Tag Archives: MN North: Greenwood Creek Bog

Greenwood Creek Boreal Bog Canada Lynx

Year 12

Oh my … was my heart thumping after seeing this Canada Lynx early this morning!!! This was no where near the bird feeders. I was hiking deep within the Boreal forest when I came over a rise, and realized a lynx was inspecting something on the ground only 50 yards in front of me. Thankfully I was wearing camouflage and came to a full stop before the lynx looked up. In addition the sun was partially behind me, and the strong breeze was at the big cat’s back (i.e. it could not smell me). The cat finally looked up and started walking right towards me! Upon seeing me, it dropped down to the ground an gave me a loooong stare for over a minute.

Lynx are an endangered species in northern Minnesota. The Superior National Forest estimates there are only 136 of these beautiful creatures in northeastern Minnesota. Thankfully the population seems to be increasing (read more on the the Superior National Forest’s Lynx web page.

Actually, due my trailcam sightings I have known for over one year there were lynx in the the area, but I had never seen one with my own eyes. That fact changed this morning!!!

Superior National Forest Canada Lynx

The lynx and I had a “stare down” once the big cat realized I was in front of it on the trail. Note its HUGE paws which are optimized for running across northern Minnesota’s deep snow as it preys upon snowshoe hare.

Migration Madness!

Year 12, ,

The birds are migrating! The birds are migrating!

A few days ago I had a most excellent time in the rain at Forest Hill Cemetery. During migration damp and foggy conditions will often bring warblers down to the ground (rather than high up in the trees). Such was the case in the drizzle, but with calm winds. The warblers still congregated at the north end of the first pond at the cemetery. This area was the most protected, and for over a half hour I had Yellow-Rumped and Palm Warblers within just a few feet of me. It was fun.

A few birds from that fun time in the rain …

Palm Warblers

Brown Creeper

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Once the weather cleared over the past three days I have seen an amazing number of Broad-Winged Hawks. These smaller hawks set up on the side of the roads and hunt for both songbirds and small mammals. This morning it seemed like these raptors were wherever I looked on Lake County Two between Two Harbors and my Greenwood Feeders.

Broad-Winged Hawks a Hunting!

Finally I apologize for the falloff in terms of post frequency. Some of you know that I am re-battling Prostate Cancer. Tomorrow will be my 20th radiation treatment (out of 40 planned). Thankfully the prognosis is excellent, but the treatments and medication tires me out. Essentia Health was very cooperative in terms of scheduling my appointments in the early afternoon. They understand part of the treatment/healing process is to continue doing the things a person loves … for me birding. Thus, a typical days sees me head out for the boreal forest around 6:45 am, and get back late morning …  then on to my daily radiation treatment. Unfortunately I have experienced some radiation side effects which my medical team has helped me battle through. However, by later in the afternoon I tend to be tired and thus blogging frequency has suffered. Sorry.

Is Spring Coming in the Northwoods??

Year 12

Yesterday I was able to drive my car to my summer parking spot on Forest Road #813 for the first time this spring. This allowed me to take new hikes and shift my trailcams to locations deep in the wilderness. During yesterday morning’s hike for the first time there were a reasonable number of migrants present (not a lot). It was fun to see kingfishers, wilson’s snipe and of course robins. At the bird feeders out by Lake County #2, purple finches rule and are getting to settle in for their breeding season.

My hike’s excitement was flushing a Northern Goshawk at almost the identical moment I heard a nearby Ruffed Grouse drumming. This coincidence led me down a rabbit hole when I got home … do Northern Goshawks with their prey preference for grouse respond and hunt based upon drumming heard. The answer is definitely yes! I found a University of Minnesota study which determined based upon their research in northern Minnesota that upon examining kills of banded grouse, 75% if these grouse were killed extremely close to their drumming logs during courtship displays. In other words, looking for a good female is dangerous!

Today’s photo of the day is of a recently returned Red-Bellied Woodpeckers. While some years a few will stay over in the Northland, this past winter these woodpeckers seemed to have all migrated south. One can tell this is a male because the red plumage reaches completely from the base of its back neck to its bill (not true for the female)