Molly and I are doing a short three day bike tour along the Wisconsin River. It is a scenic byway, and it lived up to its scenic name. Today’s 61 mile ride took us along some beautiful backwaters, and also included a climb up through a scenic small River valley. This area is unique as the glaciers did not scour the land, and thus it is quite hilly … except right next to the river where we were bicycling most of the time.
At one point Molly yelled for me to stop. She had spotted a Trumpeter Swan family in the wetlands right next to the highway. As noted previously, I always bike with my camera and monopod. That preparation was rewarded today!
One of the treats that comes with living up here in the Northland is the world is a beautiful explosion of color and scenery. As much dawn’s early light will often find me chasing brightly colored birds that are enhanced by the shadows and nuances of the golden hour, Lake Superior often pulls me down to her shore before sunrise.
Such was the case yesterday. Awakening at 4:15 am I glanced out the window. Some scattered storm clouds were moving off to the east. Although still half asleep, I jumped out of bed, threw on shorts and a t-shirt (plus a sweater … this is Lake Superior land after all!) and drove down to Canal Park in Duluth.
I took this photo while dawn’s early light was just being hinted. The sun would not come up for some time yet. I like the resulting image; hope you do also!
While people travel from all over the country to Sax-Zim Bog in the winter in hopes of seeing great grey owls, and other feathered friends from the frozen north, summer is also a great time to visit the bog. This blog post documents one of my favorite June birding excursion in the bog (map included).
Shortly after sunrise this morning I had a fantastic time watching some Tom Turkeys court and strut their stuff for a lone hen. She did not seem as impressed as I was with the gobbler’s courting displays! Eventually the group decided I was harmless, and I was able to slowly approach the lovefest!
After watching the turkeys try to improve their love life, the moment the sun popped out from behind the clouds, male bobolinks started singing in their attempts to attract a mate. The farm meadows and pastures at the corner of Overton and Arkola Road are a great place to watch birds. Park your car and sit for an hour. In addition to bobolinks, I saw a sandhill crane and multiple magpies while stopped.
You will find in this post:
Photos and two short videos of the courting turkeys
One photo and video of a bobolink singing to attract a mate
Summer Sax-Zim Bog birding map with annotations
I hope you enjoy these photos, videos, and find the map useful. It was a super fun outing.
