Red Wing Nature Notes

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.

My post for this week will feature observations made on Monday December 15th and Wednesday December 17th.

Monday- As the sun rose this morning with the temperature hovering at -7 degrees F, we were treated to a pair of very bright sundogs. Sundogs result from the refraction of sunlight by small ice crystals in the lower atmosphere. Unfortunately, I do not have a wide angle lens for my camera, so only one sundog appears in the photo.

Later that morning, I drove up to Colvill Park to check on the bald eagle population around the open water. Surprisingly only one mature eagle was observed. What was most noticeable was steam rising from the warmer water of the main channel.

When I walked out to the edge of the river to take a photo, I was surprised to see a lone white pelican tucked right up to the rocky shore. No doubt this bird was not healthy enough to continue the fall migration with the rest of the pelicans. With the abundance of gizzard shad in the warm water discharge from the steam plant, this bird could well survive the winter. Keep your eyes open for it when you visit the park in the near future.

Wednesday- This morning I decided to cross country ski out to the river via Wacouta bay with two goals in mind. First I was interested in seeing what tracks were present in the 3 inches of fresh snow from last night. Second, I was hoping to get close enough to the hundreds of mergansers resting and feeding on the nearby open water.

The only tracks I came across on the entire bay were a pair of coyote tracks heading for the river. They were no doubt heading that way in anticipation of finding a weak or injured duck at the edge of the water.

My route was to take me through a dense willow thicket in hope of getting close to the ducks before they saw me. This would require me to eventually remove my skis and walk. Near the midway point in the willows, I happened upon a large high water beaver lodge. These lodges are used only when the regular lodge becomes flooded out in the high water of spring. When working for the ELC, the inside of high water lodges were great opportunities for exploration by ELC participants.

Eventually, I made it to the edge of the river for an attempt to get a couple photos. Unfortunately with several hundred ducks at close range, I was easily detected. Oh well, maybe next time I will have to set up a blind sit in the cold for a while.

Observations this week took place on Tuesday December 9th and Saturday December 13th.
Tuesday- As I mentioned in my last posting, we have been fortunate to have a pileated woodpecker visit our suet feeders recently. I have encountered the same frustrations as that of John in capturing a photo of this vary wary bird. Finally today, I waited motionless by our kitchen window until the woodpecker landed on the suet feeder.

Later in the day, I took a walk down around Presbyterian point at the head of Lake Pepin. Because most of the lake is now frozen over, eagles are gathering around the open river nearby. Several eagles were observed sitting at the edge of the ice, perched in nearby cottonwood trees and in flight over the lake.

On a dead tree parked horizontally on the beach a result of last spring’s high water, I found a few splotches of blood. It was all that remained of a fresh fish recently consumed that morning by a hungry eagle.

Saturday- Because the upper end of Lake Pepin has experienced considerable sedimentation in recent years, Wacouta bay has virtually become filled with soil from the farm fields of the Minnesota river valley. In fact, at the present water levels of the Mississippi river there is only a foot of water in the entire bay. On the bright side once the bay freezes over and is covered with snow, it makes an ideal area for some cross country skiing.

This morning my neighbors Steve and Sue Betcher joined me on a tour to the upper end of the bay. Near the shore, we encountered two sets of fresh tracks in the snow. In the enclosed photo, the tracks on the right were made by a coyote while the others a local dog.

John had asked a question in a recent post as to how to distinguish one from the other. According to the book “Field Guide To Tracks” by the late Myron Chase, wild animals like fox, coyotes and wolves will register their tracks- the hind foot is placed in the same place as the front foot. Domesticated animals like dogs do not register their tracks. This trait evolved as an advantage when stalking prey.

Wildlife observed on our tour included eagles and hundreds of common mergansers that continue to find sustenance in the nearby open water.

The highlight of our tour occurred as we were skiing back to shore. First we heard several trumpet like honks overhead. As we stopped to look for the cause, we noticed a family of seven trumpeter swans flying behind us. The five gray colored cygnets were very distinguishable from the stark white plumage of the adults. How exciting to see these rare birds in the Red Wing area. Maybe some spring someone will be fortunate enough to discover a nesting pair.

this is my second try for this entry. The first try turned nto something else. You can read that here:Looking for an Upgrade.

I’m sure I was the first to see the full moon. I woke at 4:30, something in me said I was done with sleep. I got out of bed in the dark listening to see if the wind from last night had stopped. I wondered if it was cold out. I looked out the bedroom window and saw the shadow of the house in the moonlight stretching out into the snow covered field. The thermometer said it was pleasant, in the twenties. The moon is actually supposed to be full tommorrow, but to my eye it is full now, that’s why I see it first.

The dogs sensed I was going, but I left them behind, comfortable no wild animal would be waiting to spring from the shadows.

“Even though I walk in the valley of darkness I fear no evil. Its a human thing”, I thought.

Now that we have snow on the ground I find there is much more freedom to move. I used to think that snowshoes were ridiculous with a snow cover of just a few inches but I was wrong. A good pair of snowshoes provides comfort and stability walking even in moderate snow. I walk a route that would be good for skiing with the idea that I will pack a base for future cross country skiing. For years I have planned to buy some wide cross country skis for bushwacking, the narrow skis don’t work well when you get into untracked snow.

The snow from our last storm has been plowed but the wind has redistributed it. I’ll have to plow the driveway again to remove the drifts. If I wait they will get too hard to move.
The moon is by itself in the sky now, no bright things hovering around it. I have not been able to get out for any period of time in the daylight, but I’m looking forward to it. With the snow you can go anywhere. I don’t pay much attention to tracks in the moonlight. I can’t see enough detail to tell what is going on.

In full light I enjoy tracking some thing as small as a vole. They make tracks and tunnels in the snow. Its fun to follow their progress and see where they go. The very first time I did this with my kids they were small and we happened upon a trail in the snow from a vole. We followed it and talked about what he might be up to and where he was going and why. ? I was please they were excited about these little trails in the snow. The tracks meandered around and then they ended. There was a big indentation with wing marks on both sides. With great excitement we gathered around the mark to look at it. One of the boys promptly tripped and fell into the center of it. They are too old now to remember any of this.
For daytime travel I’m looking forward to seeing tracks, for the night I will enjoy the moon. If I remember correctly from someone who commented on a previous post we should listen for great horned owls in December and January as they will be mating and more vocal.

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The transition from late fall to winter seems to have happened quickly. In early November, our thermometer came close to 70 degrees, and the ground was a dull brown and not yet frozen. This week before dawn the thermometer is in the single digits. And the ground, of course, is covered with fresh snow. After the year’s first snowfall, it takes a couple mornings for my mind to adjust to the sudden brightness when I step outside.

On Saturday morning I went out to the woodpile and spotted five deer standing about 50 yards away. Their bodies were obvious against the snow, but they didn’t move. I gathered an armload of wood and went inside. Later that morning I followed their tracks. One deer had wandered up to the woodpile, and stopped about 10 feet from where I had been.  Just curious, I suppose. Then they continued over a little saddle in the woods.

I like the first few snowfalls. The fresh snow is like a blank map that gets filled in with details each day. The favorite trails and travel patterns of deer, turkey, coyotes and mice are revealed. It is striking how heavily-used one cooridor can be, while land nearby remains largely untouched.