Hasty Brook

Three Life Birds and Many New Friends

2011-09-17T16:06:00.002-05:00

It's been just a whirlwind of an adventure here at The Midwest Birding Symposium in beautiful Lakeside, Ohio. Unfortunately, I am unable to post photos on my iPad so I will have to wait until I get home to my laptop. Ruthie and I went to a bird banding demonstration at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory this morning and were treated to great looks at Gray-cheeked Thrush, a female Black-throated Blue Warbler, Indigo Bunting and a pair of cranky Northern Cardinals. The naturalists there gave us terrific information about the banding process and about the birds they netted. After the banding Kim Kaufman invited us to go along on a Birds and Blooms bird walk on the boardwalk at the famous Magee Marsh. I cannot say enough about the generosity of both Kenn and Kim Kaufman. Ruthie and I had the best time! I got fabulous looks at three new life birds: the Gray-cheeked Thrush, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo and a Philadelphia Vireo. Those three birds brought my life bird total to 297! I sure am hoping that tomorrow I will be able to make it to 300!
This afternoon we listened to a presentation on attracting hummingbirds and butterflies by one of my favorite speakers Connie Toops. I have heard Connie speak twice before at the New River Birding and Nature Festival in Fayetteville, WV and knew this talk would be great. We've done quite a bit of shopping (no surprise there!) and I'll share photos of my cool purchases when I get home.
Tonight's keynote speakers will be a real treat. Julie Zickefoose will speak about her new book (I pre-ordered mine yesterday) called The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds With Common Birds. Following Julie we will hear one of my favorite people, Al Batt. Al is from Hartland, Minnesota. Al is a classic story teller and is also one of the kindest people I've met. Can't wait for tonight!

We Made It!

2011-09-16T08:42:00.002-05:00

Ruthie and I left her house at 0530 yesterday morning after scraping frost of the car windows. We had a wonderful drive, with only two near misses. I came very close to hitting a coyote while still in Minnesota, and we almost ran out of gas in Ohio! But after twelve long hours of driving we pulled into Lakeside barely ten minutes before we were to board the boat for the event kick-off. We skipped the birding trips this morning and got some much needed rest. But now we're off to register and explore. There are some terrific speakers lined up, shopping to do and friends to make.

I love being here at the Midwest Birding Symposium in Lakeside, Ohio!

Road Trip!

2011-09-03T18:22:00.003-05:00

I haven't been around much this summer. Between changing from part time to full time work, and our major time commitment to our building at Hasty Brook, (and I will admit to spending more time on Facebook), I have neglected this blog. Life gets busy and my good intentions to get back to blogging slipped away.

But- life is good here. So I will pick up where I left off and turn my back on the guilt.

My best birding friend Ruthie Johnson, the Nature Knitter emailed me a while back asking if I was interested in joining her for another girls' road trip to The Midwest Birding Symposium in Lakeside, Ohio on the shore of beautiful Lake Erie. It only took me a moment to think it over. Described as "America's Friendliest Birding Event", the weekend September 15-18 will be jam-packed with fun. The line-up of speakers is incredible! There are field trips to the area's amazing birding spots and the Birder's Marketplace has 68 vendors offering a wide range of products and services.

It will be an opportunity to reconnect with old birding friends, meet birders that I've gotten to know through blogging and Facebook, and make new friends.

I am excited to have been chosen to be an Official MBS Blogger! Check out the link on my side bar. It will take you to the MBS website and detail all of the great information describing this amazing weekend of birding, birders, entertainment and FUN!

It's not too late to sign up.

I hope to see you there!

Back to West Virginia

2011-04-30T19:15:00.002-05:00

I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for West Virginia to attend the New River Birding and Nature Festival for the second time. Two years ago I went and had an amazing experience. The festival was extraordinary, so many wonderful people, fabulous birds

in beautiful habitats and so many joyful memories.

