Bird of the Day - Bald Eagle

Our national bird is the bald eagle.  Here are some interesting facts about this majestic bird:

1. The common and scientific names of the bald eagle refer to the white feathers.  "Balde" is the old English word for white.
2. The scientific name for the bald eagle is Haliaeetus leucocephalus.  Haliaeetus means sea eagle or fish eagle.  Leuco means white.  Cephalus means head.
3. Bald eagles do not get their full white head and tail until they are 3 - 5 years old.  In their first year, they totally lack the white head and tail as well as the yellow bill.
4. Bald eagles are known to have lived for 25 years in the wild, and 50 years in captivity.
5. A bald eagle can exert 400 lbs. of pressure with its talons.
6. Females are larger than males (reverse sexual dimorphism).
7. Females weigh up to 9 lbs. in Florida, and 16 lbs. in Alaska.  Larger animals generally do better in colder environments.
8. Bald eagle populations were decimated by hunting and D.D.T.  Until relatively recently, they were very rare.  They are now common, and their comeback has been a huge success story.
9. It is illegal to possess bald eagle feathers without a permit.
10. Lead is one of the biggest killers of bald eagles.  They often time get poisoned from hunter's gut piles which contain pieces of lead shot.  It is better for the eagles if hunters use copper shot.
11. Benjamin Franklin wanted the wild turkey to be our national bird because he claimed the eagle was a scavenger and a coward.  
1. The eagle does scavenge, but also hunts and is skilled at catching fish.  
2. When eagles are choosing mates, they fly to high elevations, lock talons, and free fall.  The male who holds on the longest wins the affections of the female.  Based on that evidence, the eagles are neither pure scavengers or cowards.
12. A bald eagle can see a rabbit running about 3-miles away.  It has monocular and binocular visions, meaning it can look in two directions at once.
13. A great place to visit (after the pandemic) is the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota.  Many of the facts above are found on their website (https://www.nationaleaglecenter.org).
14. A fun way to watch bald eagles close up is on the Decorah Eagle Cam.  The website is https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-eagles/.  You can also link to several other great bird cams from that site.

Bird of the Day - Common Goldeneye

One of my favorite diving ducks to reside in the Arrowhead Region is the common Goldeneye.  They are especially beautiful in the Grand Marais Harbor in the late winter and early spring.

The male have a green head with a striking white spot behind the bill.  His bill and upper back are black, while his lower back and sides are white.  The eyes of both genders are a bright gold color.

Goldeneye females have brown heads, with a yellow tipped bill.  Her back and sides are grayish-brown with some white spots.

Goldeneyes as well as many other birds lose their bright plumage after the spring mating season.  This is the time to see them in their finest colors.

I took the goldeneye pictures for this article more than a month ago while I was is Grand Marais.

Bird of the Day - Herring Gull

Many years ago, I volunteered with another naturalist in the Chippewa National Forest.  Just for fun, he would point at a herring or ring-billed gull, and tell his audience that he would give them a dollar if they could guess that bird.  Without fail, someone would answer "seagull."  He would then say, "No. There's no such thing as a seagull."  If you look it up any field guide, you will find that he was correct.

The bird that most people know as the seagull is actually the herring gull.  It is a large gull; adults have a white head and breast, a yellow bill and eyes, a grey back, and black wing tips with white spots.  The immature herring gull has a black bill tip, and the adult gulls have a red spot on the inferior (bottom) part of the bill.  There are many variations in the plumage of the herring gull, which depend on such things as age and time of the year.

In Great Lakes legends, the gulls were the spirits of the lost sailors.  It was considered good look to have one land on your ship, and bad luck to shoot one.

I took the pictures for this article more than a month ago in the Grand Marais Harbor.  There are numerous species of gulls in Grand Marais, Minnesota during the year, but the herring gull is the most common.  They tend to gather around large bodies of water, and you can't get any bigger than Lake Superior in the middle of North America.

Bird of the Day - Wood Duck

I am going to start a new feature on this blog called Bird of the Day.  I'll put out a series of short articles showing photographs of different birds.  Some of the pictures are recent, while others may be from years ago.

I was recently out walking my dog, and came across a family of wood ducks in a pond.  They were swimming in the water, standing on branches, and eating vegetation beneath the surface.  This seems to be a banner year for wood ducks, since I have seen them consistently in several locations.

2019 Bird Sightings through April 1st

The bird species identified for 2019 have started to pick up now that we are well into spring migration.  This calendar year, I have not yet been outside of the Arrowhead region of Minnesota, so these birds are all in that range.

