Category Archives: Year 6

Power to the Pileateds!

Year 6

Yesterday was a great afternoon here next to Amity Creek. For 90 minutes on a beautiful early winter afternoon I enjoyed my local Great Horned Owls, even if they were not enjoying themselves much (think dive bombing crows). When I got home from my hike in the woods I heard what was obviously a Pileated Woodpecker working away at finding supper.

Now this afternoon Pa Pileated introduced Ma Pileated to my yard. Life is good (and so is backyard birding). One of my other neat sightings this week was having a Northern Shrike visit my yard, but I suspect the local songbirds were not thrilled. What have you seen or heard out the window lately (my Great Horned Owls serenade each other after sundown, and before sunrise)

Pileated Woodpecker … the Video

Sax-Zim Bog Training Great Gray Owl

Year 6

The owl was not in training, but I was attending same at the Welcome Center. Staff and Volunteers spent the day getting ready for our winter opening which is under a month away on December 7th. Some feeders are now filled and as we become increasingly certain Ma and Pa Bear are asleep, we will fill even more feeders.

After training I went birding and found this Great Gray Owl hunting a bit before sunset. Upon catching a vole it flew back deep back into the Bog leading me to believe it is still helping to feed some juveniles … thus the second successful family of GGO’s I am now watching!

For those of you who wish to watch an owl hunt, conditions were ideal an hour before sunset … dead calm and very cloudy (dark). At times this owl was only 20 yards from me (it’s choice … I did not exist!).

Lake Superior Moonrise

Year 6

Moonrise over the Cypriot freighter, Iryda, which is anchored off the Duluth harbor while waiting to load grain. It was cold standing out on Park Point waiting for the lunar orb to appear. Thankfully my research panned out; te moon came up in the expected location. Thus, I was able to capture this image! From the time the moon first appeared, there was less than 10 minutes to successfully take this photograph. As it was I ran 250 yards down the beach with my camera as the position of the moon shifted.