Category Archives: Year 6

Railroad Kill Cafe!

Everyone knows you will find Bald Eagles, and lots of other birds scavenging road kill in the winter. Pay attention to railroad tracks. This morning I found five Bald Eagles enjoying some fresh white-tail deer. Here photos of three different eagles.

Earlier in the morning I also found this Rough Legged Hawk hunting.

Finally, my target bird was to find a Northern Hawk Owl which has been seen periodically. Here is some information which may help others be more successful than I was this morning. I failed.

Some ideas for possibly finding the Northern Hawk Owl. There have been periodic reports of a NHO hunting on Arkola Rd one mile west of Owl Avenue. I looked hard for the bird w/o success this morning, but perhaps with this information you may have more luck. South of Arkola Rd about two hundreds yards through the Spruce Trees is a HUGE open area which is where I believe the NHO spends most of its time hunting. I walked through the deep snow (2 to 3 feet deep) and thick stands of spruce to reach that area. Bring some binoculars. There are a fantastic number of hunting perches throughout the big open area. I tried this at two spots separated by 1/2 mile. This is super habitat for a NHO. I doubt it will spend much time by the road. Please let me know if you are successful. 

Snowmageddon 2019 … Nightscapes!

Last night I went out with my camera. God has decorated for Christmas. The Blizzard of Thanksgiving Weekend 2019 in Duluth, Minnesota will not soon be forgotten here in the Northland. Still not plowed out on Tuesday morning … 48 hours after the snows stopped.

My house … Flocked Christmas Tree! The path in the foreground is from deer visiting my “bird” feeders.

Across from my driveway next to Amity Creek

Snowmageddon 2019 … Someday my Snowplow will come!

Title of blog post sung to the tune … Someday my prince will come!
Getting low on bird food. The locals are getting concerned! Given the 19 inches of snow in my driveway and the fact that snowplows are apparently a figment of my imagination, the birds will have to be patient! It’s 2:30 pm on Monday, and when this fictitious plow makes an appearance, I will then have a few hours of shoveling to clear out the end of the driveway. I DO love Minnesota, but just perhaps a little less winter wonderland would be nice right now!
 
Pileated Woodpecker seen in my yard this morning (female … no scarlet mustache). I’ve also had a Northern Shrike hunting the feeders.
My house as seen from the unplowed road. We abut the forest and the creek. See yesterday’s post for views in the other direction.