I had to drive down and back from Duluth to the Twin Cities yesterday for my eye treatment (all going well). On the way home I stopped as I often do at the Fish Lake Nature Trails in East Bethel for a “quick bird”. I love this spot, not just for the Red-Headed Woodpeckers, but for all the other birds I often see at this super savannah and prairie grass habitat. As Dorothy says in the Wizard of Oz: “You’re not in Kansas anymore!” This is NOT the Boreal forest habitat where I live in northern Minnesota. Thus, different birds.
Anyhow, I totally lost count of the number of Bluebirds (150+) I saw yesterday afternoon. Given the strong winds, which seemed to be out of the WSW I suspect they will still be around this morning. The path from the parking lot to the lake trail was a favorite.
High Step Hiking!
It’s still 20 minutes before from sunrise, and I am already back from my first birding expedition of the day. I was out in the pitch dark wondering if my owl family would say hello. I was rewarded in Spades! After some “high step hiking” (in the dark you need to step highly to avoid stumbling over unseen roots and deadfall), I arrived on location. As if being cued by a Hollywood director, at least four of five owls starting their pre-dawn owl song for me. The parents were hooting their love back and forth (easily distinguishable due to the different pitch of their song), and at least two young were present … screeching and begging to be fed. It was hard to determine if all three triplet Great Horned Owl juveniles were around. I need the youngsters to beg at almost the same time . I triangulate the location of each bird by their calls, which assumes they don’t move. It was fun to say hello once again to the Amity Owls. Quite frankly I am amazed the youngsters have not yet been kicked out of the territory by the parents. My only speculation is hunting at the edge of Duluth must be good.
