Even before the Spring rains come to green up the Northwoods, there is lots of color waiting for the person who is willing to invest time in the watching … and listening! The color started yesterday when I started hearing … pound, pound, pound! For the next nine hours, and then restarting at 5:30 am this morning, a pair of Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers declared out wooded lot their home turf! Amazingly, I never quite knew how the sapsuckers listened for a response. Take a look at the photos. The birds put their ear right against the tree.

The tour of color continued yesterday evening with moonrise over Lake Superior. Although it may be spring, a gorgeous harvest moon came up over the big lake. Finally, these morning I was amazed while birding on Rossini Road. This beautiful splash of yellow and black was in an unusual location! I had never seen a meadowlark deep in the Northwoods. Pine forests, and not meadows are what we tend to have in abundance.

Rossini Road Eastern Meadowlark

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Moonrise Over Lake Superior – Old Duluth Central High School
(see the next post for yesterday’s moonrise at Canal Park)

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Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers Setting Their Territory