I'll be joining some of the same birder/bloggers and meeting many more. I'm excited to re-visit the New River Gorge National River and enjoy the hospitality of this lovely festival. The guides are fabulous and of course the birds are almost heaven!

I Made a Little Bird Wish

2011-04-12T19:26:00.004-05:00

Art and I made a day trip up to Hasty Brook on Sunday to do some drywall mudding (Art) and birding (me!). It was a cloudy, overcast day but I was really wishing to see my First Of Year Turkey Vulture. When I went out on the balcony to fill the feeders, I noticed that the thistle socks were still about one fourth full. I assumed that my Redpolls had left for their northern home but later a handful of the pretty winter finches attacked the thistle.

I watched the regular visitors on the feeders and mentioned to Art that I would really love to see an Evening Grosbeak in the yard. Over the winter, our good neighbor Mark had mentioned that another neighbor had had Evening Grosbeaks visiting his feeders. I had meant to stop there for a look but never got around to it. Was it too much to wish to add Evening Grosbeaks to my Hasty Brook yardlist?

They came! I was sitting by the patio door with my bins, scanning the trees when I saw two larger birds across the creek. One flew to the maple on our side of the rushing creek and I didn't need binoculars any more to know that Evening Grosbeaks were at my Hasty Brook!

My jaw dropped and I begged Art to grab my camera. I was so close to the bird (5 feet) and didn't want to move and scare it off. Just look at those wings!

A bit later the second Grosbeak flew up the the feeder on the railing. They were chomping through the oiler shells like tin snips on butter! The last time I saw Evening Grosbeaks was a few years ago with Ruthie in the Sax-Zim bog. They used to be so common when I was a girl. I remember enormous flocks of them descending on my Dad's feeders, cleaning them out in very little time. I hope they come back again. THAT was amazing.

While the huge numbers of Redpolls were gone north, the trees were full of gorgeous Purple Finches.

At one point there were ten on the railing, ten on the feeders, and at least another forty in the trees nearby. Against the gloomy sky, these finches looked like they'd been dipped in raspberry jello. Lovely color, lovely song.

I took a walk toward the creek. The creek was running higher than we'd ever seen it. That sound was what had drawn me to the place the first time we looked at the land. I watched from the top of the hill overlooking the creek and saw the ground below was hopping with Juncos and Fox Sparrows. Movement in the treetops caught my eyes. It seemed early, but I was pretty sure it was a pair of Yellow-rumped warblers! I fired off a bunch of shots, but the sky was so gray, it was impossible to tell much about the birds in the photos. I didn't have any way to edit the photos with me. Rats.

Later, as I was trying to get a few last photos of the Redpolls in the maple, this little guy popped up, right at eye level, nicely exposed----

Yellow-rumped Warbler! How odd to see both a summer warbler and a winter bird like a Redpoll sitting in the same tree. I've always known Hasty Brook was a special place.

It was nearing time to and still no Turkey Vultures so walked up the clearing to our mound by the road and looked up and down the road. To the south- two Turkey Vultures flying right up the road toward me! They flew right over my head, tipping their wings in greeting and floated off. Coming from the north, a Bald Eagle. I stood, counting my blessings and heard the yodeling calls of Sandhill Cranes. I suspected they were gathering in the field a half mile to the west of us. Glancing up, I was thrilled to see two of them flying toward that field.

What a wonderful day, but it was time to go. bad weather was coming from the south so we packed up and left. While stopped for pop in the next town I watched 20+ Turkey Vultures riding the south wind ahead of the storm. about 20 miles later Art spotted a kettle of TUVUs tipping in the wind. I pulled the car over and we got out to watch AT LEAST another 70 Turkey Vultures float low in the bumpy wind, headed north.

People thought we were nuts.

I was happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had an amazing yard list for a cold, gloomy day in April.

