Blackbacks, Bluebirds and Bears … Oh my!!

Year 11,
  • Blackbacks, Bluebirds and Bears … Oh my!!
  • Blackbacks, Bluebirds and Bears … Oh my!!
  • Blackbacks, Bluebirds and Bears … Oh my!!

Yup, that pretty much sums up the birding over the past few days. Two days ago I hiked from my home through the Lester / Amity Woods over to the Lester Park Golf Course Ponds. Upon approaching the largest and third pond, aside from seeing Tree Swallows for the first time this Spring, I heard Bluebirds singing. Eventually I tracked the singing down to a couple of males chasing one early arriving female. She was not yet choosing a home or making a commitment to a mate. (as a fyi … I have nominated myself to the citizen committee which will help determine the future of Lester Park Golf Course)

Lester Park Ponds Bluebirds

Yesterday I knew it was time to head north of Two Harbors and refill the Greenwood Creek Bog Bird Feeders (learn more about this region) which I maintain.  There is a pair of Black-Backed Woodpeckers thinking of nesting about 500 yards down the trail / forest road #813 from the feeders!

Greenwood Creek Bog Female Black-Backed Woodpecker

And finally … the bears. Momma Bear and her three cubs returned last night after a five day absence. Their visit was obvious when I got up in the morning. Thankfully, I have been able to fix all the damage the bears cause up to this point.

Momma Bear and the Cubs Pull a Tag Team! (video link for email subscribers)

Wood Ducks, Mergansers and Daring Drops … Oh My!

Year 11

It is the time of the year when I give a callout to my friend Paul down in the NW suburbs of Minneapolis. You should get to know Paul, or more accurately his “bird blog”. Paul has three duck boxes on his property which abuts a small, fast flowing creek. The ducks like his hospitality.

Did I mention that Paul is a retired engineer from Honeywell? We worked together to years and you should know engineers do not retire, they just move on to non-paying projects. In Paul’s case, one of those projects are his wood duck boxes which have an amazing number of cameras which watch the ducks through incubation and then “THE DROP”! You are even able to watch “THE DROP / jump” live via the internet. Last year I had the please of watching the woodducks jump with Paul in a bird blind in his back yard.

Like my blog, Paul’s does not have advertisements or solicitations. He enjoys his birds and shares that enjoyment with his readers.

Perhaps you would like to read my blog post from last years Duck Drop … plenty of photos.

And a copy of the banner from Paul’s website …

When the the Crows Attack your Owlets!

Year 11

Big, Big Mistake! Amy and Les, my local Great Horned Owl parents are not only good providers, but they are great guardians / protectors. This post documents the past few days and includes a crow attack. Momma / Amy was not pleased.

The images includes within this post are from Day #9 (owlets 19 days old) and Day #11 (owlets 21 days old). According to the Cornell School of Ornithology Great Horned Owlets normally spend their first 8 to 10 days underneath Momma Owl … thus I am adding 10 days from when the owlets were first viewable by me on Easter Morning.

Day #9 (19 days old): The nest is getting crowed, but Momma Owl still spends most of her time keeping the owlets warm and protected

Day #11 (21 days old): Momma Owl is now off the nest more than she is with the owlets. There isn’t much extra room, and the growing youngsters need both parent owls to hunt for food. Early this morning the crows attacked the owls … for good reason. Examine the first image. The owlets often enjoy crow for breakfast.

Things had calmed down by the next afternoon. Both owlets are fine … one is just hiding in the shadows of the nest.