If you have the time and inclination, a visit to where Brighton Beach Road exits back up to Scenic 61 is worth a drive shortly after sunrise. You will meet the world famous Merlin quadruplets.
A Pair of Merlins
Look Overhead … It’s Merlin Mom!
Begging to the Left … Begging to the Right
It’s not a Foot, It’s a Talon!
Merlin Video (direct link)
Sounds to good to be true. Read two top magazines offline legally without charge. What if I told you that with just minor setup and configuration time invested by you, my reader, in addition to these magazines you could legally and without charge also read magazines such as:
It’s true, and all you need is your public library card. As I am getting ready for my Norwegian bicycle adventure I am loading up on magazines and Kindle books on my tablet. When I have free moments on the plane and while bike touring, I will have lots of reading options.
A few days ago I received notification that the latest issues of both Audubon and Outdoor Photographer were now available. Yup, one of the configuration options using the service RBdigital is to be notified by email whenever a new edition is available. Thus, I don’t even have to look for content, magazines which I specifically requested come to me automatically. If one enjoys reading lots of titles, the cost savings potential is HUGE. As noted, the only cost to me is having my local public library card. Here is Minnesota, I know both the Duluth Public Library and the Hennepin County Library (Minneapolis) have online magazines available via RBdigital.
Either via your library’s web site, or with a visit to the physical library (ask the reference librarian for help) you can easily get set up.
Finally, the magazine’s format (remember, one may download and read offline) looks 100% identical to the print version. Here are some images from my own tablet as I checked out both of these magazines.
Note: I posted on this topic a few years ago. All those much more detailed instructions still work. The only difference is the new name of the company, RBdigital. Off to Norway!
All the screenshots in this blog post are from my Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 Android Tablet. The experience would be and look almost identical on an iPad.
I am notified via eMail about new issues
I am redirected to my account on the library’s web site and complete the process
Here are a couple of images from my post back in 2015 … I was reading BirdWatching.
Ma and Pa Merlin were trying their best to ignore the call of the their hungry kids just after sunrise this morning! If you are a parent, you understand. Children DEMAND their breakfast immediately upon waking! Sleeping in is NOT an option. Both parents started hunting shortly after I took the video included with this post.
Over the past ten days or so, I have known there had to be a pair of Merlins nesting somewhere near the mouth of the Lester River. I had seen then hunting on multiple occasions. Yesterday while out on my daily bike ride I heard the chicks twice at the same location (out and back ride up Scenic 61). This morning I returned and found the family.
Merlins Greeting the Morning Sun
Watching Something Fly Overhead (a Bald Eagle?)
Merlins Starting to Hunt
Individual Portraits
The Merlins of Lester River (video)