May and June are a great time for birding in northern Minnesota. Migration is in full force in May, and then birds are singing out as they define territories and find mates. Yesterday I had a fantastic experience when I found a small flock of Wilson’s Phalaropes. These birds were migrating north, and it was only the second time in my life I had ever seen such a bird. They do not inhabit the Boreal Forest where I live, but a drive over to Meadowlands (only 35 miles) and hanging out amongst the farms and meadows just south of the Bog yielded this fantastic sighting.

Why whirlpools? Because this bird is darn smart! If one spins in a tight circle fast enough it creates a small whirlpool which sucks bugs up to the surface of the water to be gobbled up.  Here are two videos of whirlpool eating (video links for email subscribers … video 1 and video 2).

Interestingly enough, the female is the much prettier bird of this species. She mates with multiple males during a breeding season, but then has nothing to do with incubating or feeding … not much of a motherly instinct!

Wilson’s Phalaropes

The less colorful male …

Part of the flock with two Semipalmated-Plovers

Female Swimming by herself

Birding Cross-Country Knicker Socks

There were lots of requests to see me wearing my knee socks. As promised, here I am! If you would like to find knicker socks, I have purchased mine from this company (red is my favorite color for skiing). If you want to see more options, search via Google for the words “trachten” and “socks”.