Tag Archives: WI North: NW Wisconsin

Northland Bird Migration!

Year 11,

During the long cold winter months, we hearty Northlanders often wonder if the birds of spring will every return. This past weekend provided just a hint, and the next few days should give us a HUGE push of our feathered friends into Northwestern Wisconsin and the Northeastern Minnesota.

Over the weekend, the rest of Minnesota and Wisconsin actually had some southerly winds (not up here), but it still helped a few intrepid birds reach our environs. However, over the next few days the winds will be extremely favorable for migrating birds … even near Lake Superior. Better yet, the forest near my home is almost devoid of snow … not just spots out in the open. If you decide to look for birds remember these few facts:

  • Forecast southerly winds often run smack dab into Lake Superior. Many times there are winds out of the NE in the spring and early summer when the US Weather Service assures us to expect otherwise. My point is I normally do not bird the shores of Lake Superior (or just inland) at this time of year. Instead I prefer non Boreal forest habitat which warms earlier and quicker in the spring … think farmland with scattered forest interspersed habitat. I particularly like regions where southerly winds do NOT blow across Lake Superior. Thus, I tend to avoid the forests inland from the North Shore.
  • Remember your migration highways and if possible bird near those migration paths. The Mississippi River Flyway is only 60 miles west of Duluth, and birds will also come up through Wisconsin along north / south rivers … ultimately figuring out how to either migrate along or avoid Lake Superior.
  • Most songbirds do their major migrations at night, but will still move in a northerly direction during the day. Unlike the fall migration, birds do not tend to linger long in one location. They are in a hurry to return to breeding territory.

Here were some of my own cool finds over the weekend …

The South Bog Region of NE Minnesota (farmland and forest south of Meadowlands)

Northern Shrike Returning to its Canadian Homeland

The Movie (video link for email subscribers)

Northern Harrier Looking for a Friendly Boreal Bog (and a friendly callout to Lorraine and her Northern Harrier!)

Sandhill Cranes … I think this pair has returned to their favorite Northland Farm

Apparently cows are also into bird watching!

NW Wisconsin (Wisconsin 35 farmland near Cloverland)

Red Hawk Hunting

And some local color … Goldfinches stay with me all winter, but they a becoming golden once more.

Crazy Success Cuckoo Quest 2023

Year 10

I rose long before sunrise yesterday morning, which is a challenge because the sun rises at 5:15 am. However, I wanted to catch the early morning golden hour in my search for Black-Billed Cuckoos. Yesterday morning’s light was perfect given the fact all the rain over the past few days (3 inches in NE Minnesota) had knocked the forest fire smoke out of the air, and the day had dawned clear as a bell.

Cuckoo Quest 2023 was a smashing success. Not only did I find lots of cuckoos, but my camera even captured a Black Bear! (plus a Baltimore Oriole, Purple Finches, an American Kestrel and an Upland Sandpiper). It is a time of plenty in the Northland for birds if you know where to look!

First, birding equals location, location, location. While I had documented an amazing number for Black-Billed Cuckoo eBird sightings in my earlier post, I actually skipped all but one of the of the earlier sighting spots due to various things I did not like about those locations. However the location on Hessey Road was wunderbar! (see my screenshot of location and Google Maps link). This spot is stupendous. There is an old white pine (65% dead) that is by itself way out in the open and every bird loved landing on that same tree early in the morning … including some of the multiple cuckoos I heard calling. The old white pine in combination with forest on one side of Hessey Road and farmland / pasture on the other side of the road was perfect for birds. In my 90 minutes of birding on the dirt road, zero cars drove by me!

Now … here are photographs that I took all from near the old white pine on Hessey Road.

The first star of the morning, a Black Bear

Black-Billed Cuckoos

American Kestrel

Baltimore Oriole

Purple Finch

Two short videos of the famous cuckoos (links for email subscribers: One | Two)

On the the way home I watched this Upland Sandpiper

Now it’s off to Lake Vermilion for a week at its very remote NW corner! I also intend to spend some time up at Crane Lake and the border region … only 40 minutes from our Lake Vermilion cabin.

Cuckoo Quest 2023!

Year 10

It’s almost here! Excitement reigns in the Northland. Cuckoo Quest 2023 will be this Friday morning! Yes, your intrepid Northwoods birder will brave the Wisconsin Grasslands in search of the Black-Billed Cuckoo! Is this a quest for a person who is cuckoo? No! My thanks as always to the Wisconsin DNR and their annual Cuckoo Population Survey. The area inside the map has lots of cuckoos, with GPS locations! Thank you Wisco DNR in advance for providing me a great morning of birding. The area has numerous other grassland birds and wildflowers. I look forward every year to Cuckoo Quest. It is a delight for the senses.
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Here is a link to the eBird data. You “may” need an eBird account for the data to load. You definitely will need to zoom in on NW Wisconsin. The data is for Black-Billed Cuckoos seen in June of this year. The “dotted arrows” are my driving route.

Here are three photographs I’ve taken over the past few days … Grassland Birds!

Dickcissel

Bobolink

Eastern Kingbird (and dragonfly)