All posts by richardhoeg@gmail.com

Stony Point Peregrine Power

Year 11

Peregrine Falcon Power! I took these photographs a few days ago at Stony Point which is about 1/2 way between Duluth and Two Harbors. The weather overnight had been fine with a decent northwest wind. I knew this meant migration was most likely in progress.

Stony Point juts out into Lake Superior. Thus the North Shore which is a local migration highway sees lots of migrating songbirds. Raptors like this Peregrine time their migration to hunt those same migrating birds. This falcon was perched on the highest White Pine Tree in the vicinity, and it was hunting shortly after sunrise.

If you have a local migration highway (river, very large lake, decent sized hills, etc), head out birding during the Fall Migration after an overnight with a strong North or Northwest wind. Often the number of songbirds you see will be amazing, but also watch for raptors hunting those tweety birds!

If you maximize the first image, you will see the migration. The black smudges were blue jays way up high. The falcon was looking for easier, unsuspecting prey.

If you are near the North Shore, tonight’s weather and winds look like a strong burst of birds should migrate south overnight.

Birds Riding the North Wind

Year 11

For the past two days there has been a decent NW wind, which after all the south winds giving NE Minnesota unseasonably warm weather, meant that migration finally resumed. A NW wind is actually the best migration wind (opposed to a North wind). A strong NW blow pushes birds against Lake Superior, and then migration picks up down the North Shore (most birds do not want to head out over the big lake).

Over the past few days I have seen large flocks (50+ birds each) of Robins, Northern Flickers, and Yellow-Rumped Warblers. The first juncos are also appearing … a certain sign that the songbird migration will soon be in its finally phase. Snow Buntings seem to be the past songbird to come down from the Arctic.

Here are a few pics from the past two days …

A pair of Eagles guard Stoney Point

A Northern Flicker watches the local crows that harass many migration species.

Boreal Forest Birding Bliss

Year 11,

Sleep and Food at home are wonderfully rejuvenating! With a limited endorsement from my wife and medical team, I drove north starting at sunrise both yesterday and this morning to the Greenwood Creek Bird Feeders. My goal was to refill the feeders and take hikes into the bog, but my real goal was to rebuild confidence. While I’m still getting medical care, I had been released from the hospital w/o restrictions, but I suspect Essentia St. Mary’s have a limited number of patients where this means escape off the grid to the Superior National Forest.

Regardless, mission accomplished! I have had a fantastic time both hiking on Superior Nation Forest Road and cruising the first 10.5 miles of Stony River Forest Road (still in rough shape … not yet repaired).

Here are a sequence of cell phone pics from my walk followed by a Spruce Grouse that strutted its stuff for me this morning. The hiking pics are driving exactly 6/10 of a mile in from Lake County #2, and parking by the rock pile. This walk was 1.4 miles round trip and quite easy.

Spruce Grouse from this Morning

Now, if everyone will grant me some leeway. Just prior to entering the hospital I took a few bird outing including a trip to the Toomey-Williams Forest Road in the Pine Island State Forest Wilderness a bit west of Big Falls, Minnesota. The images are all about two weeks old just before entering the hospital for 8 days. I finally have the energy to process photographs.

These White-Winged Crossbills were mad at a two Broad-Winged Hawks that were “hanging in the area”

And a Red-Tailed Hawk hunting back by Big Falls

Finally a Bald Eagle preening at Stony Point.

Finally the real treat for this morning was having a super long conversation with the Fond-du-Lac Tribal Conservation Officer about wildlife. I think we talked for over 45 minutes, and he gave me two pieces of amazingly tasty Moose jerky which he had made himself.