I bookended Duluth today … watching my Great Horned Owl family near my house at sunrise, and then I drove clear across town to Chambers Grove at Fond du Lac. The birds performed!
As a fyi, posts may be more infrequent in the near future due to computer problems. The good news is all my software and data is 100% backup up. I religiously run a backup every night at 3:00 am.
Great Horned Owl Family at 6:20 am. Dad is guarding the family from those pesky crows.
White Pelicans at Chambers Grove
When I was a child in the 1960’s, nary a person set foot (or even a toe) in the St. Louis River. This river was essentially dead, and had an amazing amount of industrial waste from Duluth, Superior and Cloquet. Enter the environmental movement of the 1960’s, and the WLSSD (Western Lake Superior Sanitary District). Sixty years later the river is now clean. Sturgeon even spawn once again (a fish that demands fresh, clean water). It was an act of faith for the DNR to restock sturgeon (they had been wiped out by pollution). It often takes 20 years before sturgeon are mature and spawn for the first time. How would like to take an action, and then wait two decades to learn if your efforts have been successful?
Just like the swallows return to Capistrano, the White Pelicans now return to Chambers Grove in Fond du Lac (Duluth neighborhood) every spring. The pelicans time their arrival to the spring spawn. The fish push up stream till they reach the Jay Cooke Park rapids. It’s gravy train for the hungry birds. Enjoy!
Oh my it was windy yesterday. The wind was gusting up to 30 mph off Lake Superior. This made birding a challenge. First, what bird in its right mind would migrate into such a strong NE wind. In addition, any birds already in the area wanted to hide from the wind. I actually saw some warblers at Mud Lake (St. Louis River backwaters), but they quickly disappeared down into the reeds. Smart move on their part.
I had not planned on visiting Chambers Grove, but given its proximity to Mud Lake I made the short drive. There were still White Pelicans hanging out on the island’s rock reef. Somehow I knew that they would fly soon, and a positioned myself to catch the take-off.
Take-Off of the Pelican Patrol
Naturally I hiked over to visit my owls. As expected they were perched in spots up in the various white pines that were a bit more protected from the wind. Even so, multiple times I saw the youngsters almost get blown off their perches.
Two of the Great Horned Owl Triplets
In addition, my Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker continues to look for love in my yard. Wish him luck!