Category Archives: Year 6

Norwegian Arctic Islands Tour

Background, Year 6

Where do folks who live in northern Minnesota near Frostbite Falls where temperatures drop to -40F in the winter (not including chill factor) go on their summer vacation? Obviously the Arctic! Three years ago my wife, Molly, and I traveled to Tromso above the Norwegian Arctic Circle to enjoy some cross-country skiing and Northern Lights. We loved the area, and vowed to come back sometime when it was warmer.

That sometime has arrived, and in one week we travel to Tromso. For the first time we are not touring 100% self-supported. Due to the lack of accommodations and the fact at age 63 I do not wish to sleep on the ground every night in a tent, our tour combines a locally provided self-guided tour from Tromso down through the Lofoten Islands, followed by four additional days on a route near Bodo designed by me. Using the local tour option allows us to bunk out in private fisherman’s cabins.

The other difference is for this trip we are renting bicycles. When we toured in Scotland TSA messed up my bicycle at the airport. In the private security area unbeknownst to me they very poorly unpacked, inspected and repacked my bicycle. Upon arriving in Scotland I discovered a TSA Inspection Notice inside my bike box. I decided given the cost and hassle to getting our own bikes to Norway, we could live with rented bicycles for 18 days. Our tour ends with four days on the Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Ferry over the top of Norway to Kirkenes near the Russian border.

As a fyi … posts will be fewer and farther between over the next 2.5 months. I will be spending most of this time bicycle touring in Norway and then the United States. I will definitely both “bird and bike”, posting when I have time plus a decent web connection. Finally, we have some friends staying in our home. Thus, I do not mind letting people know we are out of town.

In some other cycling news, Molly was just published yesterday in Adventure Cycling (the national magazine for touring cyclists). Read her article …

The Kingfishers of Lester River

Year 6

The bird population has now exploded at the mouth of the Lester River on Lake Superior. The first 500 upstream yards from the big lake have everything a bird could want … fish … berries … and bugs. Even my local Merlin has now shown up to enjoy the feast (i.e. of birds). One aspect I enjoy about Lester River is I may either walk the bank (stairs descend from 61st Avenue East (dead end road), or walk the ravine’s cliffs. By walking the cliffs I am often able to watch my Belted Kingfishers from vantage points where theydo not see me (i.e. above them). Such was the case this morning when both the male and female were hunting to feed hungry chicks. Soon these young will fledge and come out of their nest hole.

Mr. Belted Kingfisher

Mrs. Belted Kingfisher

And two videos … one from yesterday (Barn Swallow Fledgings)

Northern Flicker taking a bath in the Lester River this morning.

Sax-Zim Bog Black-Billed Cuckoo and Hungry Swallows

Year 6

On the spur of the moment I went up to Sax-Zim Bog just after sunrise this morning. I was not looking for owls (too windy). In fact I was not looking for anything in particular … just looking for an enjoyable morning. Man alive, did I hit the jackpot.

My first find was a pair of Black-Billed Cuckoos about 400 yards south of the RR tracks on McDavitt Road. I can count on one had the number of cuckoos I have seen in northeastern Minnesota. I suspect these two have a nest near my sighting.

Black-Billed Cuckoos

After the cuckoos it was on to Admiral Road. The number of swallows was dumbfounding, and I quickly determined the Barn Swallows young had just fledged. It is amazing what happens in 1.5 seconds (the duration of this 15 set sequence of images). My favorite is #5.

Just Fledged Barn Swallows Demand to be Fed!