Last night was a balmy 8F, and I am not being facetious! The key weather element  was the fact the wind was dead calm, and when one is standing completely in the wide open spaces of the harbor, this is what makes a difference. Thus, I decided heading down after dark to the Duluth Harbor for a photographic expedition that would include both ice and ships was just the ticket. I had  great time.

Duluth High Bridge (Blatnik Bridge) & Interstate Bridge (circa 1890)

Saltie Freighter / Ship Retko at the Port Terminal

It was a fantastic early morning on the big lake. Shortly after 6 am the most gorgeous Crescent Moon rose between the trees, and then shortly before 8 am the Burns Harbor (a ship which carries iron ore to the steel mills of Ohio and New York) opened this year’s shipping season. If you want to watch / listen to an amazing amount of Hooting and Tooting back and forth between the Ship, the Aerial Bridge, and the Tug which helped the Burns Harbor through the ice, skip forward to 2:05 of the video. The symphony of sounds lasts till the very end of the video (video link for email subscribers).

Crescent Moonrise

Burns Harbor

The temperature fell to 6F last night, on March 27th! The net result was many of the channels which the US Coast Guard cleared with their cutters yesterday, refroze overnight. When this morning dawned bright, sunny and cold I drove down to the Duluth Harbor and found these two Goldeneyes courting. If you find open water this year, you will find migration ducks and geese. This was near the High Bridge.

In these three images the male is swimming away, and I think exclaiming … “She loves me!“

In the video, I think another male was being given a clear message … not this morning, honey! (video link for email subscribers)

Here are the links promised at yesterday’s Sapsuucker Farms Owl Presentation. Remember to get a free Cornell eBird account.

• Great Horned Owl Sightings Map
  • Use date drop down!
  • “X” out “Great Horned Owl and search for other species
• Hennepin County Current Bird Sightings
  • Use “Minnesota Link” near top of page to select other counties
• Merlin Sound ID (my blog post with annotated screenshots & explanations)
• Merlin Photo ID (my blog post with annotated screenshots & explanations)
• Remember, Merlin as a free app from Cornell University!