After spending the night just north of Duluth, we decided to bird County Road 2, which runs north from Two Harbors. According to Kim Eckert’s A Birder’s Guide to Minnesota, Spruce Grouse can be found there north of the Sand River. When we got to the area, we started to drive slowly and watch carefully. We saw a couple of flocks of pine grosbeaks, but suddenly, some other birds flew up from the roadside. I didn’t get a good look at them, but Pole said they were a little chunky and had red in the tail. That means Spruce Grouse.
Category Archives: lifers
duck duck goof [44 – 47]
We both got up before dawn to see the wolf, but no luck. Maybe it was eating one of those pesky deer. I hope.
We checked out of Gunflint Lodge, and our first stop was Grand Marais harbor. The first thing we saw in the water was a Common Goldeneye. Another duck we couldn’t identify was hanging out with it. I put the scope on it and got a quick look before it dunked its head. It was a colorful bird and before giving the lens up to Pole, I made my pronouncement: “Wood Duck.”
more deer than birds [38 – 43]
Pole on the George Washington Pines Trail
Last night we arrived at Gunflint Lodge on Gunflint Lake at the end of the Gunflint Trail. It would be nice if I could say it was in the town of Gunflint, too, but it ain’t. Driving the trail at night, we saw two moose calves, and in the morning, lots of tame whitetail deer around the cabins. At one point I counted something like 16 outside our window. The lodge has corn so the guests can feed them, which means the deer become spoiled pests. A big doe actually stamped her foot at me when she thought I was going to mess with the corn I had given her. I stamped my foot right back at her, the ingrate.
magpies and logging trucks [34 – 37]
Before we headed out into the country, we made a short stop at Duluth’s Park Point, where saw some COMMON RAVENS. Our next stop was Aiken County (again). We were driving along Route 5, Pole poring over maps and guides, when I saw a flash directly in front of me. It was a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE. I had only a short glimpse, but it was mostly dark with some white, and a long, long tail. Pole didn’t see it, and by the time she unearthed herself from her library, the bird had gone. We saw it in the distance with another, too far off to identify. Pole was disappointed and pissed to say the least, so I kept my mouth shut. When I first saw it, I yelled “Oh my God!”, so she knew it was a good one. It was spectacular in fact, but I was a gentleman and didn’t gloat.
the great muddy north [28 – 33]
Today is the first day of a birding trip to Minnesota. We took a shorter trip last year during the unprecedented owl irruption, but don’t expect such luck this year. We left Chicago yesterday after work, but spent the night in Wisconsin, making today our first in the beautiful North Star State.
While on route to St. Paul, a BALD EAGLE flew low across our path. It’s always easy to ID, so I don’t mind it flying in front of me while I’m going 75 mph. Still heading north, Pole saw another bird fly past. (I was too busy driving the car, so couldn’t get a good look.) At first she thought it was a Northern Harrier, but after carefully reviewing both the Peterson and Sibley guides, she decided it was a NORTHERN GOSHAWK.