Well sort of … while on a bike ride today I saw this Belted Kingfisher from the Talmedge River Bridge on Scenic 61 … the highway featured on Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited album (Wikipedia link). Dylan grew up around here in northern Minnesota … Duluth and the Range. My Dad was his parent’s doctor for many years.
Category Archives: Year 5
Green Herons Hunting
Since last Friday I have been watching my Green Heron Nest. The nest is really buried and it is hard to see the chicks. However, they should fledge soon, and then I will be able to observe their first clumsy attempts at hunting. However, their parents never stray to far from the nest and provide me excellent vantage points to watch them catching small fish, frogs and bugs. I hope you enjoy some of the images. I have no idea what kind of water bug one of the parents caught (hunt #2)
Green Heron Hunt #1
Green Heron Hunt #2
Green Heron Hunt #3
Some Cool Poses!
Meanwhile back at my house, only three miles away … the birding is still good. My bee balm has now bloomed and the Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds are constantly in my perennial garden. The Cedar Waxwings are also very much in evidence … catching small bugs early and late in the day.
Unexpected Birding Pleasures: Green Heron Chicks
I got lucky this afternoon! Duluth is at the extreme northern edge of the Green Heron’s range. This bird is not too common up here. I was actually watching another bird with my binoculars when I noticed a “mound of feathers” deep in a tree nearby. Eureka! A Green Heron’s nest with four chicks.
Here is the range map provided by the Cornell School of Ornithology. I live at the tip of Lake Superior, which is just barely in this heron’s range.
Finally, here is a video of the chicks …