Tag Archives: MN North: Mouth of the Lester River

Days 362 to 364: Countdown Birds

Year 2, ,

Yes … I am in the final countdown to having completed 365 straight days of taking at least one bird photograph every day. As we have neared the completion of my goal, the pressure has mounted. Birds get increasingly hard to find during the northern Minnesota winter, and thereby photographic opportunities decrease. Given I want to take a good and interesting photograph I have become slightly paranoid about this project. My hours dedicated each day to birding have rapidly increased. Here are the last three days in preparation for tomorrow’s grand finale!

Day 362: Night Owl! (Northern Hawk Owl at Dusk)
362-Birds-365-Northern-Hawk-Owl-Perched

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Day 363: Mallards … Fearless or Foolish? (last freighter of the shipping season)
363-Birds-365-Time-to-Move-Mallards

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Day 364: Adult and Immature Bald Eagles at Lester River
364-Birds-365-Bald-Eagle-Adult 364-Birds-365-Bald-Eagle-Juvenile-Perched

Days 340 & 341: The Birds of Frostbite Falls

Year 1,

The gloom of yesteryear (the past three weeks) is kaput. A cold high pressure system has come down from the Arctic, and night time temperatures are falling to below -10F (and colder) once you get a few miles away from Lake Superior. These cold temperatures mean bright sunny days with very little moisture in the air … given the sun does not rise too high in the sky in late December, photo conditions are excellent.

Frostbite Falls … a fictitious Minnesota location made famous by Rocky and Bullwinkle! The birds of Frostbite Falls still need to eat; thus one will find them in the normal haunts. If the conditions are real cold, birds will delay foraging for their breakfast till the thermal warmth of the sun raises the temperature a bit.

Finally, on the other end of the day, our area lives up to the term, Frostbite Falls. The lights of the Mesabi Miner are seen off the Duluth Ship Canal … Midnight Arrival!

Day 340: Pine Siskins on the Vermilion Trail
340-Birds-365-Pine-Siskins

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Day 341: Sunrise Mallards on Lake Superior
341-Birds-365-Lake-Superior-Mallards

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Midnight Arrival
341-Birds-365-Midnight-Arrival

Day 265: Goose Rock & Hawk Attack

Year 1,

The early morning yielded some fun photos today. Shortly after sunrise, while a heavy cloud cover was still present, a view rays of the sun broke through the clouds to illuminate these Canadian Geese out on Lake Superior. Approximately one hour later I captured this sharp-shinned hawk attacking an owl decoy at Hawk Ridge. This location is one of the premier locations in America to view hawks during their annual Fall migration.

Goose Rock
265-Birds-365-Geese-Rock

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Hawk Attack (sharp-shinned hawk)
265-Birds-365-Sharp-Shinned-Hawk-Attack