Tag Archives: MN North: Minnesota Point

NE Minnesota 2025 Warbler Fallout!

Year 12, ,

Yesterday songbirds, but mainly migrating warblers were almost falling out of the sky … known as a bird fallout. I spent 90 minutes on a protected St. Louis Bay (Duluth Harbor) beach which had some small mud flats which screamed bugs (i.e. food) to the migrating birds. I saw hundreds and hundreds of warblers and most of the time they were within ten yards of me, if not closer (think a few feet). The warblers would move up and down the beach, and just ignore me … landing two feet in front of me, and then behind me. When birds are extremely hungry, almost starving, a big monster (i.e. me) is not a concern.

I discovered yesterday when I used the term “fallout” with birds many folks did not know what I was talking about. Here is my definition … others might describe a fallout better. The term refers to what happens when birds almost “fall out of the sky” during migration due to weather conditions and often a migration barrier (like a barrier of water … think Lake Superior). Here in Duluth warblers were running into dense fog, and fierce winds out of the NE off Lake Superior. The fog brings warblers out of the treetops towards the ground in their search for bugs, and the wind makes it almost impossible for them to continue their migration northwards. The beach where I was standing was protected from yesterday afternoon’s wind (35 mph as measured by a buoy just off shore), and the lower level of Lake Superior water this year also means there is a small mud flat against the harbor shore (St. Louis River Bay) with bugs. Food!

Here are some of the photographs I took yesterday during the fallout. Make certain to watch the videos! I also spent some time up at the Hartley Nature Center. There is a stream immediately next to the parking lot, and over the years I have discovered that during migration warblers love the large culvert right next to the parking lot. Once again, the protected stream as it flows through the culvert tends to have some of the first bug hatches in the area.

Hartley Nature Center Birds

American Redstart

Black and White Warbler

Veery

Park Point / Minnesota Point Birds

American Redstart

Blackburnian Warbler

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Northern Waterthrush

Palm Warbler

Scarlet Tanager

Tennessee Warbler

And when I got home … this Scarlet Tanager was hanging out within a few feet of our living room windows … next to my feeders, on our deck’s Adirondack chairs and one of the trailcams!

2025 Minnesota Songbird / Warbler Fallout … the Movies! (video links for email subscribers: Scarlet Tanager Video | Blackburnian Warbler Video … speed reduced by a factor of two)

That’s all, folks!

Unexpected Pleasures on Park Point

Year 11

I drove down to Park Point (Minnesota Point) this morning leaving around 5:30 am. I almost did not head down to the Point for a “shorebird” walk on the beach because around 5:00 am when I looked outside at my house (800 yards above Lake Superior), there appeared to be low clouds, perhaps fog. Our weather has been so nasty I really wanted to bird the big lake, but not in cold fog. Like most mornings before I go birding I decided to check my weather map and live web cams.

My favorite weather app which is available on Android or Apple, is Weawow. I make a donation of a few dollars and look carefully at the hour by hour forecast, and the weather maps (both rain and wind / speed / direction). This weather app is very detailed, and does NOT have advertising or pop-ups. Regardless, the app seemed to indicate a trip to the big lake would work fine.

However, I always check the live Canal Park webcam before heading out. I look at the American flag on the display tug boat, sky conditions, and lake waves. Here is what the scene looked like at 5:08 am … a beautiful calm morning 15 minutes before sunrise. Game on!

My shorebird search was a bust, but the flowering fruit trees just off the main parking lot yielded a rare sight for northern Minnesota … a Red-Headed Woodpecker! This bird was definitely worth the price of admission!!! The bird seemed to be storing food, but the habitat on Park Point would not be my expectation in terms of red-head friendly.

The moral of the story for birding … do your research but then be willing to adjust and have fun!

Red-Head … the Movie! (video link for email subscribers)

Flying the Gauntlet

Year 11

This morning I drove down to the Park Point Recreation Area. Given the day finally dawned with less wind and sun, I was hoping for early migrants. Except for some early arriving waterfowl in the bay, there were almost zero birds … nary a songbird. However, even though the temperature was 26F at 8 am, I cruised the area slowly with my car windows open. Suddenly I heard a Merlin, and then there were two! These falcons are early arriving raptors and they know that there is a huge area stretching from the end of the Sky Harbor Airport Runway to the Recreation Area with almost zero trees. Songbirds need to fly/migrate through this stretch (the Gauntlet) and Merlins can easily catch meals. If you don’t keep your windows somewhat open, even in the winter you will miss out on a lot of good birds. If you walk the Park Point Nature Trail out to the Superior Entry in April, you will often hear many Merlin couples as they choose nesting sites.

In addition I saw this late migrant. This immature Bald Eagle was not in a hurry to return north as it is not yet sexually mature and breed. Other than the eagles that will remain in our area and are already on nests, migrating eagles migrated through our region many weeks ago. As a fyi, Bald Eagles do not get their white head at tail till after they are four years old.