Tag Archives: MN North: South Bog

The Young Birds of Summer! (Fledglings)

Year 11, ,

Yesterday morning I spent 30 minutes with Steam Shovel Sam and Sally’s kids. The juvenile osprey can now fly, but prefer to stay perched near the nest and beg. I watched the two youngsters screaming / begging for a long time, and when they got excited I knew food had to be in the “delivery mode”! Quite frankly I could not see a parent osprey, but if your eyesight is capable to seeing fish under water, the ospreys could obviously see their parents coming back from a fishing trip long before I was able to see anything which leads me to this comment. When birding learn the birds! Birds will let you know by their actions when there will be a change in the environment. Such was the case with the Osprey Fledglings, which then made a quick, fast flight back to the nest. Apparently feedings at this point still happen only at the nest, not out on dead snags.

The Dead Snag … two youngsters

Osprey Fledgling #1

Osprey Fledgling #2

Parent Bring Fish (youngsters are hiding in nest)

Before a bunch more “youngster / fledglings” photographs, this Cedar Waxwing did pose nicely for me on McDavitt Road in Sax-Zim Bog yesterday morning. The ground fog had just burned off, and I was listening for juvenile Great Gray Owls (none heard). As a fyi this is the time of year to get out in the woods or grasslands and look for juvenile raptors. They beg a lot and are lousy hunters.

And the other “young of year” images … all taken north of Duluth in Sax-Zim Bog or what I call the South Bog.

Trumpeter Swan Family

Sandhill Crane Family

Wild Turkey Family

Ruffed Grouse Family

Sandhill Crane Adults near Floodwood Bog (newly mown grasslands ALWAYS attract birds. The much shorter grasses make insects much easier prey)

Bog Bluebirds!

Year 11,

This post will begin a series of entries to my blog about “Grassland Birds”! It is time to get out in the countryside and enjoy summer, the grassland birds, and explosion of colors. The Black-Eyed Susans are starting to blossom, and the grassland birds are having their young. Nature is providing a feast for the eyes.

With respect to the Black-Eyed Susans I have two favorite spots both of which should be visited early in the morning. The first is just south of Sax-Zim Bog. MacArthur Road which is just west of the Cloquet River Bridge on County 8 already has flowers in full bloom. Here are the Google Maps GPS Coordinates for the turn onto MacArthur Road (County #868) off County #8. I love this dirt road for its varied habitat … forest, farms and wetlands. While the Black-Eyed Susans are in full bloom on MacArthur Road, soon my focus on these flowers will shift to near Gowan, Minnesota (just east of Floodwood). Visit very early in the morning when the skies are clear, but ground fog is present. There are thousands and thousands of Black-Eyed Susans along the pipeline right of way. The pipeline company obviously planted the flowers. Here is a post from last summer which will help you understand why an early morning trip should be in your plans.

Did I mention Sax-Zim Bog Bluebirds? Yup! In over 10 years as a volunteer naturalist in the Bog I have never seen bluebirds, until this week. My apologies that the images aren’t as good as I would like. The bluebirds forced me to photograph them while looking directly into the sun … lousy for photographs.

If you decide to cruise the backroads both for wild flowers and birds, pay attention to any freshly mowed hay (and hay bales). Birds understand that freshly mowed hay means easier eating. Bugs find it now much harder to hide in the tall grasses, as the grasses are no longer tall! In addition to hay bales, check out cows! Bessie can provide a nice bug hunting platform for birds seeking bugs. Although the birds in these images aren’t very exotic (starlings), I enjoyed their hunting activity!

Bluebirds in the Bog (Just north of Dart Road on Cty. #201 area)

Cow Hunting Platforms for Starlings

Northland Bird Migration!

Year 11,

During the long cold winter months, we hearty Northlanders often wonder if the birds of spring will every return. This past weekend provided just a hint, and the next few days should give us a HUGE push of our feathered friends into Northwestern Wisconsin and the Northeastern Minnesota.

Over the weekend, the rest of Minnesota and Wisconsin actually had some southerly winds (not up here), but it still helped a few intrepid birds reach our environs. However, over the next few days the winds will be extremely favorable for migrating birds … even near Lake Superior. Better yet, the forest near my home is almost devoid of snow … not just spots out in the open. If you decide to look for birds remember these few facts:

  • Forecast southerly winds often run smack dab into Lake Superior. Many times there are winds out of the NE in the spring and early summer when the US Weather Service assures us to expect otherwise. My point is I normally do not bird the shores of Lake Superior (or just inland) at this time of year. Instead I prefer non Boreal forest habitat which warms earlier and quicker in the spring … think farmland with scattered forest interspersed habitat. I particularly like regions where southerly winds do NOT blow across Lake Superior. Thus, I tend to avoid the forests inland from the North Shore.
  • Remember your migration highways and if possible bird near those migration paths. The Mississippi River Flyway is only 60 miles west of Duluth, and birds will also come up through Wisconsin along north / south rivers … ultimately figuring out how to either migrate along or avoid Lake Superior.
  • Most songbirds do their major migrations at night, but will still move in a northerly direction during the day. Unlike the fall migration, birds do not tend to linger long in one location. They are in a hurry to return to breeding territory.

Here were some of my own cool finds over the weekend …

The South Bog Region of NE Minnesota (farmland and forest south of Meadowlands)

Northern Shrike Returning to its Canadian Homeland

The Movie (video link for email subscribers)

Northern Harrier Looking for a Friendly Boreal Bog (and a friendly callout to Lorraine and her Northern Harrier!)

Sandhill Cranes … I think this pair has returned to their favorite Northland Farm

Apparently cows are also into bird watching!

NW Wisconsin (Wisconsin 35 farmland near Cloverland)

Red Hawk Hunting

And some local color … Goldfinches stay with me all winter, but they a becoming golden once more.