Ice Flow Bird

Year 3

I was amazed how much ice this female goldeneye was willing to contend with this afternoon  while diving for food at McQuade Harbor on the North Shore of Lake Superior this afternoon! This small recreational boat launch was almost 100% iced in, but the goldeneye pushed its way through the flows till it created a four foot wide space of open water from which it made dives in an attempt to find lunch.

On a sad note, the Snowy Owl I have been watching died yesterday evening when it swooped across a highway and was hit by a car. Upon arriving south to spend the winter in our area, unfortunately these northern birds do not understand the concept of autos.

Ice Flow Female Goldeneye
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John Beargrease Sled Dog Race!

Year 3,

Had a blast today hiking into the forest and setting up shop along Dago Creek north of Two Harbors, Minnesota. The weather was crystal clear and warm (32F or 0C). For a few hours I watched sled dog teams race by from my vantage point on the frozen creek bed.

The John Beargrease Sled Dog Race runs from Two Harbors up to the Gunflint Trail, and then back down to Duluth, and is the longest race in the lower 48 states (400 miles). Many mushers use it as a tune-up for the longer Alaska Iditarod. Although our race may not be as fierce as Alaska’s, the racers can expect the temperatures to plunge below zero (-16C).

The race itself is named after and commemorates the Native American, John Beargrease, who first delivered mail and packages by dog sled team along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Learn more about the man.

Here are photos from my outing.
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Boreal Bog Birds

Year 3,

Frozen Bog! It doesn’t get much better in terms of winter birding! As mentioned before, I often work as a volunteer naturalist at the Sax Zim Bog Visitor Center. The area just north of Duluth is the premier location for finding northern birds which travel south to enjoy our warm winters. Although yesterday’s bright sunny skies made finding the elusive Great Gray Owl difficult, humans and birds enjoyed the balmy weather that saw temperatures climb above freezing for the first time in months. Birds easily found yesterday just to name a few included Boreal Chickadees, Common Redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks, Gray Jays, and Pine Grosbeaks. Before actually driving up to the Bog, I stopped by my favorite Snowy Owl right at the moment of sunrise. Given sunny mornings have been rare recently, I wanted to take advantage of the “golden glow” on a Snowy as the sun shone its initial morning rays.

Sunrise Snowy!
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Great Jay or Canada Jay
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Pine Grosbeak (female)
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Roadkill Cafe Mapgpie
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