Common Redpoll

Pine Siskin

Black-capped Chickadee

American Goldfinch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Song Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Purple Finch

Evening Grosbeak

American Crow

Common Raven

American Robin

Ruffed Grouse

Red-winged Blackbird

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Sandhill Crane

Bald Eagle

Turkey Vulture

American Kestrel

Wood Duck

Canada Goose

Mallard

Wild Turkey

The End of March at Hasty Brook

2011-04-05T19:38:00.002-05:00

Our most recent visit to Hasty Brook was the last weekend of March. We arrived after dark but as always, I went upstairs and went out on the balcony to check the feeders and look about. The first thing I noticed was the sound. I could hear water. The creek was open and running! love that sound. The sound of the creek was the first thing that drew me to that land when we first visited. It was the same time of year when we drove up there with our directions, wondering what we would find in that 10 acres that we could barely afford. We had a list of properties to look at that day, but never looked at another after we saw Hasty Brook. It was the right place for us. It has always felt like the right place. I have a sense of belonging there, like it was waiting for me.

I am going to miss the Redpolls when they leave. This winter was the first that we've been able to go up for weekends and I've had a chance to fall for these little birds. I doubt they will still be there when we go back up in April.

I got to add a new mammal to our Hasty Brook yard list. I had left the balcony light on one evening while upstairs watching a movie when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was a bird. It seemed to fly in, hop about, then fly off again. It had to be a flying squirrel so the next night I left the light on again and waited. Not long after dark it dropped onto the deck of the balcony. We watched as it hopped quickly up to a feeder on the railing. This time I was ready with my camera. I kept my movements to a minimum and took a few photos. after a bit I got up to turn off the light but the movement didn't seem to bother the flying squirrel so I stood at the window to watch some more. Only four feet away, the beautiful little squirrel was a marvel to watch.

The next morning brought another surprise- a pair of Wood Ducks on the creek. We've seen them up there every year but these were earlier than I expected. That water must be cold!

I'm not sure when we will get back up there as we have a visitor from Germany arriving tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for the nudges Richard!

Spring is coming and we miss you-

Common Redpolls Visit Hasty Brook

2011-01-31T19:36:00.001-06:00

I love these little winter finches.

(please ignore the streaky window)

A Trip to the Bog

2011-01-21T11:24:00.005-06:00

Last Monday, Martin Luther King Day, Art and I took a break from mudding sheetrock seams and drove up the the Sax Zim bog area for some birding.

Maybe I should clarify: Art did all of the mudding. Art also did all of the driving. Driving and slowing down and stopping so I could look for birds. I called him "my faithful driver Kato."

Art is the BEST. He isn't a birder but will patiently drive through a heavy snowfall on unplowed back roads for hours so I can look for birds.

Back to the story.

Hasty Brook is only about 30 miles from the bog. The weather really was pretty crummy- very overcast and snowing. Art had the truck in four wheel drive on most of the back roads and was able to pull a fellow and his little sedan out of a ditch.

Moving along slowly I spotted a movement off in the distance. Can you see it in the photo above?

A magnificent Great Gray Owl. His head moved back and forth, scanning for a meal. Art stopped the truck (and took out a book) while I grinned, watching the owl in the distance. He lifted off and glided to a tree closer to us. It was a perfect view.

The photo above is far from perfect but I was so thrilled to catch the owl take flight. It flew across the road in front of us and landed in a field on the other side.

We never approached the owl, but when it flew closer to the truck , I felt we were disturbing its hunt so we slowly drove away.

Moving along down the snowy roads I spotted a familiar silhouette T'd up high in a black spruce. It was this Northern Hawk Owl. Again, this bird was quite a way off and my photos are not very sharp, but they they're good enough for me!

As we watched the Northern Hawk Owl left his perch, flew to the ground and snatched up a meal. It flew back up to a snowy branch and ate its meal.

