Tag Archives: MN North: Greenwood Creek Bog

Polka Power Bull Moose

Year 12,

I normally never listen to music or the radio while out birding, as I find it distracts me from finding my feathered friends, but on Saturday mornings I make an exception … because on KDAL Radio out of Duluth starting at 6 am for two hours, it’s the FunTime Polka Party! Imagine if you may this scenario … streaking through the pre-dawn darkness in your car while Hoop Dee Doo from Frankie Yankovic fills the Northland’s frigid winter stillness (video link for blog subscribers). One may also listen online.

Such was the case the last two Saturdays including when I saw this young bull moose in Sax-Zim Bog about 1/2 mile east of the highway 7 / 133 intersection on 133 … foraging south of the road in the recently logged area. Towards sunset yesterday evening I good friend of mine saw the moose in the same region.

The young bull moose (antlers already broken off)

And if you want the full, immersive experience, I pulled over in my car while on the way up to Greenwood one week ago … Polka Power Birding (and Moosing)(video link for blog email subscribers)

 

Greenwood Creek YouTube Channel at Sand Lake / Seven Beavers

Year 12,

Thursday evening Molly and I will attend a small reception given by The Nature Conservancy celebrating their recent land purchase of over 10,000 acres which has dramatically expanded their Northeastern Minnesota initiative, Sand Lake / Seven Beavers Preserve. As many of you know, I am the individual who most likely spends the most time hiking in their wilderness preserve, and provides the Greenwood Creek Bird Feeders for everyone’s enjoyment.

I recently created a YouTube Channel with a primary focus upon the Greenwood Creek Boreal Forest Bog in the Sand Lake / Seven Beaver’s Preserve. My goal was to have the channel finished before the The Nature Conservancy’s reception.

Please browse to my new channel and consider subscribing!

The channel is 100% non commercial and will feature the nature and wildlife of Greenwood. In the preserve I have remote birdsong listening stations, trailcams and bird feeders. A small trailhead parking area may be found 1/2 mile south of Greenwood Creek on Lake County Highway #2, which is also where the birdfeeders are located.

Learn more via this channel’s web links:

And that special night when Lady Aurora danced over Greenwood! (video link for email subscribers)

Red, White & Blue Patriotic Birding Plus Our National Bird!

Year 12, ,

Today was a great day of birding which started with a Sea Smoke Sunrise Over Lake Superior. Yup, only 10F as I headed inland from Two Harbors 20 minutes before sunrise, and the air water temperature differential made for spectacular conditions out over the lake. Now some folks might wonder about birding on opening day of deer hunting season in Minnesota, but if you know your habitat (deer hate bogs), and stay well away from any parked vehicles next to the forest (indicative of hunters) you will be fine. However, even if I think I am in the forest w/o anyone for miles around, I ALWAYS wear blaze orange or red.

Okay … why patriotic birding? The answer was simple. I saw beautiful red, white and blue colored birds … plus our national bird, the Bald Eagle! In additional I finally put out meat suet (hope the bears are asleep, or at least woozy). I am trying some bone marrow this year to entire Boreal Chickadees. I just drilled two holes through the bone, and then hung everything up using wire and ring eye screws. My final assignment was to place a BirdNet-Pi birdsong listening device deep in the wilderness.

On to the photographs … the Pine Grossbeaks were real special. Essentially nary a Pine Grossbeak was seen last winter. Today I watched a small flock.

Red: Pine Grosbeaks

White: Snow Buntings

& Blue: Blue Jays

and our National Bird: Bald Eagle