Category Archives: Year 9

Branching!!!

Year 9,

One of my owlets was branching for the first time yesterday evening! It may not seem like much, but for a Great Horned Owlet to move 3 feet away from and out of its nest is a HUGE life accomplishment. Its first flight should be in about two weeks. If you would like to learn more about the life cycle of an owlet follow this link to the Cornell School of Ornithology.

When the rain let us this morning, I hiked back to the nest. Both owlets were drenched and now branching! Guess owlet number 2 decided it needed to be like its sibling.

Here are a couple more images from the past two days before the big branching decision. Mom normally inspects me and then goes back to sleep. Most days Mom is up high in another white pine behind her owlets.

The kids being goofy.

Meanwhile over at Lester Park Golf Course courting is in full swing. Glad Molly did not make me give up part of my arm years ago when I was wooing her (i.e. the feather offering for a nest). I don’t think either of these guys were successful.

My yard has also seen a steady stream of Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, which is very enjoyable!

Finally … remember, anyone is welcome to download a free PDF copy of my book about the owlets growing up, Do You Hoot?

Getting Drenched and Loving Every Second!

Year 9
Question of the day: How fast do you get soaked when watching High Falls on the Pigeon River in ONE second?? I answered that question yesterday. Given the fast snow and ice melt occuring, High Falls is experiencing record flow. The answer is FAST!
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These two photographs were taken less than two seconds apart (camera burst mode). Notice how the number of water droplets have exploded on the camera lens (Google Maps Link: High Falls). As a teenager I often helped friends with their store right at the Canadian border on busy summer weekends. I would fish in a rowboat right beneath this waterfall, but that was always in August!
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eMail subscribers make certain you watch my short video I took of the falls yesterday morning (Wednesday, May 11th). All the lakes in off the Gunflint are still socked in with ice, and back in the deep boreal forest there is easily 1+ feet of snow on the ground. I had to turn around twice with my Subaru Outback (all wheel drive) on back roads which were impassable … creeks now rivers flowing over the road, and a combination of deep snow / mud on the dirt roads.

Here are a few more random photographs I took on my drive and three additional videos: (video links for email subscribers: Driving the Backroads | South Brule River Bridge at Sunrise | No Name Lake Socked in with Ice)(river and lake videos have commentary by me … all short)

Approaching civilization … I stayed at the Hungry Hippie Hostel and would recommend it w/o reservation.

A no name lake (smaller and shallower) … still socked in with ice. These smaller lakes normally go ice free before the big, deep lakes. No black ice yet.

Migration Highways

Year 9,

Do you live near a large / long body of water (lake or river) that goes generally stretches in a northern / southern direction (NE? NW? SE? SW?) If so you are next to a migration highway, and should pay particular attention during the twice annual migration periods. While most people have heard of the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways, birds spread out and use other migration highways. The Platte River stretching NW through Nebraska is famous for its Sandhill Crane stopovers in the Spring. Lots of other birds also use the Platte River. I have annotated a Google Maps screenshot which shows just a few “highways”.

Saturday morning I found a HUGE flock of well over 500 birds of Caspian Terns using the Lake Michigan Migration Highway. They were enjoying their fish breakfast at Port Washington, Wisconsin. The small stream, harbor, and power plant makes for good fishing at certain times of the year, and the birds are very aware of this fact. I saw my birds in Coal Dock Park. Mergansers and Pelicans also make stopovers at this location in large numbers.

Caspian Terns (video link for email subscribers)

Here are two birds I also saw while heading over to Port Washington, a Sandhill Crane and Great Horned Owl. While the owl pic is horrible, if you live north of MIlwaukee and would like to see this owl, contact me privately. I do not wish to share its location on a public forum, but given it was hunting well after sunrise, it must have a nest in the vicinity.

The star of the show this weekend with his parents and pastor! The baptism gown my grandson was wearing is well over 100 years old, and has now been used by four generations of babies! The first time this gown was worn was back in the late 1800’s. Baptism Weekend! The blue waters of Lake Michigan may be seen in the background.