Tag Archives: MN North: Mouth of the Lester River

Days 340 & 341: The Birds of Frostbite Falls

Year 1,

The gloom of yesteryear (the past three weeks) is kaput. A cold high pressure system has come down from the Arctic, and night time temperatures are falling to below -10F (and colder) once you get a few miles away from Lake Superior. These cold temperatures mean bright sunny days with very little moisture in the air … given the sun does not rise too high in the sky in late December, photo conditions are excellent.

Frostbite Falls … a fictitious Minnesota location made famous by Rocky and Bullwinkle! The birds of Frostbite Falls still need to eat; thus one will find them in the normal haunts. If the conditions are real cold, birds will delay foraging for their breakfast till the thermal warmth of the sun raises the temperature a bit.

Finally, on the other end of the day, our area lives up to the term, Frostbite Falls. The lights of the Mesabi Miner are seen off the Duluth Ship Canal … Midnight Arrival!

Day 340: Pine Siskins on the Vermilion Trail
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Day 341: Sunrise Mallards on Lake Superior
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Midnight Arrival
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Day 265: Goose Rock & Hawk Attack

Year 1,

The early morning yielded some fun photos today. Shortly after sunrise, while a heavy cloud cover was still present, a view rays of the sun broke through the clouds to illuminate these Canadian Geese out on Lake Superior. Approximately one hour later I captured this sharp-shinned hawk attacking an owl decoy at Hawk Ridge. This location is one of the premier locations in America to view hawks during their annual Fall migration.

Goose Rock
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Hawk Attack (sharp-shinned hawk)
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Days 179 to 180: Backyard Birding

Year 1,

Often when one heads out birding, the temptation is too find some well know nature location and focus your efforts in that locale. Remember, quite often we should not ignore out own back yards! During the last two days I stayed near my house. The Great Crested Flycatchers were in my own yard and garden. The mallard and chicks were about 700 yards away down on the shore of Lake Superior. The moral of the story … keep your eyes open around your own neighborhood. You may be amazed at what you will see!

Day 179: Great Crested Flycatcher
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Day 180: Momma Mallard and Chicks
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