Category Archives: Year 6

A Fox’s Winter Wonderland

Year 6,

Winter has arrived in the Northland. You may be thinking … hey wait, it is only November 7th! However when the overnight lows for the last week have been 10F, and the highs only reach to the mid 20’s, it’s winter. The calendar is not important.

Today I moved up the shore of Lake Superior, and then inland on the Gunflint Trail. When I say I was remote and in the wilderness today, most folks can have no conception of what this really means. Only on the Gunflint Trail would moose give my car the tongue licking car wash … see my post from last March!

I actually started the day viewing the seasmoke over Wisconsin. Given the cold air temperatures Lake Superior was steaming up a storm. My local mallards were all down on the big lake because all the inland water is already frozen solid. However, the real treat of the day was watching “Red” hunt not once, but twice. During my explorations of the Gunflint this afternoon, I found my Red Fox hunting in the same exact spot fifty minutes apart. At this time of the year, mammals and birds start to hunt the roadside areas. There is more likelihood of catching a meal, and the snow is not quite as deep. I saw the fox make one successful kill during the 15 minutes I watched it hunt.

In total I moved 100 miles up the shore of Lake Superior today. Molly is attending a Northwoods writer’s conference, which allows me to escape into the woods!!!

Red Fox Hunting on the Gunflint Trail near the Canadian Border

Sunrise SeaSmoke Mallards off the Lester River on Lake Superior

Sunset at Grand Marias on Lake Superior

Homebound Birding

Background, Year 6

The skies are grey. There is a sleety snow in the air. The roads are slick. In short, it is a good morning to stay at home and enjoy the fire. Fortunately, yesterday unexpectedly had crystal clear skies from daybreak till church service at 10 am. Having a blue sky meant it was time to focus upon Mountain Ash berries. I spent two hours checking out various clusters of said trees. One of the biggest surprises was stumbling across six bluebirds. The Boreal forest is definitely not bluebird habitat, but NW winds pushed these guys against the big lake, and Mountain Ash berries are providing a good food source.

Knife River Bluebird

And some random comments …

  • Registration response to my first online birding talk has been great. Wednesday evening’s talk is full.
  • The first printing of my new children’s book, Snowy’s Search for Color, is already  over 1/4 sold! Thanks for your support.
  • I assume anyone who reads this blog knows about the new Audubon Report on dramatic decline in bird population induced by habitat and climate change, but just in case … Survival by Degrees: 389 Birds on the Brink

And Finally …eBird Range Maps

I have created a series of annotated screenshots which I am using in some of my seminars to demonstrate the usefulness of eBird Species Range Maps. You do NOT need an eBird account to utilize this great service which will assist a birder in planning outings, and better understanding migrations. For instance, the Snowy Owl migration in our area has now reached a bit north of the Minnesota / Canadian border.

Bookmark this Snowy Owl Species Map as a starting point. Use the annotated screenshots to learn how to set dates and set other options like changing species.

Screen #1 is the very first image you will see upon browsing to the web page linked immediately above this point. The subsequent screenshots and annotation explain how one may use one aspect of eBird, a species map. Depending upon the size of your display (phone, tablet or PC), options may be located at different locations on your screen.

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You may have noticed all my screenshots have the label Wisconsin eBird while I live in Minnesota. The explanation is simple. Wisconsin has an active bird population study in which I am participating.