Tag Archives: MN North: Cloverland

Apple Blossoms for Breakfast (and other fine stories)

Year 4,

Now that the birding migration is pretty much over, I have changed my tactics. During the migration, birds came to me as they migrated “to” and “through” the Northland. Now I have to go find the birds. This task is not too difficult, and my some of my favorite birding locations early in the mating season are the northwest Wisconsin wetlands:

  • Roy Johnson Wetlands & Grasslands (near Cloverland, Wisconsin)
  • McQuarrie Wetlands (near Wrenshall, Minnesota … but in Wisconsin)

Now on to the birds … I for one did not know Cedar Waxwings actually eat apple blossoms! I thought these birds were eating bugs off the blossoms, but I watched for ten minutes as the waxwings bit off and chewed blossoms completely!

The day before in the rain, but still in the Roy Johnson Wetlands I found lots of other “first birds” for the year.

Red Headed Woodpecker

Meadowlark and Wilson Snipe

This morning I visited the McQuarrie Wetlands, and had both this Baltimore Oriole, and a pair of Common Loons pose nicely for my camera.

Wisconsin Wetlands Map

Working the Wetlands!

Year 4,

During the earlier stages of the migration here in northern Minnesota, it seems as if spending times in the wetlands yields more birds. Thus, over the past few days I have visited both the Roy Johnson Wetlands near Cloverland, Wisconsin … and the Big Bog north of Upper Red Lake, Minnesota. My final wetland visit was northwest of Floodwood while driving home last evening where I saw my first ever wolverine (on the forest edge near the wetlands).

I think I gave this White Pelican a few extra hours of life. Stumbling across this bird on the shores of Upper Red Lake, I scared up two bald eagles and this pelican … which I first thought was dead. I am rather certain it had just been taken down by the eagles. The pelican’s wings looked really messed up and it was collapsed on the shore when I first found it.

Over near Cloverland, I had fun watching some Greater Yellowlegs and Barn Swallows near a small pond. A few Barn Swallows seemed to actually do some “shore fishing” for bugs.

Finally, here is my first photograph (a bit fuzzy) of a Northern Harrier. I love watching them hunt, but they are extremely difficult to both get near and capture an image.

Sing Out for Spring! (videos)

Year 4,

After my failed red-throated loon quest in the Port Washington area of Lake Michigan, I returned to my cold Northland along the shores of Lake Superior. In between birding outings I took a bike ride along the shore … 35F, snow flurries, and a 20 mph wind out of the Northeast. Twas an ugly cold bicycle ride.

Thankfully my birding excursions yesterday to some of my favorite wetlands were much more favorable. Both the Roy T. Johnson Wetlands (near Cloverland, Wisconsin), and the MacQuarrie Wetlands (near Wrenshall, Minnesota) by virtue of their locations relative to Lake Superior are way ahead of birding habitat north of the big lake (read cold with little signs of Spring in evidence).

In addition to both lots of Meadowlarks and Wilson’s Snipes singing out for mates, I saw two big migration events. At MacQuarrie yesterday afternoon when the sun finally came out, I found a flock of 500+ Scaups resting on their northward migration, and a few minutes later 1,000+ tree swallows swarmed the air directly above my head as they fed in the late afternoon sun above one of the wetland ponds.

Meadowlark

Wilson’s Snipe

Killdeer