Tag Archives: MN North: Two Harbors Highlands

Arctic Birding Lifers!

Year 4

Yesterday afternoon I drove up the shore and then inland at Castle Danger. Near Silver Creek township on Bunker Hill Road there are some sewage treatment ponds. On the way home I stopped and birded the Two harbors municipal campground. While the number of birds were not huge, the diversity was great. I found many birding lifers:

  • American Pipit
  • American Tree Sparrow
  • White-Rumped Sandpiper
  • White-Winged Scoter

The final coup de grâce was finding this Rough Legged Hawk … also down from the Arctic … actively hunting. Since yesterday when I first spotted this hawk, I have relocated it twice and watched more hunts … some successful, some not. It hangs out on the #61 Expressway between Two Harbors and Duluth near Larsmont Road.

If you visit the water treatment ponds at Silver Creek, do NOT walk into the pond area. If you stay behind the fences, the staff will welcome you visits (I talked with the maintenance technician). In addition, make certain you do not block the access road. There is a pull-off where you may park about 100 yards back from the gate.

Another treat at the ponds was watching a Northern Shrike hunt, and hearing its scratchy call for the first time in my life. I should now be able to find shrikes by ear! The American Pipit and American Tree Sparrow were not really difficult lifers. I’ve seen both birds before, but never had taken photographs. I decided it was time to rectify that fact, and make them part of my blog’s official count. All of these birds are migrating south from the Arctic.

American Pipit (campground … lifer)

American Tree Sparrow (campground … lifer)

Snow Bunting (treatment ponds)

White-Rumped Sandpiper (treatment ponds … lifer)

White-Winged Scoter (treatment ponds … lifer)

Reach Out and Grab Some Color!

Year 4, ,

Man has it been dreary recently in northern Minnesota. The skies are forever cloudy, and most of the birds that I’ve seen have been black and white (or brown). Arrgh! I needed a color fix which thankfully a local cardinal provided when I got home this morning!

Seriously, I should probably work the North Shore of Lake Superior harder, but I’m not interested in making the drive up to Grand Marais and back. Jim Lind and John Richardson are reporting some cool ducks at various river mouths and harbors between Two Harbors and Grand Marais. I suggest watching for their names via eBird (Lake and Cook Counties)

Color! Red: Cardinal in my yard next to Amity Creek

Black & White Bird #1: Goldeneye at McQuade Harbor

Black & White Bird #2: Bald Eagle “grabbing some color” inland from Two Harbors

Catching Up at Year’s End

Year 3,

Time to clean up photographs from the past two months as I sit here on the first day of 2017. There are two birding trips I never reported upon, and have some good images. Back in mid November I took a drive up Lake County #3 which leaves the Northshore of Lake Superior at the mouth of the Stewart River.  This is an occasional birding route of mine, and 13 miles inland I catch the logging road, East Alger Grade to connect to Lake County #2 which comes back down into Two Harbors.

The second trip was a few days prior to New Year’s when I drove down to Canal Park. In addition to hundreds of bouncing goldeneyes, there is one beautiful male long-tailed duck.

Rough-Legged Hawk on Lake County #3

Canal Park Goldeneyes and Long-Tailed Duck

Bouncing Bobbleheads!  🙂