Tag Archives: MN South: Fish Lake Nature Trails

Red-Headed Woodpecker Week!

Year 10,

I had not expected this week to be Red-Headed Woodpecker Week, but these gorgeous scarlet headed birds made the decision for me. When Sunday morning dawned sunny and clear, I decided I had to get out birding before the long drive back north to Duluth from Milwaukee. Via earlier research that same weekend, I had discovered a delightful birding area … with Red-Headed Woodpeckers, Donges Bay Gorge Natural Area. This small park just north of Milwaukee was extremely birdy, and during migration due to its location right on the Lake Michigan Flyway, birds must irrupt! Better, yet … as a small, less popular park I had the region essentially to myself (make sure you hike Wendy’s Trail right next to the gorge).

Yesterday I continued Red-Headed Woodpecker Week. Due to a quick medical appointment down in the Twin Cities, I made a round trip south Tuesday. In Bethel a bit north of the metropolitan area I have grown to love the Fish Lake Nature Trails. Years ago the Cedar Creek Ecosystem which borders and includes the trails became my “go to” place to find these woodpeckers. The University of Minnesota manages the area, and has ongoing research. Anyhow, yesterday morning the research crew was having University of Minnesota students out to the area, and early in the morning I had a great conversation about the Red-Headed Woodpecker Recovery Project with one of the top researchers. He was extremely interested in my knowledge of where Red-Headed Woodpeckers nesting holes are located in the Northland, and we plan to follow up with each other. The Duluth area is really pushing the limit of this woodpecker’s range.

In closing … some photographs from the past few days.

Red-Headed Woodpeckers at Cedar Creek

Year 8

The University of Minnesota has a 200+ acres research area named Cedar Creek just north of the Twin Cities. During the summer one may hike the Fish Lake Nature Trails in East Bethel and see a remarkable diversity of wildlife, even Bison. For the best viewing visit shortly after sunrise. Right now the start of the trail crosses prairie grasses which are abloom with prairie lupine. Most of the ecosystem is oak savanna.

One bird that positively loves oak savannas are red-headed woodpeckers. Although their population has been falling across the United States due to habitat loss, it is hard to not see lots of redheads while hiking the Fish Lake Nature Trails. Although an educated guess, my own birding this morning found several nest holes, and I noticed each of those trees were marked with a double yellow ribbon near the base. Be respectful of the nests, but if you wait near those trees it is very likely woodpeckers will appear. Given the activity I saw, I would expect the young to be sticking their heads out of the nest to be fed (just before fledging) towards the end of June.

While watching one set of woodpeckers I heard splashing behind me. Turning around I found this pair of trumpeter swans taking baths. Given they did not immediately fly away from me, I suspect a nest must have been very close.

A final comment in terms of photography … if you wish to take pictures of birds that are white or have lots of white coloring (both bird species today), it is important to be out either very early or late in the day. Direct sunlight when the yellow orb is overhead will blow out your whites. All of these images were taken with my Canon SX-70 (super zoom bridge camera). The camera is small and light … perfect for hiking. Although it has a small sensor, in good light like this morning (not a cloud in the sky), the performance of the camera is excellent.

Red-Headed Woodpeckers at Cedar Creek

Trumpeter Swans Early Morning Reflections

Two videos (links for email subscribers – one – two): Taking a Bath and Trumpeting

Bluebirds and High Step Hiking!

Year 7
I had to drive down and back from Duluth to the Twin Cities yesterday for my eye treatment (all going well). On the way home I stopped as I often do at the Fish Lake Nature Trails in East Bethel for a “quick bird”. I love this spot, not just for the Red-Headed Woodpeckers, but for all the other birds I often see at this super savannah and prairie grass habitat. As Dorothy says in the Wizard of Oz: “You’re not in Kansas anymore!” This is NOT the Boreal forest habitat where I live in northern Minnesota. Thus, different birds.
Anyhow, I totally lost count of the number of Bluebirds (150+) I saw yesterday afternoon. Given the strong winds, which seemed to be out of the WSW I suspect they will still be around this morning. The path from the parking lot to the lake trail was a favorite.
High Step Hiking!
It’s still 20 minutes before from sunrise, and I am already back from my first birding expedition of the day. I was out in the pitch dark wondering if my owl family would say hello. I was rewarded in Spades! After some “high step hiking” (in the dark you need to step highly to avoid stumbling over unseen roots and deadfall), I arrived on location. As if being cued by a Hollywood director, at least four of five owls starting their pre-dawn owl song for me. The parents were hooting their love back and forth (easily distinguishable due to the different pitch of their song), and at least two young were present … screeching and begging to be fed. It was hard to determine if all three triplet Great Horned Owl juveniles were around. I need the youngsters to beg at almost the same time . I triangulate the location of each bird by their calls, which assumes they don’t move. It was fun to say hello once again to the Amity Owls.  Quite frankly I am amazed the youngsters have not yet been kicked out of the territory by the parents. My only speculation is hunting at the edge of Duluth must be good.