Boreal Chickadee

There are a few feeding stations in the bog that are maintained by local residents. As we pulled up to one of them and stopped the truck, I immediately heard the raspy, hoarse version of "chickadee-dee-dee" sung by a Boreal Chickadee. I had really hoped to find one. I've only seen two of them in the bog before. There was no one else to be seen on that road so Art turned the truck off right in the middle of the road and I rolled the window down. There were many Black-capped Chickadees and Pine Grosbeaks. I could hear a Boreal Chickadee out both truck windows- there were two of them! I tried my best to get them both in view at once but couldn't.

I love this picture of a Black-capped Chickadee tapping at a seed held in its toes, surrounded by lichen and snow-covered branches.

It was such a wonderful day. With the poor weather, I never expected to see so many wonderful winter visitors to the bog. It is such a special place. I've visited several times and the bog never fails to show and teach me something wonderful.

This year, for the first time, I am unable to attend the Sax Zim Bog Festival of Birds. Registration closes on January 31, so there is still time to sign up. I've always had a great time at the festival so if you're looking for a community based festival with experienced guides, fabulous local food, and of course the special birds of the far north, you really should go.

A Hoary Redpoll Story

2011-01-08T15:50:00.004-06:00

Last Sunday when Art and I made our trip up to Hasty, and the flock of Repolls descended on the feeders, I was so happy to see these little finches. I noticed one fluffy bird tucked down in the bare brush. It was on the slope down to the creek, out of the wind and facing into the sun. It caught my attention because it was so fluffed up and didn't come up to feed with the rest of the Redpolls. For nearly two hours I kept an eye on the bird. When I got my binoculars on the bird I noticed that it was a bit whiter than the others. I had a flash of excitement at the thought that it might be a Hoary Redpoll.

The little bird in question finally flew up to the feeders on the second story balcony and I sot to check out the field marks. The photo above was taken through a window screen but shows the white, unstreaked undertail coverts.
This photo shows the shorter, "stubby" beak, giving the face a pushed in appearance. It also shows the finer, fainter steaking on the flanks.

Another field mark is the clear, white rump.

I love this one. It's as if she knows she's being photographed and knows just how lovely she is.

I felt pretty sure I had a Hoary Redpoll identified, but I'd only seen one twice before and those times had had them pointed out to me so I sent my photos off to my birding mentor

Hap in New Hope. He confirmed it! Richard sent me photos and information from the Stokes Guide too.

Many birders go for years hoping to see a Hoary Redpoll and now I got to add it to my

Hasty Brook yard list.

That's just another reason that I know how lucky we are to have such a special place.

A Golden Day

2011-01-05T08:48:00.006-06:00

Life Bird: Golden Eagle!!

Yesterday was one of those unforgettable days. I set out in the sub-zero morning, my car loaded with birding gear, extra boots, hats, mittens and gloves. My destination was the National Eagle Center about 100 miles south in Wabasha, Minnesota. I was meeting my birding friend Ruthie. We were attending a class on Golden Eagle identification followed by a field trip into the bluffs area nearby to scout for Golden Eagles.

On January 15, Scott Mehus, the Education Director for the National Eagle Center will be coordinating the Seventh Annual Wintering Golden Eagle Survey. Last year 140+ observers counted nearly 100 Golden Eagles in the survey area!

Ruthie and I took notes during the seminar, quickly memorizing the field marks differentiating Golden Eagles form Bald Eagles. We were fortunate to snag a ride with Scott for the field trip so we could get extra information and a narrative during our ride through the bluffs.

A few miles across the river into Wisconsin Scott pulled over to point out an area where he knew a pair of Goldens had an established territory. He had explained that unlike Bald Eagles, which like to choose perches near the tops of trees or out on the edges of clear areas, Goldens more often were found within the tree canopy. We scanned the bluffs for dark shapes and spotted a pair, far off in the distance.

A lone Golden Eagle

Back in the van we headed off to another pair's territory. Again, they were quite a way off and appeared as lumps to me.

