I was not planning on heading out to chase the Northern Lights two nights in a row, but when the Aurora technical numbers were too fantastic to ignore. I decided sleep was for younger folk. LOL! Thus I decided to continue my Finnish Heritage Northern Lights Heritage Tour!
Two nights ago I enjoyed watching one of the most intense Aurora storms I have ever experienced in my life (Suomalainen Kirkko near Kettle River … still images / videos). Last night I visited the historic Davidson Windmill (Old Brule Heritage Society) which was built between 1900 and 1904. This windmill is just southeast of Superior, Wisconsin. Enjoy!
I have found the sky often gets bright green just before Lady Aurora starts her dance … such was the case last night
And the show starts. Lady Aurora was the star!
And the Movie! (video link for blog email subscribers)
Some folks like ducks. Some folks like hawks, and then there are individuals who LOVE cuckoos! Apparently I am that kind of person. I remember while on a self-supported bicycle tour in northern Scotland, even though I biked 833 miles I NEVER saw this fabled bird. I would take hikes after a full day’s ride to attempt to obtain a sighting. The cuckoos would be calling out just before sunset … “cuckoo, cuckoo”; yet nada. I was truly cuckoo.
Thankfully, in the last nine years I have learned the finer art of finding cuckoos. However, it was with trepidation that I headed out this morning at 6:55 am. Would Cuckoo Quest 2025 be successful? Apparently the numbers of this famous bird are a bit down this year. I think a primary food source of the cuckoo, the tent caterpillar, is not in the same abundance as some years.
Cornell describers the probability of spotting the Black-Billed Cuckoo (learn more) in this manner: “Uncommon and elusive, the Black-billed Cuckoo skulks around densely wooded eastern forests and thickets. Its staccato song can be heard day and night, but getting a look at its slender brown body and namesake black bill may take a bit of patience.”
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
