Red Wing Nature Notes

With the turn around in winter temperatures, I decided to head  for Frontenac State Park  Monday afternoon and the well groomed trails in the open prairie section of the park.  No sooner that I left my car at the park office, the sun went under the clouds.  This was somewhat disappointing as I was planning to check out the springs at the far east end of Frontenac pond and hopefully take some photos of possible bird activity.

As I approached the springs and open water, I jumped a flock of close to twenty mallards.  As soon as the mallards flew off, a flock of several robins made their grand entrance.  Robins not at the springs, could be heard singing in the trees nearby. Amidst the robin calls, I could detect an occasional bluebird call and eventually observed several in with the robins.  With the poor lighting conditions, I made a feeble attempt at trying to get some photos.  The results were less than satisfying.

With the clear skies and good sunlight, I decided to make another visit to the springs on Tuesday afternoon.  As I approached the desired area, numerous robins could be seen actively flitting around the open water. I skied into the area of the activity and tried to determine the angle for the best light conditions for my photo attempts.  Of course, all the birds flew off with my appearance.  After becoming situated behind some marsh grass, I waited for their return.

Thirty minutes later, there still were no birds and I was slowly getting the feeling that I blew this opportunity.  Eventually, I could hear and see robins perched in the top of a large cottonwood tree forty yards away.  One hour after arriving at the springs, a lone brave robin made it’s appearance about twenty feet away.

Within five minutes, I was surrounded by a couple dozen robins some within six feet.  It appeared that in addition to getting a drink, the birds were feeding upon invertebrates along the edge of the ice.  It was interesting that as I packed up my camera, daypack and put on my skis to head back, these birds were not the least bit concerned with my presence.

Tuesday morning amidst the fog and frost on the trees, I checked out eagle activity at Colvill Park.  Twenty eagles were counted including the one that posed for me in a tree adjacent to the parking lot.  The next couple months should provide some exciting eagle viewing at this wonderful location maintained by the city of Red Wing.  Don’t miss this great opportunity.

Those of you reading this might be interested to know that at 7 pm. on January 21st, the Minnesota Audubon Society is providing a great opportunity to learn about the increasing number of golden eagles that are being observed in southeast Minnesota ans southwest Wisconsin.  The event will be held at United Lutheran Church at 5th an Dakota in Red Wing.

Today our Mayor John Howe stopped by my house with an eyed click beetle, common name for members of the widespread beetle family Elateridae. Also called elater beetle, the click beetle has a hinge across the front of the body that allows it to flex, and a spine-and-groove arrangement on the underside of the body that provides a snapping mechanism. When a click beetle is turned on its back it cannot right itself by rolling onto its short legs. It arches its body upward so that only the ends touch the ground, then straightens suddenly, causing the spine to slide into the groove. This sends the beetle spinning through the air and produces a loud click. If the beetle lands on its back again it repeats the performance. A click beetle also snaps its body when it is picked up, which may cause the predator to drop it. The markings on its back appear to be two large eyes. Click beetles have long, flat bodies, generally rectangular, but curved at the ends. They range in length from 1/4 in. to 4 in. (6.4–102 mm); most are black or brown. Most adults are nocturnal leaf-eaters. The larvae, called wireworms, are destructive to a large variety of plants including corn and grains. Some tropical click beetles are brilliantly luminescent. Click beetles are classified in the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Coleoptera, family Elateridae. The eyed click beetle does not appear to normaly live in this area, so is this part of their natural area? If it is not normal the second question would be how did it get here?