Category Archives: Year 8

Poor Richard’s Almanac: Snow Soon!

Sorry folks, but winter is coming soon to the Northland! One way I measure how soon snow will be in our future is when Snow Buntings arrive from the tundra near the Arctic Ocean. While I have seen other birds this fall that may have nested that far north, those birds also use more southern habitat in Canada. Snow Buntings are truly a very northern bird. Get those shovels ready. (range map courtesy of the Cornell School of Ornithology)
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My apologies to Ben Franklin and his “Poor Richard’s Almanac“, however I am named “Richard” and my birds help me predict the seasons. There will be snow soon!
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I also had a lifer for me at Forest Hill Cemetery yesterday afternoon. I decided to see if the Soras were still around (there were), and spied a Swamp Sparrow. Like the Soras, Swamp Sparrows like to hide out in the reeds. This individual gave me nice views.

Cemetery Soras!

The last two days have been fantastic. The sun is back and the birds are migrating. As always, I spend a lot of time at cemeteries. It’s great to visit for birding and not for a “six feet under” permanent  lodging!

While Soras are not a threatened species, like the Rusty Blackbirds I also saw at Forest Hill Cemetery, sightings are equally rare. Soras hang out in reeds and rarely show themselves. Soras are normally heard, but not seen. Thus it was a thrill to watch two soras in the sunshine feeding yesterday afternoon. Enjoy!

Two, not One!

Individual Pics

Sora … the Movie (video link for email subscribers)

Threatened Bird Specie: Rusty Blackbird

I had the privilege to watch three Rusty Blackbirds forage at the Forest Hill Cemetery Pond in Duluth yesterday afternoon. The Cornell School of Ornithology rates this bird species one of the most threatened in North America. It has lost “85-99%” of its population over the last 40 years. Given it breeds near Boreal swamps, ponds and bogs in remote areas north of the Minnesota border with Canada up to Alaska, it is hard to study.
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Regardless, I was very pleased to watch a family of three very close up … a male, female and juvenile.