Tag Archives: MN North: Old Vermilion Trail

After the Storm!

Year 3,

Over the past 48 hours we have had high winds off Lake Superior, and depending upon your elevation above the lake … anywhere from 4 to 14 inches of heavy wet snow. The rumor is that the sun will shine tomorrow, but for the moment the world is encased in heavy white sticky stuff.

Before dawn this morning I took a hike along Amity Creek. It was fun to see the roaring river (not stream) all decked out in white. The hike made me realize that I needed to spend the day outside. After first stopping out on Old Vermilion Trail to fill the bird feeders, I spent a good amount of the day driving and hiking back roads. Many streams have flooded out of their banks, and I had to repeatedly stop and inspect the roadbed (good thing for muck boots) to insure there were no washouts.

Even with this return to winter, the spring migration is slowly starting. When I found some fresh roadkill 15 miles north of Duluth, I was treated to watching nine bald eagles. All and all, it was a great day!

Amity Creek (river?!) before sunrise
Amity-Creek-Deeps-Waterfall Amity-Creek-Deeps-Gazebo Amity-Creek-Deeps-Stream

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Floods … Water Over Road Many, Many Times!
Flood-Three-Lakes-Road

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Preening After the Snow … Immature Bald Eagle
Bald-Eagle-Post-Storm-07-Preening Bald-Eagle-Post-Storm-06-Preening

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My Own Back Yard … 100’s of Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins
Common-Redpoll-Post-Storm

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Our own Homestead this Morning!
Amity-Creek-Deeps-Homestead

Common Redpoll … Sleeping Snowy

Year 3,

Once again I watched a Snowy Owl sleep today. Some Snowies actually hunt during the day, but not my friend. I spent almost one and one half hours on a beautiful clear afternoon waiting and watching. Watching this owl is kind of like watching paint dry. Some day I will see it hunt!

At least my bird feeders on Old Vermilion Trail are now attracting common redpolls in addition to millions of black-capped chickadees.

Common Redpoll
Y3-M01-Old-Vermilion-Common-Redpoll

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Sleeping Snowy Owl … moments before sundown
Y3-M01-Sleeping-Snowy-Owl-Sunset

Ski Birding … Back in Business!

Year 2

Over 1/2 foot of snow today! Still coming down. Set tracks up at my public bird feeders off Old Vermilion Trail (access map and ski trail data). I would have taken photographs, but a country work crew arrived as I was completing my ski. Good news! They are putting boulders at the entrance to my trails. Thus, no snowmobiles! They were happy to finally meet me … I am known as “squirrel man” because of my feeders. They also enjoy the birds!

On another note, try following Project Snowstorm this winter. It is a great organization which tracks Snowy Owls through a banding and radio transmitter system. Worth reading their latest blog post. The Snowy Owl apparently flew right over Duluth on the way from its summer range to wintering in central Wisconsin. Wonder if it is a snowy I saw a few weeks ago, and then could not relocated? Here is the map showing the route the Snowy Owl took.
Buena-Vista-June-6-2014