Trumpeter Swan Cygnet Update (chicks)

Year 13

I visited the Upland Forest Trail cygnets (chicks) just before leaving for Iceland, and the day after I returned to Duluth. The elapsed time period between my visits was 12 days. I thought folks might be curious in the growth / change in these little birds. In addition, one of the six cygnets obviously met its demise. There are only five chicks remaining.

Trumpeter Swan Cygnets on July 24th (The parents were about 50 yards distant, and did not feel the need anymore to be immediately next to their young. However, the cygnets still swam together “in formation”)

Trumpeter Swan Cygnets on July 12th

If you would like to see the difference in growth from when I first found the swan family on July 6th … here is one image from that date (see post)

Trumpeter Swan Cygnets on July 6th (There is a sixth chick; it is just hiding behind one parent)

Icelandic Snipe Hunt

Year 13

Let’s go on a Snipe Hunt, an Icelandic Snipe Hunt! However this was not a practical joke (see Wikipedia). Since arriving in Iceland I had heard the winnowing call of snipes all around me, but the “Common Snipe” would never come out of the tall grasses. However on the 3rd day at our farm rental (see post with AirBnB description), as I drove out the farm’s long dirt driveway … Eureka! A Common Snipe!

Better yet this Common Snipe was a lifer. Apparently back in the year 2003, the birding powers in the world decided the Wilson’s Snipe (the bird I see at Minnesota wetlands) and the European version … including the Common Snipe found in Iceland were uniquely different species … thus a lifer!

As I watched the Common Snipe for a few minutes it decided to cross the dirt driveway, and suddenly two snipes chicks appeared and followed in their parent’s footsteps. Thus, my snipe hunt yielded three Common Snipes at once, a family!

Icelandic Common Snipe (down on the farm)!

The parent snipe checks that all’s clear

The family heads across the driveway

The chicks

The parent (about 3 feet distant from the chicks)

Addendum #1 to the Rock Ptarmigan post: Thank you to one of my readers, Annie! She spied to Ptarmigan chicks leading me to review all my Icelandic images of this species. Wow, these little guys blend into the grass … expect some new “rock family photos!”

Addendum #2: I spent the morning up at Greenwood … leaving very early and I was hiking by 6:30 am. I found a new “scent branch”. Time to deploy new / additional trailcams! Not just the Canada Lynx are using this branch, but also a small pack of timber wolves, a pair of fox, and a small bear. Everyone needs to let the other animals of the forest know of their presence!

Minnesota Logging in Days of Yore!

Background, Year 13

While I don’t want to turn this blog into a northern Minnesota tourist guide, I know many of you have family members who couldn’t care the least about our fine feathered friends. Thus, I like to add an occasional post about things one might do to the entire clan happy when visiting / birding northern Minnesota. Today’s topic is “Logging in Days of Yore!”

It is definitely worth a stop at the Minnesota Historical Society’s Forest History Center in Grand Rapids. The “center” is an old logging camp built on the shores of the Mississippi River.  The folks you will find at the Forest History Center are primarily Minnesota Historical Society employees  who believe passionately in helping you learn the history of the region. Northern Minnesota was essentially clear cut in the early part of the 1900’s.

Take the time to watch this short video about the last log drive on the Little Fork River (a bit north of Grand Rapids). This log drive took place in 1937 not too far from my cabin. My thanks to the Minnesota Historical Society for posting this video a few days ago to their YouTube channel. (video link for blog email subscribers)

Also a bit north of Grand Rapids is the only remaining Civilian Conservation Corp Camp in the Lower 48 which is in remotely good shape: Camp Rabideau. All the hiking trails I use near my own house were built by the CCC in the 1930’s. If you would like to read about the logging industry in northern Minnesota, here is a great overview from the Minnesota Historical Society. The picture is theirs, not mine.

As a fyi … Molly and I returned from Iceland last night, and given the time change I have been up since 3:30 am. More Iceland posts will be coming once I work through my backlog of photographs!

This post is reworked from a similar effort I wrote many years ago. The new edition is driven by the log drive video becoming available.