Minnesota Birding

[cpwm17]

I just spent a month on vacation, mostly in Minnesota. I was gone from the middle of October to the middle of November. I made some bird recordings, and took pictures while I was at it.

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Spruce Grouse female

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Black-backed Woodpecker male

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Snow Bunting

There aren't a huge number of birds in Minnesota in late fall, but the quality is good. Birds such as the Great Gray Owl, Spruce Grouse, Pine Grosbeak, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll, Snow Bunting, Northern Goshawk, Golden Eagle, Northern Shrike, and Boreal Chickadee are some of the good possibilities. I got many of them.

Leaving my home in central Florida, my first stop was at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in western Kentucky, on October 8.

I spent much of the day hiking around there. Behind the nature center there were quite a few Red-headed Woodpeckers, more than I've ever seen at one place. Here are a couple of recordings I made of the Red-headed Woodpeckers there:

https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/red-headed-woodpecker-1

https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/red-headed-woodpecker
Blue Jay and Tufted Titmouse also on recording


I then headed to Cone Marsh State Wildlife Management Area in eastern Iowa to bird on October 9.

I was soon rewarded with an unexpected lifer, which is one more lifer than I expected on the whole trip: Eurasian Tree Sparrows:
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It's not the most exciting bird, but I didn't think I'd ever see this countable introduced bird.


On October 11, after sleeping through cold night in my car (like almost every other night) I birded Blue Mounds State Park in far SW Minnesota.

I recorded these Ring-necked Pheasants in the grasslands there:

https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/ring-necked-pheasant


After birding for a while, I headed north up western Minnesota. It was rather windy, which makes it impossible to make any decent recordings, plus it was dry so there weren't nearly as many birds as I saw in my fall Minnesota trip fifteen years earlier.


The next day on October 12 I visited Felton Prairie in western Minnesota:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Felton+Prairie+Scientific+and+Natural+Area+(SNA)/@47.0503862,-96.4329547,14z/data=!4m6!1m3!3m2!1s0x52c89173ae80b69d:0x66e64bc452d59290!2sFelton+Prairie+Scientific+and+Natural+Area+(SNA)!3m1!1s0x52c89173ae80b69d:0x66e64bc452d59290?hl=en

It was very windy, but I did manage to get this distant shot of a Greater Prairie-Chicken:
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Due to the wind, and the bad weather forecast, I decided to head to the Duluth area earlier than I planned. Shortly after leaving Felton Prairie I did see a flock of Gray Partridges:
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I then spent the following few weeks birding near Duluth and areas north of there.


I made a few stops at Hawk Ridge on East Skyline Parkway, Duluth:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/46%C2%B051'15.8%22N+92%C2%B001'18.2%22W/@46.85439,-92.02173,427m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0?hl=en

This is one of the best places in the US to see migrating raptors in the fall:
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Up until the 1950's this was a favorite spot for the local gun nuts to shoot the raptors flying over. A local birder fought to get them to stop. Duluth bought the land and outlawed the slaughter.

A lot of Bald Eagles passed by during my visits, but like the other raptors, they were mostly very distant. It all depends on the wind direction where they pass over the ridge:
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Adult Bald Eagle

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Immature Bald Eagle

I recorded this Bald Eagle at nearby Wisconsin Point in Wisconsin:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/baid-eagle

Before sunrise, when I just woke up, I took this picture near Wisconsin Point, Wisconsin: [URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]


When I first arrived the fall colors were great. This is a view of Duluth and Lake Superior from Hawk Ridge:[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

At Hawk Ridge, this immature Northern Goshawk had the courtesy to fly close by on a day that all of the other raptors were very distant:
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North of Duluth, near Hibbing, Sax-Zim Bog area is another popular birding area, more so in the winter and the breeding season (around June.)

http://birdnation.squarespace.com/storage/Sax-Zim%20Bog%20Birding%20Map%20REV%2011-2014_Layout%201.pdf

http://www.saxzim.org/sax-zim/

Scene on Owl Avenue not far from the Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center (open in winter only)[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

Some people have put bird food out at the Sax-Zim Welcome Center. American Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, and Dark-eyed Junco were there: [URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
American Tree Sparrow

