MN North: Beaver Bay | 365 Days of Birds

The migration of birds along the North Shore of Lake Superior is starting to perk up. The last few days have seen strong westerly wings and thunderstorms which have pushed birds against the big lake. Most of our feathered friends do not like to fly across the large expanse of open water, and therefore work their way along the shore (or just inland) after having the prevailing winds push them against the lake.

Apparently yesterday evening large numbers of nighthawks were migrating along Brighton Beach. Although I missed that sight, I worked areas inland from Lake Superior from Little Marais south to Duluth including the Beaver Bay Sewage Treatment Ponds. The septic treatment ponds were full of late migrating shorebirds, swallows, and mallards. The hawk migration is now starting and time spent looking out over pastures yielded the sight of many hawks hunting in the late afternoon. Over the weeks ahead, this trek south should get better and better!

View this project’s Flickr photo stream. (click upon images to view at full size)

An American Kestrel (photo taken from a great distance)

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Night Time Thunderstorm at Canal Park

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Wind Blown Tree Swallows at Beaver River

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Stilt Sandpipers at Beaver River

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Two Different Broad Winged Hawks

I love to bicycle, and I also love to photograph birds. This past week I co-led a bike tour through the BWCA (boundary waters canoe area) of northern Minnesota, and the north shore of Lake Superior. My boyhood friend, Jim, runs a bike touring company … Bike Tour Vacations, and I often work as his second in command tour guide.

While the combination of cycling and birding is fun, leading a tour is a bit difficult when combined with birding and photography. I often cannot afford to stop and take the time to capture the desired photos. However, if one uses one “bird smarts”, the results are fun!