Tag Archives: MN North: Pine Island State Forest

Shades of Winter Red!

Year 9

I just spent the past two days near the Canadian border near Big Falls, Minnesota. I knew that many of the back roads I enjoy which are nearer our cabin, would soon be impossible in terms of access due to deep snow. Toomey Williams Forest Road in Pine Island State Forest was just barely drivable with my all-wheel drive. My timing was near perfect and I enjoyed two perfect days of sunny weather in the midst of snow flocked pines before last night’s and this morning’s high winds and extreme cold kicked in. Better yet, I found the sweet spot of migrating winter birds that will remain in our local Boreal Forest for the next few months. The most numerous bird were pine grosbeaks, but there were plenty of Common Redpolls and White-Winged Crossbills to keep this birder happy.

The one specie of bird which I saw nary an individual was the Great Gray Owl. Although I was in prime habitat at the right time of day, the Gray Ghost never appeared. Normally by late October I can count upon the fact that some juveniles are beginning to hunt well into the daylight hours (a bit after sunrise, and before sunset). Our Great Grays are native and year round residents, but an interesting fact is that Hawk Ridge’s raptor banding count for the entire month of October was only 500 birds (hawks and owls). This monthly number is way down compared to the historical average. In addition, none of my friends are seeing any of our northern owls with any kind of frequency … and definitely not at any time other than dawn and dusk. Bummer.

Regardless … shades of Red … Winter Birds!

Pine Grosbeaks

Take-Off

Gritting Up

White-Winged Crossbill

Common Redpoll

Big Fork River (upstream and downstream from one of the Mn Hwy #6 Bridges)

Cabin 2022: It’s a Wrap!

Year 9,

Molly and I just returned from two nights at our small Northwoods cabin not to far south of the Canadian border. Temperatures were forecast to reach the 20’s each night, and I knew that meant it was time to pull the water system out of the lake, and get the boat out of the water. We pump water directly from our lake, NorthStar Lake, which is the first lake of the Hudson Bay Watershed. Yup, it would be possible to canoe downhill all the way from out lake north to the big bay and then the Arctic Ocean. We bring drinking water in portable containers, but Northstar’s clean spring fed H2O is perfect for everything else. Pulling the water system and perfectly draining it is required because water in pipes or the pump freezes … then expands … and then breaks whatever within it is contained. We still visit from this point on, even through the winter months, but the wood stove and outhouse become very important! I was glad to get everything out of the lake by October 1st. The water is getting rather chilly when one has to spend significant time in same. Two mornings ago I took these photographs 15 minutes after sunrise. You can see my view from inside, and then one is looking the other way in the “great room” (Kitchen, Dining, Living Area).

I also had some fun with this image and video! (link for email subscribers … 15 second’s of a wood stove)

Given all my chores that needed to be done, I obviously could not go birding at sunrise. Instead, I took a break around mid day to explore some roads which were new to me. I was surprised to find amazing numbers of Black-Billed Magpies. I think I stumbled upon their southern migration near the western edge of the boreal forest.

Mooseland Visit

Year 9

Tuesday’s visit to Mooseland did not turn up any moose, but there were an amazing number of Moose tracks on Toomey Williams Forest Road. The bird of the day were the two northern Minnesota grouse species. I finally realized that while scanning the snags and trees for hawks and owls, I really needed to spend more time focusing upon the immediate road in front of me. On three separate occasions I almost ran over grouse … both Spruce and Ruffed. The birds only avoided my car by inches, and I was not driving fast.  However. grouse are not noted for intelligence. Given grouse season has already started it further showed just how remote these roads are … these birds had not been hunted recently or they would have spooked way earlier. I did stop and take some nice images of this Ruffed Grouse. I was standing about ten yards away from the bird.

The raptors were hunting even before sunrise, but I waited till a few minutes after sunup to watch this Broad-Winged Hawk hunt (thus … the yellow light of sunrise). According to Frank Nicoletti from Hawk Ridge they saw over 9,000 Broad0Winged Hawks yesterday. It is amazing what a decent NW wind will cause in terms of migration towards the end of September.