Our last stop was another pair's territory. We were positioned between two bluffs and Scott told us that the pair routinely would fly from the bluff on the left to the east, across the road and up to a bluff on the west to roost for the night. He said it would be our best chance to see Goldens in flight. Within minutes of his explanation he shouted "Here comes the male!" I left my camera in the van and simply watched with binoculars, in awe of the magnificent bird overhead. Just as the male crossed over to the other bluff, the female came out from behind the tree line to to east. She was gorgeous! Again, I purposely left my camera in the case so I could just watch. As both eagles disappeared behind the trees in the west, Scott mentioned that they might come back and roost in a visible spot. Sure enough, the female did. Finally, I took out my camera and grabbed a shot of her silhouette in the far distance. After a few moments, we started back to the van to head back when someone shouted that one of the eagles was back up in the air.

It was the male flying back over our heads. The male went on to fly back and forth across the sun exposed face of the bluff to our left. He was actively hunting! We learned that the majority of the Golden Eagle's prey in this area is squirrels and Wild Turkeys. I grabbed my camera (without mittens) and took photo after photo. It was so cold my fingers went numb and my camera couldn't process the photos as fast as I was taking them. Auto focus started to get sluggish and I had to quit.

But I had enough.

Life bird!

I smiled the whole way home.

Note to self: Buy hand warmers to keep in the car.

Anyone within driving distance to the National Eagle Center should consider attending one of Scott's seminars. There is another coming up this Saturday, January 8 at 1pm. They are always looking for volunteers for the Wintering Golden Eagle Survey, always on the third Saturday of January. If you can't visit this year, think about next year. I would like to go to the seminar again next year. It's terrific information and I would like to try to see an immature Golden Eagle.

A New Year at Hasty Brook

2011-01-03T09:13:00.003-06:00

Minnesota weather kept us from our first weekend of the New Year up at Hasty Brook. Severe weather warnings of freezing rain turning to snow as the temperatures dropped to near zero, added to strong winds, kept us home doing house chores on Saturday. Sunday was supposed to be clear and cold so we set the alarm for early and hit the road by 8 am. The temperature was just below zero but we needed a Hasty fix! I bought Art and I snowshoes for Christmas and while I ran upstairs to fill the feeders and check on the birds, Art strapped his on and went for a walk. He said he could hear water gurgling downstream by the old beaver dam and when he punched the ice with his ski pole it broke through! He crossed back over the creek upstream of the dam and decided to walk the creek back to our cabin.
Upstairs at the feeders on the balcony, it looked like all the regulars were there. Chickadees, White and Red-breasted Nuthatches and a sprinkling of Goldfinches. I shoveled off the deck and set to work filling feeders. Even with a hat on I could hear birds coming through the woods. I looked up in time to see a good sized flock flying in from across the creek: REDPOLLS!
I love these tiny winter finches. I had heard that this isn't being a good winter for northern finches but sure was wishing hard to see a few at Hasty. I kept my movements slow and deliberate and eventually one Redpoll flew up from the hazelnut brush. Seconds later I was surrounded! If I stood very still they would land on my head and shoulders. What a thrill!

I cleared most of the snow and ice from the railing, spread some thistle and soon they were lined up eating.

The sun stays low in the sky during January in northern Minnesota so by early afternoon the sun was already shining weakly in the southwest. Even the weak sun made their red caps shine.

On such a cold day, the Redpolls were really gobbling up the thistle.

A big shadow overhead sent the birds scrambling for cover. It was this handsome Hairy Woodpecker coming to check out the suet feeder.

This little Downy Woodpecker either needs a comb or is having a devilish thought...

I have a few feeders down below on shepard's hooks. This one has been bear chewed and repaired many times. I had to use copper electrical wire to make a new handle and the lid won't lay flat. Red squirrel likes it fine that way.

