Tag Archives: MN North: Greenwood Forest Fire Area

Northern Lights / Lady Aurora Danced & Danced

Year 10,

Oh my, did Lady Aurora dance last night. The Northern Lights display in northern Minnesota was fantastic. I drove north from my home in Duluth to just south of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). This region was recently designated a Dark Sky Sanctuary by Dark Skies International. While the Aurora Borealis display was seen hundreds and hundreds of miles to my south, being able to view the dance in a truly dark location was awe inspiring. I hope you enjoy my images and videos, all taken last night … what a great birthday present for me!

All photographs taken within the Greenwood Forest Fire Burn Area in the Superior National Forest. You may wish to visit my Northern Lights Viewing and Photography Page. It reviews forecasting tools and camera settings among other things.

Sand River Northern Lights

Looking Southwest! (one should NOT be able to watch the Northern Lights in the southerly direction)

Steve! (a rare Northern Lights Velocity Enhancement)

Safety in Important (may need to maximize this image)

Movies??! (I was able to take Northern Lights videos in real time, not time lapse photography. This is unheard of, and I was not using a super fancy camera … a Sony A6300 set at ISO 3200 with a 16mm lens)(Video link for blog subscribers)

A Selfie! (My attempt to take a selfie was quite comical. I was on location with a buddy of mine. While the temperature at sunset was 37F, by 10:30 pm the mercury was falling and would reach 14F. A strong crust of snow was forming, but each time I would scamper out to get in my planned image … often I would suddenly break through the snow that was 4+ feet deep and fall. Steve and I got some good belly laughs out of my ineptness, but I only had 10 seconds before the timed shutter delay would fire).

Assuming you are still with me, make certain you visit my Northern Lights page on this web site. You will find lots of useful information on how to know when to find and view Northern Lights.

17 Spruce Grouse! (and a Red Morph Screech Owl!)

Year 9,

Did I forget to mention the Phainopepla … in northern Minnesota, not in the Desert southwest of Arizona??! (first ever sighting in Minnesota). Yesterday was a day of birding I will not forget  for a looonnnnng time.

I had been birding well north of Two Harbors where I saw 17 Spruce Grouse, including a flock of ten birds! When I got back into cell phone coverage area there was a voicemail from my wife, who definitely is NOT a birder. She was bicycling up the North Shore when she noticed a lot of folks near McQuade Harbor with cameras and binoculars. She stopped to ask what they were seeing, and voila! … A Red Morph Screech Owl, and a Phainopepla.
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In the afternoon I in turn went cycling over to McQuade Harbor and was rewarding with better views of the Phainopepla! What the heck is a bird from the desert southwest doing on the shores of Lake Superior?! The Phainopepla was just up the shore (about 20 yards) in the trees by the shut-down motel near McQuade Harbor.

The Red-Morph Screech Owl

The Spruce Grouse (video link for email subscribers)

The Phainopepla (near Duluth, Minnesota … not Tucson)

Forest Hill Friendly

Year 9, ,

The last migration push is on hold, and will be until these strong winds out of the south change to out of the north. In the meantime, birds in the area tend to stick around, and there are very few new arrivals. One easy location for me to check is the Forest Hill Cemetery. There is a year round resident Pileated Woodpecker which is enjoying all the very old trees in the cemetery.

One of the other common species migrating through the Duluth area right now are American Crows (some stay year round). This individual along with a migrating Canada Goose felt it was bathtime.

Finally, if you have time get out in the Boreal Forest this weekend. The second set of peak colors is upon us … when Tamarack Pine Tree needles are golden. A nice drive is going up Lake County #2 to Stony River Forest Road. My buddy, Greg, and I made that drive yesterday morning and loved the frosted colors. We did find one Red-Tailed Hawk.

This image was taken near Grand Portage right on the border with Canada. Molly and I were up there last Saturday.