Tag Archives: MN North: Lester River

Superior Sunrise Biking and Birding

Year 5, ,

A sunrise on Lake Superior is fantastic. A better sunrise on Lake Superior is one experienced on a bicycle while birding. This morning I left my home at 6:30 intent on getting some exercise while at the same time keeping an eye out for wildlife.

My path was to bike up Scenic 61. On an early Saturday morning the highway is essentially a big bike path. A car might come by every ten minutes. Thus, wildlife viewing opportunities can be numerous. In addition to a large number of deer, I spied this red fox hanging out in some purple lupine, and then down on the rocks.

When I returned to the mouth of the Lester River, I hiked down into the ravine and found this Common Merganser family busily at work finding breakfast.

It was a great morning to bike and bird!

A 360 Degree Sunrise!

Year 4

While the wife is away (college reunion), the husband did play (in the storm!) My video of Friday’s fury has been watched over 125,000 times (and still Increasing)!

In case you missed my coverage, the video which has gone viral is the last “storm video” on my  Snow Storm Birding Blog Post (bottom of linked page).

Here is this morning’s 360 degree sunrise. The first view is taken looking out over Lake Superior (much calmer this Sunday morning). Twelve minutes later, I turned around and captured the reflected dawn light in the UMD Limnology Lab windows.

If you’re interested, here are the stats about my video posted early this Sunday morning by Destination Duluth.

24 Hours in the Northland: Boats, Birds, Fish!

Year 4, ,

Yesterday I could not buy a decent bird photograph. Although the Meadowlarks were back,  neither them or any other bird species would strike a decent pose for a photo. Thankfully I had a fallback … my first freighter image of this shipping season, The Michipicoten. This ore boat is a classic ship having been built in 1952 … making her four years more a classic than yours truly! I tend to be very picky about which ships I photograph, and the combination of the Duluth Shipping News Schedule and a real time marine app allows me to insure I am at the right place at the right time!

The Michipicoten

The ship photograph must have changed my luck, because over the next 24 hours birds seemed to want their photograph taken, and then to top it off … the steelhead run started which obviously had to be captured on camera. (native rainbow trout which spawn in Lake Superior rivers).

Failed! A Steelhead trying to jump a Lester River cascade.

Wisconsin Wetland Photographs

Ring-Necked Ducks

Sandhill Cranes et al

American Kestrel

A Distant Meadowlark

Stuffed! (A very full Bald Eagle which let me get amazing close and never flushed)