Tag Archives: MN North: Stony Point

Sunrise Hike on Ice Planet Zelda!

Year 13

This morning, the 1st of March, dawned bright, clear and cold. My first stop was the boreal forest near my house where my local Great Horned Owls, Les and Amy, were hooting their love back and forth, but then it was on to  take in the pre-dawn light out over Lake Superior … or Ice Planet Zelda!

Before continuing I want to call out one of my favorite birding bloggers, Brian Scott and Scozmo’s Photery. Through Brian and his walks in rural Scotland I have learned many new English words, including my new favorite … “dreich” (pronounced dreek). Apparently the weather recently in Brian’s part of the world has been damp, dark and dreary … in short dreich!

Well, northeastern Minnesota has been the exact opposite, sunny but darn cold. As I headed out an 80 minutes before sunrise the temperature was -7F (-22C).  Apparently I need the Scottish word for ridiculously cold.

Anyhow … without further adieu … Sunrise Over Ice Planet Zelda!

20 Minutes Before Sunrise … I am out on Lake Superior’s ice, but not the new ice.

The moment of sunrise

About 10 minutes after sunup … looking along the shore at Stoney Point. Calm today, but the pine shows the evidence of last week’s blizzard and crazy waves.

Surfing the Arctic Riviera at Stoney Point on Lake Superior

Year 13

While driving home from my morning’s bird outing at the Greenwood Creek Bird Feeders (-16F with 2 feet of new snow), I stopped by Stoney Point on Lake Superior which is 12 miles from my house. This location is often great for birding during both the northern and southern bird migrations. While I did not see any cool birds, some locals were surfing. Uff Dah! The surfers had to dodge ice flows.

The images are all taken from the same vantage point, with different camera lenses including varying degrees of zoom. Last week’s blizzard with its 60+ mph winds have totally ice crusted the trees near the shore.

 

Bow Saw Birding (big waves!)

Year 12,

The last three days have seen HUGE winds here at the head of Lake Superior. Yesterday afternoon winds were clocked at 65 mph on the bridges across the Duluth/Superior Harbor. More normal speeds were 40 to 45 mph. I took these two images and video at Stoney Point which is about 12 miles up the shore from my home (video link for blog email subscribers)

Not too surprisingly these fierce winds (and cold … it was 38F at my house yesterday afternoon) blew down some trees. Of course I went birding early this morning inland from Two Harbors. On Stoney River Forest Road I ran into this roadblock! No problem! Anyone who birds remote roads should carry a bow saw in their car. Although it took a while, I was able to continue my birding excursion after some elbow grease. I like this 30 inch box saw from Amazon, which has a permanent spot in my car’s trunk. As always I have zero sponsored links on this blog, and receive no compensation from any person or company. I purchase everything reviewed on this site with my own money.