Tag Archives: MN North: Two Harbors Highlands

Morning Moose on Lake County 2

Year 13

This Cow Moose was the third moose I have seen in the past two mornings … two cows and one HUGE Bull Moose. Whereas the first two Moose only allowed for quick visits, this Cow let me watch her for over 40 minutes while breakfast was being served! The Yellow Flowers through which she was walking appropriately enough are named “Birdsfoot trefoil” … a member of the pea family of plants.

At one point the Cow Moose walked right towards me. While originally 30 yards distant. I had to back peddle and retreat across the road! See the video accompanying this post. Kind of felt like I belonged in Cicely, Alaska. (Northern Exposure Trailer)

Morning Moose in NE Minnesota

The Moose Movie! (video link for blog email subscribers)

Langley River Gems (2 Days of Beauty)

Year 13

Over the past two days I have immensely enjoyed the Langley River which is in the Minnesota’s Superior National Forest and reached via Lake County #2 / US Forest Road #15. I always pause at Langley River while heading up to Greenwood (only 12 miles distant), and see what gems are being offered. See this prior post for “four seasons images” of Langley River including moonset.

Yesterday I found two bald eagles which were standing in the shallows of the river having just made a kill. The juxtaposition of the eagles essentially in the water with flowing pads and spring greens was a new experience for me.

Langley River Bald Eagle

This morning I went back shortly after sunrise to conduct some drone flights of the river. While I never use drones for wildlife photography, these cameras provide me the unique perspective to explore wilderness streams and rivers.

Langley River by Drone

And finally the promised Tour of Langley River by Drone (video link for blog email subscribers)

Great Gray Owl Irruption Winter 2024/2025

Year 12, ,

By the 1st of December I will likely know whether a smaller owl irruption will follow last winter’s great event. Bird statistics show that it is not unusual for a smaller irruption to follow a big event (like last winter).

Last November, I was actually one of the first individuals who realized that a magical winter of owls was in the offing.  Given all the hikes that I take up in the Greenwood Boreal Forest Bog Region, I knew the number of owls I was seeing was most unusual. I kept my mouth shut about sightings with the exception of a few very trusted friends. Eventually the owls would move down to more populated and birded areas near Lake Superior, and we wanted to enjoy the experience before the word got out across America’s birding community (and it did).

Yes, last winter was special. For the first time ever I had a “Great Gray Owl” yard bird, and the owls were easily found within ten minutes to twenty minutes of my house from the latter part of December through mid February. I have a HUGE number of images of last year’s irruption. This is a small subset of photos which I am thinking of entering in a contest.

Great Gray Owl Irruption … The Hunt

I learned from a friend who is a scientist with the Superior National Forest, that during the owl irruption almost nary a bird was a first year owl, a juvenile. Apparently Great Gray Owl reproduction had been good over the past few years, but now their primary prey, the forest vole, was in short supply. Although Great Gray Owls are not a bird which normally migrates, the lack of food forced the owls to move south. We also have native Great Gray Owls which live year round in northern Minnesota, including Greenwood.

Gray Gray Owl Irruption … Hunting During an Intense Snowstorm

This was one of the more crazy birding adventures I ever took. I was sitting at home on Groundhog’s Day, and Punxsutawney Phil definitely was NOT seeing its shadow in northeastern Minnesota. Instead we had almost blizzard like conditions with HUGE winds off Lake Superior. Who would go birding during such kind of weather? Me! Only 8 miles from my house on the Two Harbors Expressway, during the middle of the storm, I found many owls hunting from sign posts. Only starvation would make an owl hunt during the day AND a horrible snow storm.

Great Gray Owl Irruption … Two Harbors Lighthouse Scenes

For almost one month up to four Great Gray Owls would hunt at the Two Harbors waterfront. Eventually the word got out, and later in the day the crowds would get crazy. If I decided to visit Two Harbors (20 minutes from my home), I would normally arrive about 40 minutes before sunrise, and leave shortly after sunup. In this way I felt I captured the most dramatic light from pre-dawn to the 20 minutes post sunrise. Most people arrived a bit after sunrise or later. Thus, my experiences were mainly crowd free!