On the drive up I mentioned to Art that neighbors had Pine Grosbeaks at their feeders and that I'd really like to add them to my Hasty yard list. While I was counting Redpolls in the birch I noticed two larger birds. Even with binoculars it was hard to tell, they were so back-lit. One flew down to the ground under the balcony. It was a beautiful male Pine Grosbeak! After a few minutes the female flew down to the maple to check out the feeder action. Isn't she beautiful?

The male wouldn't come any closer but the female finally landed on the railing.

A new yard bird at Hasty!
Good Neighbor Mark dropped by and mentioned that there are Evening Grosbeaks at a neighboring farm.

Maybe next trip!

Resolved

2011-01-01T18:28:00.002-06:00

I'm not much for New Year's resolutions.

However,

in the New Year of 2011

I hope to

laugh more,

listen more,

love better.

I want to

care for my family,

my home,

and Hasty Brook.

I will

spend time with family

and friends,

and show them that I love them

every chance I get.

I am

grateful

for all of you

and plan to show you

just how much

you mean to me.

I WILL

blog again!

I have lots of catching up to do especially the progress in the building up at Hasty.

Stay tuned-

Meet My New Friend

2010-08-19T21:48:00.004-05:00

I found the coolest insect at Hasty last weekend. I'd seen another of these a few weeks ago and looked it up in my Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. It looked like a relative of the Spotted Sawyer, a longhorn beetle I'd seen up there several times before. With some help from blogging/Facebook friend Cindy Mead I eventually identified this beetle as a Balsam Fir Sawyer, Monochamus marmorator.

Check out the horny protrusions around its neck. I would guess they would make it difficult to swallow this big fellow. Doesn't it kind of remind you of a studded collar?

I mentioned to Hap in New Hope that I had seen this cool insect and he told me that he'd once gotten a nasty bite from a longhorn beetle. When I zoomed in on its face I could see how that might happen. Look at the size of those pinchy mouth parts! It's probably a good thing I didn't know they could bite as I had held it for quite a long time. Thankfully, no bites.

We looked at each other for a long time.

Click to big-ify this photo. The eyes are really amazing. Kindly disregard the fact that I really needed a manicure and some lotion.

Check out the camouflage colors. The colors looked metallic in the sun.

I took loads of photos of this accommodating beetle and felt we were forming a bond but when it pooped on me I knew it was time to say good-bye.

am-scra eetle-ba!

Potholes and Prairie Birding Festival in Carington, North Dakota

2010-06-10T16:40:00.002-05:00

I stopped in St. Paul to pick up birding friend Virginia and the at the airport for Katdoc and off we went. About seven hours and a few hundred miles later we arrived in Carrington, exhausted. Settle in, unpack, a bite to eat and off to bed to wait for our 4AM alarm. Kathi's trip was scheduled to leave at 430 and mine at 5AM. We were most happy to find that Wren was here at the festival too. This morning we headed out to tour the Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge with guide Bill Thompson. Thw weather wasn't terrific- cold, windy with rain or drizzle most of the day but I am NOT complaining. The views were spectacular, the birding wonderful and the company was great.

We got several fabulous looks at Upland Sandpipers.

Western Grebes that were displaying.

We came upon a few pairs of Marbled Godwits throughout the day. They were not as happy to see us as we were to see them.

Common Snipe were uncommonly beautiful and easy to find.

We got to watch a bison heard cautiously move away and then break into a run.

It was like seeing a piece of history

I was honored.

I'm short on narritive tonight as I'm really tired. Julie Zickefoose spoke this afternoon and there is a picnic dinner and music this evening. Should be fun.

All told, I believe our group saw 78 species today and I got 16 life birds!!!

Western Grebe

Blue-winged Teal

Canvasback

American Avocet

Upland Sandpiper

Marbled Godwit

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Wilson's Phalarope

California Gull

Black Tern

Willow Flycatcher

Western Kingbird

Horned Lark

Sedge Wren

Clay-colored Sparrow

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Pardon the typo's...

