In love of Sedge Grasses … Sandhill Cranes

Year 10

Monday morning while driving back to Duluth from the Twin Cities I stopped by Crex Meadows. I left by 5:30 am which allowed me to reach Crex 1/2 hour before sunrise. While hundreds, if not thousands of Sandhill Cranes leave Crex each morning to feed in surrounding farm fields, before killing frosts hit this area of western Wisconsin the marshes / sedges grasses of Crex are also popular feeding spots. Why visit a corn field when there is  lots of food in the marsh? The Minnesota DNR says this about habitat (Crex is just east of Minnesota into Wisconsin): “In Minnesota, nesting habitat consists of lowland emergent marshes and meadows dominated by sedges and grasses, often with stands of phragmites, cattails, bulrush, and wild rice occurring in deeper water in larger basins.”

Here are a whole lot of images I took … starting at 7:00 am, 30 minutes before sunrise, till about 9 am.

Before Sunrise

Flying into the Sedge Grasses minutes before sunrise

A Mass Take-Off Event from the Main Dike Road

Feeding after Sunrise

Greenwood Forest Fire Spruce Grouse

Year 10

As noted in earlier posts, I am very much enjoying the Greenwood Forest Fire Region. It is now two years since the wildfire, and nature is starting to recover. While the days of majestic pine vistas are years in the future, there are actually lots of pockets of living pines on McDougal Lake Road, and Stony River Forest Road was used as a fire block line, but the fire never reached this forest road. The end result is you will find lots of wildlife if you head out into the woods at sunrise. Although I am featuring Spruce Grouse in this post, it was not from seeing lots of Ruffed Grouse. With both birds, if I stop my car some distance away I am normally able to walk within five yards of each species of grouse.

These images were taken two mornings ago. They also show the difference between a male and female spruce grouse plumage.

Birding the Greenwood Forest Fire Region (2 years post fire)

Year 10, ,

Two years ago there was a HUGE forest fire 40 miles north of Two Harbors. While it will take a long time for the pines to grow back, nature is already beginning to recover. Wednesday I drove up Lake County #2 to the McDougal Lake area, which was ground central in terms of the burn area. It was amazing to drive the back roads and see the amount of greenery that has reappeared.  While I did not find any moose, I am certain these majestic creatures are enjoying feasting on the new growth. Last month I did spy a bull moose just south of the burn area. It is also apparent that Black-Backed Woodpeckers have now very much moved into the area judging by the amount of bark stripped off burned trees. My hope is this fall will see Northern Hawk Owls establish a presence in the burn area. They are another bird which loves this burned over habitat.

My favorite sighting of the excursion was this Ruffed Grouse totally mixed up as to the season. Although he was courting his lady love, now is NOT the time to start a family (do we males wen it comes to love ever pay attention to the rules!!?)

I saw quite a few Red-Tailed Hawks hunting in the wildfire area.

Earlier in the morning I stopped to take a sunrise photograph of the Langley River. If you’re interested in seeing this river during the other seasons, browse to this post.

On the way home I birded Two Harbors to Duluth along Scenic 61. Bluebirds and Horned Larks were very much present and migrating. Guess what the bluebirds were using for bug hunting perches?!