Tag Archives: MN North: Greenwood Creek Bog

Stony River Forest Road Reopened!

Year 11,

The HUGE rains of June did a number to many of the wilderness roads in northeastern Minnesota, including Stony River Forest Road. It had a significant number of washouts over its 20 mile length. However, it was reopened yesterday!!! I love to both drive and hike this road. Actually, truth be told … like a bad boy … I actually was frequently on the road after it was closed, but I had to restrict my travels to areas where holes would not swallow my car!

This morning I enjoyed a 20 mile drive on Stony. I tend to drive north to a boreal bog at the 10.5 mile mark, and then turn around. I decided as long as I was up on Stony, I might as well head over to my feeders and trailcams (9 miles distant) I hope you enjoy this video of a lone timber wolf. He was filmed yesterday, and I swear he smelled my scent on the trailcam. Towards the end of the video, the wolf stops and stares right at the camera. Have I been outed??! (video link for email subscribers)

Perhaps the wolf was hunting Spruce Grouse. A few days back I photographed this male within 50 yards of this trailcams. While I could have zoomed in closer with my camera, it is often better to show wildlife  in their habitat … in this case the golds of late Autumn. Apparently tomorrow morning our first winter storm of the year may hit with 1/2 foot of snow.

Greenwood Bog Canada Lynx!

Year 11

The area where both my birdfeeders and trailcams are located is remote, but a few weeks ago one of my trailcams was stolen. Last week I purchased two new cameras with cable locks as replacements. When I swapped out the Simm cards this morning, I was rewarded with this video of a Canada Lynx. All summer and Fall I have been capturing Moose and Lynx on my cameras. Fun!

And the video … nice closeup! (video link of the Canada Lynx for email subscribers)

I will write a review about my new trailcams soon. The price is very reasonable and the performance is sound. Finally, it was fun to run into one of my readers as I was putting up a new bird feeder this morning. I love meeting you folks!

Snow Buntings! Migration’s End.

Year 11

Snow Buntings! This Arctic bird signals the end of the southern songbird migration for another year. While we will still have northern raptors which will migrate into and through NE Minnesota, for songbirds Snow Buntings represent the end.

I LOVE snow buntings. Do you have birds that for no particular reason are favorites? Welcome to the club! Some day I would be thrilled to see a snow bunting in its breeding plumage (almost pure white) up on the Arctic Ocean, but I suspect that day will never arrive. Here is this cute bird’s range map courtesy of Cornell’s All About Birds.

I am lucky to have discovered the leading edge of the Snow Bunting migration. Within a week the buntings will be flying through our area in large flocks, which are impossible to approach. One bird out of a 100+ flock will decide you are a threat, and boom … the entire flock flushes. Thankfully I found just two birds together and was very careful!

Snow Buntings are also one of the most difficult birds to photograph. Their winter plumage with shades of white, brown and black against dull golden brown grasses makes getting a good focus lock extremely difficult. Snow Buntings will also lead the charge back north in early February, long before winter’s end. Thankfully the buntings are a bit easier to photograph against a background of snow … assuming one can find them!