Tomorrow is Pipits and Pie with Julie.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-02T14:57:00.000-05:00

Spring Changes at Hasty

2010-05-28T18:08:00.004-05:00

Lifer Mourning Warbler!

We spent last weekend up at Hasty and spring had brought new colors to our place. Everything had greened up and there were many trees, bushes and wildflowers in bloom. I brought along my copy of Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota and spent a good deal of time figuring out just what we have growing up there. I was particularly interested in the brush growing along the slope down to the creek just below our balcony. We would like to clear it just a bit to give us a better view of the creek and the critters down there but I really want to be careful to leave the plants that produce fruit for the wildlife. I know we have lots of beaked hazelnut bushes. They grow wherever there is a break in the canopy. Some of them can go. Using the book I was able to identify several choke cherry trees, june berry bushes, and two kinds of dogwood. These are all terrific fruit producers and I've seen the birds go after them in earlier seasons. We also have quite a few pretty spruce and balsam trees growing on the south-facing slope. If we thin a bit they'll have more room to grow. As I identify plants that I want to keep, I've been marking them with a spool of red plastic ribbon. We'll most likely wait to start thinning the brush in the fall after the nesting season is long over. Thanks go out to Deb at Sand Creek Almanac for suggesting this wonderful book.

Saturday we had an exciting visitor- Richard from At The Water made the long drive up from his home to see our place and give us advice on finishing the upstairs to turn it into our cabin. Richard is an amazingly multi-talented man has kindly offered his expertise in carpentry and electrical wiring! His visit on Saturday gave us an opportunity to get ideas and make some decisions on the placement of interior walls and a kitchen. Most of these decisions need to be firmed up before the wiring can be done. We had a great day, though chilly and very windy. In addition to driving all that way to help us out, Richard brought us a most thoughtful gift: a framed photo that I took from the balcony and posted on this blog last year! It will be the first picture that I hang up there and I'll be sure to post a photo of it. Thank you Richard.

Sunday morning dawned warmer and quite cloudy. I woke early (6am), made a pot of coffee and quietly slid open the patio door on the balcony. Armed with a big cup of strong coffee and my binoculars I stepped outside to be met by a morning chorus like no other: The warblers were here! Ovenbirds, Common Yellowthroats, Black and Whites.

There were Chestnut-sided Warblers everywhere!

Our building/campsite is surrounded on three sides by the creek and I could hear the

bee-bz-bz
of Golden-winged Warblers on all three sides (no pix this time). I saw Blackpolls, American Redstarts, Nashville and Palm Warblers. I kept hearing a louder song, not familiar. I put on jeans, long sleeves and hiking shoes, grabbed my camera and took off to find the singer. I got as close as I could to the song, settled in and waited. There were two birds singing that song, one on either side of a small clearing. There it was- a Mourning Warbler!! LIFER!! Two males sang dueling songs. I took tons of pictures, none of them great because of the gray skies, but good enough to verify my id. I posted a photo two years ago of a fledgling that I couldn't identify. Hap in New Hope thought it was probably a Mourning Warbler but I didn't count it on my life list because I couldn't make the id myself.

It was a very birdy day even without the warblers. Purple Finches and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks fought for time at the feeders.

These Purple Finch ladies were bickering.

This little Chipping Sparrow sat still just long enough for a quick snapshot. Song Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes and Veeries sang along the creek. White-throated Sparrows skulked around mostly hidden in the thick hazelnut bushes. A brilliant flash of red in a treetop across the creek- a Scarlet Tanager is new for my Hasty yard list.

My first decent (sort of) photo of a Kingfisher.

