Tag Archives: MN North: Mouth of the Lester River

The Birds of Summer! (Barred Owl & Rain Crow)

Year 9,

Rain Crow! I had never heard this term before yesterday’s Cuckoo Quest blog post. However one of my readers (Lisa) commented how cuckoos reminded her of how her Grandma used this name for cuckoos. Given cuckoos are somewhat rare for the Northland and thus I don’t see many, I needed help from Google. Apparently “Rain Crow” is a familiar name used for cuckoos, particularly on hot muggy days before storms. Cuckoos often call out for a loooonnnng time just before a storm. While the name is applied more often to a Yellow-Billed Cuckoo in the southern part of the United States, I did find references to the Black-Billed Cuckoo also being called a Rain Crow.

Well, storms we had yesterday. Some humdingers passed through the area just after sunset. I enjoyed watching the initial storm clouds dance across Lake Superior around 9 pm last night. All I can say about the kayaker, “Stupid Is as Stupid Does” (Forest Gump). I took these two photographs near the mouth of the Lester River. I was already seeing lighting strikes about 800 yards to the east of the kayaker. The glow on the clouds in the pictures is from some sun peaking through clouds to the west.

Now on to Mr. and Mrs. Barred Owl. A good friend of mine invited me to accompany him to some family property yesterday evening. We had a grand time. Make certain to watch the video to see how the Barred Owl pants in an attempt to beat the heat (video link for email subscribers). It also shakes its entire body to belt out a “Who cooks for you?”.

Natural Blinds or Fish for Lunch

Year 9

Give some thought to where you like to go birding. Does the location provide the opportunity to utilize “natural blinds”? One such location in northeastern Minnesota on the edge of Duluth is the mouth of the Lester River. Many birders stop at the waysides that look out over Lake Superior, but opportunity awaits for those who go a tiny bit inland. From the NorthShore Information booth, take the Lakewalk Tunnel to safely cross under Minnesota Highway 61. Shortly upon exiting the tunnel at the top of the hill you may either descend some stairs into the ravine and hike upstream along the river (using many trees to hide behind), or just walk next to the ravine’s edge (be careful … it’s a long killing fall).

I used both opportunities around noon today to watch this Common Merganser fish. The current is still super fast from runoff, and the birds (and other wildlife) are still not numerous (slower water = easier food opportunities). In fact, it’s now June 1st and I’m not certain if there has been a decent steelhead or smelt run.

Fish for Lunch: Common Merganser

Sax-Zim Bog Snowy Owl

Year 9, ,

Got lucky this morning. I decided even given the high winds to visit Sax-Zim Bog which is 45 minutes from my house. I had heard there was a second Snowy Owl around and it often frequented Sax Road around sunrise. Jackpot! Even though the sky was ugly, a little bit of sun sun actually tried to break through … thus a “white” owl!

Most folks look for Great Gray Owls as a first choice in the Bog, but given my proximity to the Bog, I will leave “old gray” for the crowds of birders. In about a month the Bog becomes mine once more as our winter guests stop visiting.

Yesterday I had thought of visiting the Bog, but when I walked outside, the impending sunrise quickly changed my decision. I took this image at the mouth of the Lester River about 20 minutes prior to sunup. I then spent the next 30 minutes exploring the Lake Superior shore.

The previous day found me checking out the ice conditions over on Wisconsin Point. We get some amazing ice piles as storms push ice down to our end of the lake. The ice mounds won’t totally melt till May.

You should now understand why folks including me call our area the “Arctic Riviera!”