the second of the two photographs, the Baie St. Paul, out in the windblow lake, awaits her turn at the Superior Ore Docks.

When I got home, I was pleased to find a white-throated sparrow in my own yard. I think this bird was posing for a field guide … showing off its defining features!

Superior Entry Lighthouse

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White-Throated Sparrow

Huge Waves on Lake Superior (videos)

April 25, 2016Year 3MN North: Stony Point, WI North: Superior Entryrichardhoeg@gmail.com

Lake Superior was angry this morning. Given the HUGE winds out of the northeast, and the intermittent pouring rain I made the logical decision it did not make sense to go birding! 🙂

However, it did make sense to go wave chasing. My first stop was the Superior Entry Lighthouse over in Wisconsin on the South Shore of Lake Superior. Gitchee Goomie did not disappoint, and if Hiawatha had been our on the lake this morning, the song would have been sorrowful!

My second stop of the morning was Stoney Point on the North Shore of Lake Superior. This spot is about 20 miles up the lake from the Duluth’s Canal Park, and is the site of ancient volcanic lava flows. Better yet, deep water is just off shore, which means when the waves get near shore the topography of the lake bottom makes for an excellent display (i.e. waves fall apart fast). Stoney Point is a favorite spot for Great Lakes surfing for that very reason.

Stop #1: Superior, Wisconsin Entry Lighthouse on Lake Superior