Here are my bird sightings in alphabetical order:

1. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

2. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

3. Barred Owl (Strix varia)

4. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapilla)

5. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

6. Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)

7. Common Raven (Corvus corax)

8. Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea)

9. Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubuscens)

This Downy Woodpecker has his long tongue sticking out.

10. European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

11. Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

12. Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)

13. Hoary Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni)

14. Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus)

15. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

16. Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enuncleator)

Female Pine Grosbeak

17. Pine Siskin (Carduelis psaltria)

18. Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)

19. Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)

20. Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

21. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta Carolinensis)

Enjoy the spring migration!

Final Big Year List

My Big Year has been over for close to a month now.  My final total is 132 species spotted from April 30, 2017 - April 29, 2018.  It was a fun year, and I saw a lot of species that I had never seen before.  The following is the species list in its entirety, and the locations of first sightings:

1. Red-winged Blackbird - Gunflint Lake, MN
2. Common Grackle - Gunflint Lake, MN
3. Dark-eyed Junco - Gunflint Lake, MN
4. White-throated Sparrow - Gunflint Lake, MN
5. Song Sparrow - Gunflint Lake, MN
6. Pileated Woodpecker - Gunflint Lake, MN
7. Downy Woodpecker - Gunflint Lake, MN
8. Black-capped Chickadee - Gunflint Lake, MN
9. Golden-crowned Kinglet - Gunflint Lake, MN
10. American Crow - Gunflint Lake, MN
11. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Gunflint Lake, MN
12. Bufflehead - Ham Lake, Cook County, MN
13. Mallard - Ham Lake, Cook County, MN
14. Winter Wren - Ham Lake, Cook County, MN
15. Turkey Vulture - Ham Lake, Cook County, MN
16. Blue Jay - Gunflint Lake, MN
17. White-breasted Nuthatch - Gunflint Lake, MN
18. Hairy Woodpecker - Gunflint Lake, MN
19. Chestnut-sided Woodpecker - Gunflint Lake, MN
20. Ruffed Grouse - Gunflint Lake, MN
21. Common Merganser - Lonely Lake, MN
22. Northern Flicker - Gunflint Lake, MN
23. American Tree Sparrow - Gunflint Lake, MN
24. Clay-colored Sparrow - Gunflint Lake, MN
25. Common Loon - Gunflint Lake, MN
26. American Robin - Gunflint Lake, MN
27. Herring Gull - Grand Marais, MN
28. Bald Eagle - Lake Superior near Grand Marais, MN
29. Ring-billed Gull - Duluth, MN
30. Chipping Sparrow - Duluth, MN
31. Horned Grebe - Duluth, MN
32. Red-breasted Merganser - Duluth, MN
33. Rock Pigeon - Duluth, MN
34. American Woodcock - Lake Superior, MN
35. American Kestrel - Gunflint Trail, MN
36. Purple Finch - Gunflint Lake, MN
37. House Finch - Gunflint Lake, MN
38. Pine Siskin - Gunflint Lake, MN
39. Red-necked Duck - Centennial Trail, MN
40. Savannah Sparrow - Gunflint Lake, MN
41. Vesper Sparrow - Gunflint Lake, MN
42. Belted Kingfisher - Grand Marais, MN
43. Canada Goose- Grand Marais, MN
44. Long-tailed Duck - Grand Marais, MN
45. Spruce Grouse - Bingshick Lake, MN
46. Yellow-rumped Warbler - Bingshick Lake, MN
47. Common Snipe - Magnetic Rock Trail Head, MN
48. American Black Duck - Gunflint Lake, MN
49. Brown-headed Cowbird - Gunflint Lake, MN
50. American Goldfinch - Gunflint Lake, MN
51. Black-throated Green Warbler - Gunflint Lake, MN
52. White-crowned Sparrow - Gunflint Lake, MN
53. Canada Warbler - Gunflint Lake, MN
54. Rusty Blackbird - Gunflint Lake, MN
55. Bonaparte's Gull - Gunflint Lake, MN
56. Common Yellowthroat - Lonely Lake, MN
57. Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Gunflint Lake, MN
58. Northern Cardinal - Roseville, MN
59. Cerulean Warbler - Roseville, MN
60. Baltimore Oriole - Roseville, MN
61. House Sparrow - Roseville, MN