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Fox Sparrow

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Dark-eyed Junco

On the way home I recorded this Dark-eyed Junco at Great Smoky Mountain National Park, NC:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/dark-eyed-junco-1

This Sharp-tailed-Grouse is one of eight birds I saw that are easy to find on private land in the Sax-Zim Bog area, if you know the spot:
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I recorded this from the same Sharp-tailed-Grouse flock, at sunrise. Three of them were doing a little dancing:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/sharp-tailed-grouse-1

I found this Ruffed Grouse by driving the roads in the Sax-Zim Bog area:
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I also found this Gray Jay by driving the roads in the Sax-Zim Bog area:[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

I made these Gray Jay recordings there also:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/gray-jay-1

https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/gray-jay


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brief strong snow flurry in the Sax-Zim area (McDavitt Road) on 30 October while looking for Great Gray Owl that are in the area (not seen)

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about ten minutes later the snow had completely stopped


I drove back and forth on the highway along Lake Superior's north shore a couple of time between Duluth and areas north-east:
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visiting the Two Harbors Lighthouse one day:
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I spent quite a bit of time in the Gunflint Trail area (Hwy 12), north of Grand Marais.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/48%C2%B001'07.5%22N+90%C2%B022'31.6%22W/@48.018742,-90.375441,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0?hl=en

Just like fifteen years ago, for my first stop, I traveled down the same dirt road to search for Spruce Grouse in the Gunflint Trail area. And just like fifteen years ago, I found a female Spruce Grouse within a couple minutes:
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female Spruce Grouse

I recorded this Boreal Chickadee very near the same spot, but I never saw one on this trip:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/boreal-chickadee

For comparison, also in the Gunflint Trail area, I recorded these Black-capped Chickadees along with Red-breasted Nuthatches (tin horn calls) in a flock:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/black-capped-chickadee-with-red-breasted-nuthatch

From same flock, I took these pictures of a Black-capped Chickadee:
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and a Red-breasted Nuthatch:
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On the way home, for comparison, I recorded the similar sounding White-breasted Nuthatch at Mammoth Cave National Park, KY: https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/white-breasted-nuthatch
Northern Flicker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Blue Jay heard in background

Also on the way home, I took this picture of a White-breasted Nuthatch in a park in Tennessee
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In the Gunflint Trail area I was searching for Snow Buntings at a large open spot where I saw a number of them several days before. At first I couldn't find any, but then one found me: it was very close and it was walking my way. I followed it closely, taking pictures. It then spotted another Snow Bunting (better company than me) flying overhead, so it flew up to greet it. They both returned near me. I quickly grabbed my microphone and recorded most of the action:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/snow-bunting-1

Here are the Snow Buntings after they returned together:
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Very near where I slept in my car in the Gunflint Trail area, one early morning I saw this male Spruce Grouse with a couple of females:

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He flew into a tree:
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spruce forest by this Spruce Grouse


Also near where I slept, one afternoon, I saw this Ruffed Grouse standing under a small tree where the top had toppled over, creating an arch: [URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

The Ruffed Grouse was unhappy I walked by and it made some calls as it slowly walked off:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/ruffed-grouse


A few miles away, I photographed this Gray Jay:[URL=.html]
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I recorded this Purple Finch nearby (Purple Finch mostly vocalized early in the recording):
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/purple-finch
Also heard are Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Pine Siskin faintly.


Nearby, I photographed this female Spruce Grouse along a trail, the exact same spot I saw a male Spruce Grouse a couple days before:
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She made these calls, but she still didn't move away from the water on the trail despite the fact I was standing at close range taking pictures:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/spruce-grouse


After being away from the Gunflint Trail area for a few days, this is what I came back to:
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The brief snow flurry I had at Sax-Zim was much more than brief up here. The roads are icy in spots.

My car thermometer read 13 degrees early in the morning (31 October), the coldest night there. But I slept fine with plenty of blankets in my car.

I quickly found this male Spruce Grouse when I started birding on November 1
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male Spruce Grouse

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male Spruce Grouse

When I returned back down this trail shortly after, this female Spruce Grouse had joined him:
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female Spruce Grouse


The last place I visited in Minnesota was Isabella Lake, near Ely, in northern Minnesota:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/47%C2%B047'30.1%22N+91%C2%B019'12.7%22W/@47.7917,-91.320192,419m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0?hl=en

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burned forest near Isabella Lake

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Red Fox in the Isabella Lake area


Black-backed Woodpeckers are easy to find in the burned forest there:[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

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In third picture the Black-backed Woodpecker got his meal.

Black-backed Woodpecker calls and tapping recorded in this burn area: https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/black-backed-woodpecker
He made a couple of grating flight calls also, Common Redpolls called in background


The normally rare Black-backed Woodpeckers were more common than the Hairy Woodpeckers in the burn area (Black-backed Woodpeckers favorite habitat.) Hairy Woodpeckers were the second most common woodpeckers in the burned forest:
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Hairy Woodpecker near Isabella Lake

I recorded this Hairy Woodpecker pair in the Sax-Zim Bog area: https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/hairy-woodpecker


There were some flocks of Common Redpolls around the burn area:
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Common Redpoll

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Common Redpoll

I recorded these (from a flock of four Common Redpolls) in the burn area:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/common-redpoll-2

I recorded these Common Redpolls on the trail from Park Point to Minnesota Point in Duluth. There were a dozen in a tree and two dozen more flew over. The Common Redpolls in the tree called (the two dozen flying over heard in background) and then they join the others in flight:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/common-redpoll


I put out bird seed on the parking spot by the bridge near Isabella Lake (bridge marked on the map above)

The Snow Buntings discovered it quickly:
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Snow Bunting

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Snow Bunting

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Snow Bunting

There were several Lapland Longspurs with the Snow Buntings:[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
Lapland Longspur

At the same spot a few Gray Jays were feeding on a small animal carcass:[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

After only being in the Isabella Lake area for two days, it started snowing. I wanted to stay longer, but I was seventeen miles from the highway and I didn't want to take chances, so I left and started heading home: [URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
Isabella Lake area snow


I did pretty good in Minnesota and saw and heard some nice birds. Other birds included: Golden Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, Pine Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, and Northern Hawk Owl (second lifer.)


On the way home I stopped at Congaree Swamp National Park in South Carolina. It was a very birdy area. This Pileated Woodpecker was working on this small branch:[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
Pileated Woodpecker

Here is a recording of this Pileated Woodpecker tapping and chopping down the small branch. One of the two Pileated Woodpeckers on the tree briefly called once in recording, otherwise it's all tapping: https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/pileated-woodpecker

Here's a calling Pileated Woodpecker I recorded at the Gunflint Trail, MN area, near where I slept: https://soundcloud.com/paul-wm/pileated-woodpecker-1


My last stop before I got home was at Bull Island, South Carolina: http://www.bullsislandferry.com/

I took the ferry over and spent the day there on November 11. I took this picture of some American Alligators blocking a trail. I didn't pass:
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I'm not in Minnesota anymore.

My microphone malfunctioned so I lost most of my recordings at Bull Island.

Now, unfortunately, I'm back home - though my area in central Florida is nice.

[Crewleader]

1. Just A Wonderful Thread cpwm17

Love all the photos! And welcome back neighbor!

[cpwm17]

3. Thank you, it was fun

Last edited Thu Dec 4, 2014, 12:41 PM - Edit history (1)

Minnesota is one of my favorite states to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. I still want to go back next year.

It's good to be back here in central Florida.

[locks]

2. What a wonderful trip

and such perfect pictures. Some of these like the grouse I've never had the good fortune to see. Many, many thanks.

[cpwm17]

5. I was surprised by the number of Spruce Grouse I saw.

I've only seen a couple of them before. Fall seems to be the best time to look.

When I was a much newer birder I spent some time in it's habitat up north and I never saw any.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. Thank you for inviting us on the trip with you.

I feel as if I was there, less the backache from sleeping in the car.

[cpwm17]

6. I've learn to take along a lot of pillows on my trips

so I'm actually relatively comfortable, though my knees hurt a little at the end. My next vehicle will be bigger so I'll have more room to stretch out and carry my stuff.