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.

The whippoorwills have returned to the valley.  I heard them after midnight on Tuesday, May 5th.  There were two of them calling in the darkness.  The call is like a clear, soft whistel, and is an unmistakable “whipp-oor-will, whipp-oor-will, whipp-oor-will.”  I don’t recall seeing one of these birds, but I’ve heard them occasionally after sunset.

I remember Ralph Lentz explaining to me that we are near the northern limit for black walnut trees.  That’s why they are one of the last trees to leaf out, and one of the first to shed their leaves in the fall.  The result is a short growing season, and especially high-quality wood.  The photo above is from Friday, May 8th.  The leaves on a few of the branches are just starting.  The tree is on a hillside that faces northeast, so this might be later than nearby walnut trees that get more sun.

The sap has been slow this spring.  By last weekend, we had collected just enough to complete our first boil.  We boiled the majority of it down outside, then finished boiling it on the Coleman stove.  Unfortunately, the wind shut down the sap on Sunday.  Hopefully things will start moving again soon.

Several Minnesota State Parks have maple syruping programs through April 11.  For more information visit www.mnstateparks.info.

On Thursday, March 26th, I saw a snipe or woodcock on a township road near a marshy area.  It was sitting on the road near dusk and didn’t fly off when I drove past.  I backed up for a better look and a photo, but it flew.  My first impression was that it was a woodcock, but I haven’t seen one around here in the spring.  Hopefully I’ll get the chance to see it again.

Melting snow and warmer temperatures means that it’s maple sryup time.  Last week I put in 10 taps on this north-facing hillside.  The maples here typically start later, but run longer.  This weekend yielded about six gallons.

Glad to read in Bruce’s post that Marc Vogel spotted a bluebird on March 11.  I saw one near the base of Barn Bluff March 13.

This feels like a real Minnesota winter, when the snow just keeps falling. Total snowfall so far is close to 18 inches. The past four weeks have felt like a full winter already–snow, subzero temperatures and strong winds. Yet, this is just the first official week of winter. It should be a good one.

Watching birds at the feeder each morning is simple entertainment. Typical visitors include cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, black-eyed juncos, finches, red-bellied woodpeckers and downy woodpeckers. One red-bellied woodpecker pulls suet from the feeder then flies into a nearby tree, where he appears to tuck the suet into the crotch of a small branch. Perhaps he’s storing it for later. We hear and see pileated woodpeckers in the woods, but have not spotted one at the feeder.

While hiking through the snow this weekend, I spotted ice crystals near the base of a sumac tree. Even though it had just snowed, there was a small opening near the trunk, with plenty of ice crystals. Ice crystals like this can sometimes indicate there is someone burrowed beneath the snow.

I continue to be intrigued by the heartiness of the little Zestar apple tree planted this spring. It is perhpas eight feet tall, and the uppermost leaves are still attached. This Zestar joins the invasive buckthorn and the hearty red oak as the trees with leaves still blowing in late December.