Tag Archives: MN North: Canosia Wildlife Area

Fish for Dinner! (and other fine stories)

Year 6, ,

I love the northward migration. Each day brings new sights and sounds … and bike rides along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Over the past few days the male Ospreys have returned to the Northland. Often two different males sit in the nests waiting for the females to return. Two afternoon’s ago I found one returnee enjoying a fish supper. Hope folks are not squeamish!

Osprey … Fish for Dinner!

Dinner … The Movie

It’s important not to ignore my own back yard. Sometimes as a photographer I focus too much upon known birding areas, but forget to take photos at home. Here across from Amity Creek in Duluth (where I live)

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

White-Breasted Nuthatch

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Preening … the Movie!

However, I still like to get in the car and drive to my favorite birding locations. Early in the spring that means I head to NW Wisconsin and the Johnson Mitigation Wetlands near Cloverland. This morning’s trip yield many new returns, and some lingering Arctic birds.

Killdeer

Courting Wilson’s Snipe

The Movie … Wilsons’ in Love

I definitely am not forgetting the ponds at my local cemetery. With area lakes ice bound, Forest Hill Cemetery yields some good duck watching.

Ring-Necked Ducks (Two’s Company … Three’s a Crowd)

Finally, here is one leftover movie from the southwest. I never post this flick of a Cooper’s Hawk I watched my final afternoon. Cool bird.

Osprey First Flight!

Year 5,

Yesterday at sunrise magic happened. Over the past week I have been monitoring three Osprey nests in the Canosia State Wildlife Area. Each nest has two chicks, all of whom seemed ready to fledge.  On the way to the nest#1, I thought I might not even be able to see anything. The temperature was 44F with thick ground fog, but one mile before I reaching my destination the fog dissipated and the sun came out.

For the first 20 minutes I could only see one parent, which sat at the edge of the nest and screamed its greeting out into the morning. At this point, given some warming rays were finally touching the next, both chicks stood up, stretched, and tested their new flight wings. When the chick in back tested its wings, it lost its grip on the nest and rose to a height of four feet, quickly returned to the safety of its home! Such are first flights.

Osprey First Flight and Landing

Testing Flight Wings … Osprey Chick #1

On the way home I stopped by a local pond and discovered my first migrating Greater Yellowlegs on its way south. Interestingly enough, I did not know Yellowlegs eat minnows. I always thought they just consumed bugs. I guess not!

Canosia State Wildlife Area Sneetches!

Year 5

Over the past few days I have been swamping at sunrise. I have learned many facts:

  1. Standing in a swamp at sunrise is not for the faint of heart
  2. Flies come out 90 minutes after sunup … when the day starts to warm up
  3. Great Blue Heron chicks look like Sneetches!

I was actually amazed to find both the Great Blue Heron and Osprey chicks still on their nests. These two birds return to the Canosia State Wildlife Area about the first week of May. Thus I was surprised to find them still on next on August 1st.

Anyone, here are my Sneetch images. I was only able to spend ten minutes on site at the rookery. The flies drove me away.

Canosia State Wildlife Area Great Blue Heron Chicks (term used loosely … they’re big!)

Thankfully, the two Osprey nests are not as deep in the swamp which means fewer flies. My bug repellent worked well for mosquitoes. The second nest is actually in the bucket of an old steam shovel. Mike Mulligan would be pleased!

Parent Calling Out

Breakfast Time (for one chick only)

Testing Flight Wings