62. Tree Swallow - Roseville, MN
63. Hooded Merganser - Gunflint Lake, MN
64. European Starling - Roseville, MN
65. Cedar Waxwing - Roseville, MN
66. Mourning Dove, Roseville, MN
67. Wood Duck - Roseville, MN
68. Cooper's Hawk - Roseville, MN
69. Broad-winged Hawk - Roseville, MN
70. Gray Catbird - Roseville, MN
71. Yellow Warbler - Roseville, MN
72. Eastern Phoebe - Roseville, MN
73. Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Roseville, MN
74. Great-blue Heron - Roseville, MN
75. Great Egret - Roseville, MN
76. Barn Swallow - Roseville, MN
77. Northern Harrier - North Branch, MN
78. Ovenbird - Gunflint Lake, MN
79. Merlin - Gunflint Lake, MN
80. Spotted Sandpiper - Grand Marais, MN
81. Osprey - Gunflint Lake, MN
82. Swainson's Thrush - Hungry Jack Lake, MN
83. Northern Parula - Gunflint Lake, MN
84. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - Gunflint Lake, MN
85. Semipalmated Plover - Grand Marais, MN
86. Semipalmated Sandpiper - Grand Marais, MN
87. American Redstart - Devil's Track Canyon - MN
88. Veery - Sweatheart's Bluff, Grand Marais, MN
89. Hermit Thrush - Hungry Jack Lake, MN
90. Common Nighthawk - Gunflint Lake, MN
91. Indigo Bunting - Gunflint Lake, MN
92. Black and White Warbler - Gunflint Lake, MN
93. Red-eyed Vireo - Gunflint Lake, MN
94. Nashville Warbler - Gunflint Lake, MN
95. Northern Waterthrush - Gunflint Lake, MN
96. Scarlet Tanager - Gunflint Lake, MN
97. Magnolia Warbler - Gunflint Lake, MN
98. Peregrine Falcon - Twin Cities, MN
99. Red-bellied Woodpecker - Roseville, MN
100. Double-crested Cormorant - Two Harbors, MN
101. Gran Jay - Pine River, Ontario
102. Red-tailed Hawk - Thunder Bay, Ontario
103. Philadelphia Vireo - Kakabeka Falls, Ontario
104. Wild Turkey - Near Neebing, Ontario
105. American White Pelican - Near Neebing, Ontario
106. Red-necked Grebe - Gunflint Lake, MN
107. Least Sandpiper - Grand Marais, MN
108. Green Heron - Roseville, MN
109. Golden Eagle - North Shore of Lake Superior, MN
110. Sharp-shinned Hawk - Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN
111. Franklin's Gull - Second Crow Wing Lake, MN
112. Palm Warbler - Buffalo River State Park, MN
113. Connecticut Warbler - Buffalo River State Park, MN
114. Brewer's Blackbird - Moorhead, MN
115. Harlequin Duck - Grand Marais, MN
116. Lapland Longspur - Kadunce River confluence with Lake Superior, MN
117. Horned Lark - Gunflint Lake, MN
118. House Wren - Superior Hiking Trail, MN
119. Sedge Wren - Superior Hiking Trail, MN
120. Bohemian Waxwing - Grand Marais, MN
121. Black-backed Woodpecker - Gunflint Lake, MN
122. Redhead - Grand Marais Harbor, MN
123. Common Redpoll - Gunflint Lake, MN
124. Hoary Redpoll - Gunflint Lake, MN
125. American Coot - Lonely Lake, MN
126. Pine Grosbeak - Gunflint Lake, MN
127. Great-horned Owl - Roseville, MN
128. Eastern Meadowlark - Gunflint Lake, MN
129. Evening Grosbeak - Gunflint Lake - MN
130. Snowy Owl - Grand Marais, MN
131. Tundra Swan - Highway 35 near North Branch, MN
132. Boreal Chickadee - Gunflint Lake, MN

My goal now is to increase the size of my Life List.  Since the end of my Big Year, I have already added numerous species when I took a road trip out west.  I'll probably try another Big Year in the future, but plan to wait a while first.

Happy Birding!

Tundra Swan and Black-capped Chickadee

The bird migration has begun, but is still not in full swing in northern Minnesota.  On the Gunflint Trail, the winter birds (Pine Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, and Hoary Redpolls) have departed for lands to the north.  The birds that have returned to the Gunflint Trail for the summer are: the Common Crow, American Robin, and Red-tailed Hawk.  I also spotted a Snow Bunting on its way north.

On March 15th, I saw species 131 of my Big Year, the Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus).  I was driving on Highway 35, just north of North Branch, MN, when several of these beautiful birds flew in front of me.  Unfortunately, I could not get a picture (since I was driving at 70 mph.) but did get a good enough look for identification.

Earlier this month, I did get a series of rapid shots of a black-capped chickadee, which are featured below.  In this series of pictures, it is breaking into a sunflower seed: