After the extreme quiet that pervades the forest in the winter, the sound and song in the woods is fantastic on this Summer Solstice Day! This morning up at Hawk Ridge (2 miles from my house) this Song Sparrow demanded I take its photograph, and not an image of the Chestnut Sided Warbler which was also sharing the pine. I agreed!

Upon getting home, I birded my own forest using my ears once again. A squawking easily caught my attention and I was rewarded with watching two Yellow-Shafted Flickers attack a crow. Given the intensity of the attack, I knew their nest hole had to be nearby. Thus, I quietly waited and watched. Ten minutes later I was rewarded and discovered their home. The chicks have obviously hatched, but are not yet big enough to look out the hole and demand food. That day will come. This nest hole means I am now monitoring two woodpecker holes (also a Red-Bellied Woodpecker pair) within 150 yards of my front door. Now if I could find the Pileated Woodpecker hole!

Are enjoying the Season of Sound? The best birding right now involves hiking to new locations and then stopping to listen for extended periods of time. The birds will tell you where they are if you are willing to listen!

While bicycling in rural northwestern Wisconsin yesterday I noticed quite a few Indigo Buntings. This was a sign for me that some of our latest migrants back to the Northland had finally returned. Thus, last night after supper I drove the two short miles up to Hawk Ridge. While most folks know Hawk Ridge as one of the premier Autumn raptor migration locations in North America, during the late Spring when songbirds are migrating north the extensive wild fruit and berry trees attract lots of birds on calm, clear mornings. Actually the birds may be up at Hawk Ridge on cold, wet, windy and foggy days, but I prefer to stay home! 🙂

Note: Hawk Ridge is a great fall raptor migration viewing spot because hawks while migrating south run into Lake Superior. Raptors do not like to fly across large bodies of water, and thus they fly hundreds of miles down the North Shore of Lake Superior till the birds reach the end of the lake (Duluth). Out hill on calm warm days provide both great thermals for the hawks, and good viewing opportunities for us birders. From Hawk Ridge down to the lake is a drop of about 600 feet.

Hawk Ridge did not disappoint. In the 30 minutes before the sun dipped below the horizon, I was treated to a sunset with Golds, Greens and Indigo!

Indigo Bunting at Sunset

I returned at sunrise, the enjoyed a crystal clear calm morning (37F at 5:30 am). Here are a few of the birds I found this morning … and the John G. Munson arriving the Duluth harbor at sunrise (the view from Hawk Ridge out over Lake Superior towards town).

The John G. Munson Arriving at the Duluth Harbor

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Great Crested Flycatcher (Singing Out and Coughing Up!)

Cedar Waxwing Eating Blossoms