Tag Archives: MN North: Rossini Road

An Explosion of Color!

April 23, 2016Year 3MN North: Amity, MN North: Duluth Waterfront, MN North: Rossini Roadrichardhoeg@gmail.com

Even before the Spring rains come to green up the Northwoods, there is lots of color waiting for the person who is willing to invest time in the watching … and listening! The color started yesterday when I started hearing … pound, pound, pound! For the next nine hours, and then restarting at 5:30 am this morning, a pair of Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers declared out wooded lot their home turf! Amazingly, I never quite knew how the sapsuckers listened for a response. Take a look at the photos. The birds put their ear right against the tree.

The tour of color continued yesterday evening with moonrise over Lake Superior. Although it may be spring, a gorgeous harvest moon came up over the big lake. Finally, these morning I was amazed while birding on Rossini Road. This beautiful splash of yellow and black was in an unusual location! I had never seen a meadowlark deep in the Northwoods. Pine forests, and not meadows are what we tend to have in abundance.

Rossini Road Eastern Meadowlark

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Moonrise Over Lake Superior – Old Duluth Central High School
(see the next post for yesterday’s moonrise at Canal Park)

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Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers Setting Their Territory

Lake Superior Moonset!

April 22, 2016Year 3MN North: Canal Park, MN North: Rossini Roadrichardhoeg@gmail.com

Not many people can say when they arrive back at their house at 9:15 am that they’ve already been out for 4 hours! However, such was the case for me, and my morning. Awakening shortly before 5 am I realized there would be a beautiful moonset down at Canal Park. I jumped quickly out of bed, threw on some clothes, grabbed a Diet Coke and I was off a few minutes after 5 am. These three images were the result! In addition, it was fun to talk with the early morning fishermen on the South Pier. The smelt are running along Park Point, and with it the larger salmon and lake trout … which brings out both the fishermen and diving birds.

After Canal Park I drove north to the Rossini Road Wilderness. The clear skies and good light deserted me, but I still had fun watching all the ducks, increasing amount of shorebirds and one river otter … everyone was intent on catching breakfast. These two stops took me the noted four hours … back at home by 9:15 am for a late breakfast!

Moonset at Canal Park in Duluth Minnesota (Aerial Bridge)

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Rossini Road Bufflehead

Rossini Road Wilderness – Solitary Sandpiper! (videos)

April 21, 2016Year 3MN North: Rossini Roadrichardhoeg@gmail.com

This morning I found a Solitary Sandpiper along the banks of some ponds on the Rossini Road Logging Trail. Somehow the name of the sandpiper is appropriate, “solitary”. Although this dirt road is only 30 miles north of Duluth’s Lester River Bridge, it is a true wilderness experience. For the past several days I have birded the excellent habitat (meadows, ponds, wetlands, and forest), but with my particular favorite being some ponds about 1/2 way between the start of the road and Pequaywan Lake Road. In addition to all the birds, I have seen snowshoe hares, porcupines, and even a timberwolf! My ponds have been a bird magnet for a number of reasons:

Lakes to the north are still iced over
Lake Superior to the south is cold … less available food
The ponds have lots of Spring life … singing frogs, budding trees, and bugs! The birds appreciate this oasis of the warmer weather which will soon be present across the Northland

I actually needed some help with ID’ing the Solitary Sandpiper, and with some help from some local birders (Ryan and Mike), it was actually pointed out to me that my sighting was the farthest north of any Solitary Sandpiper this spring migration in all of North America! Cool!

In addition to my shorebird friend I have had fun getting to know some bufflehead and ring-necked ducks. I hope you enjoy some of my images taken over the past few days on Rossini Road.

Solitary Sandpiper

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