Sunday was the birdiest day I've ever had at Hasty Brook.

~~~~~~~~~~

We'll be buying lumber, light fixtures and wiring supplies for our next trip up north. With Richard's help and advice we will be making great progress in turning our "upstairs" into a comfy cabin/loft. As soon as it's finished we'll be able to open the doors and invite you all up to the Hasty Brook Birder's B&B!!

Has it Really Been Two Months?

2010-04-19T20:19:00.004-05:00

No excuses, I was gone and now I'm back!

Let's see...where was I...

I went to Miami for a week in March. It was a work-related trip, training on two new laboratory analyzers (coagulation analyzers for the science lovers out there). There was very little extra time so most all of my birding was done on the shuttle bus riding back and forth between the hotel and the training center. Even so, I got six life birds!

Common Myna

Cattle Egret

White Ibis

Eurasian Collared Dove

Monk Parakeet

Loggerhead Shrike

The first morning we filed into the training center one of the instructors spotted my Cape May bag and asked if I was a birder! She wasn't my instructor but we chatted every day about the birds of the area. In the middle of the week she asked me if a Loggerhead Shrike would be a lifer for me. Yes! The next day she took me through the training center, out the employee's entrance and across their parking lot, down the road a couple of blocks to a little airport. There, sitting on a barbed wired fence at a traffic light with four lanes of heavy traffic sat a Loggerhead Shrike! She watched traffic for me as I scooted across to the center lane divider to get a photo (on my other camera) I'm telling you- birders are the BEST PEOPLE.

Except for the very coldest weekends, Art and I have visited Hasty Brook for day trips every two weeks on my weekends off. Now that spring is here we're really gearing up our plans to get our upstairs/cabin finished. I really can't wait to get the well hooked up so we can have running water. It's been a long wait. The last visit I saw this pair of Turkey Vultures dancing on the wind. They eventually landed across the creek and nuzzled each other. I know this is a lousy photo but these were the first Turkey Vultures that I've seen perched at our place. I assume by their behavior that they are a mating pair. Love it.

The Chickadees seem to get tamer up there every year. I've fed them in my hand a few times now.

Red-breasted Nuthatches breed at Hasty so they're around all the time. I love watching their antics. Such cheeky little things.

I call this "Moon Over Hasty Brook"

A couple of weeks ago I saw that Birdchick was going to be at North Mississippi River Regional Park scoping out the heron rookery. I hadn't seen Sharon in a while and had the morning free so I headed over. It was a cloudy chilly morning so my photos are pretty poor but it was great to see Sharon. She looked pretty darn adorable in her ranger duds too.

Last evening was the Woodcocks and Whiskey edition of Birds and Beers out at Lebanon Hills Regional Park I picked up Hellziggy, aka "The Other Sharon" on the way and took off to see woodcocks. It was a pretty good sized group but I think everyone go a terrific look at a woodcock. Thanks Birdchick for organizing another fun evening.

Yesterday afternoon a work friend (Hi Jayne!) took me out to her friends' house to see this Great Horned Owlet at a park across the street.

Just look at this face!

Even though we plan to be spending all of our free time and money working up at Hasty this summer, I did manage to save a few dollars for one festival:

Potholes and Prairies in Carrington, North Dakota, June 9-13. I'm so very excited that Katdoc is coming too. She'll fly in to Minneapolis and then we'll drive out together. I've wanted to attend this festial for a few years and I'm thrilled to be going this summer. I'll post more about the festival soon.

Thanks for your patience and for the nudges to getting blogging again too.

Sax-Zim Bog Winter Birding Festival

2010-02-16T08:39:00.007-06:00

Last weekend was the Third Annual Sax-Zim Bog Winter Birding Festival in Meadowlands, Minnesota. Ruthie the Nature Knitter and I had been looking forward to it for a long time. Meadowlands is a small town with a big welcoming heart for birders from all over looking for the special northern birds that winter in the unique bog habitat surrounding the area. It was Ruthie's second time at the festival and my third. We came prepared with a copy of WildBird magazine to pose with in the woods.

On our way "up north" (as we Minnesotans call it) we had to make a stop at Hasty Brook. I wanted to fill my feeders and especially wanted Ruthie to see the progress we'd made since her last visit two years ago. Good Neighbor Mark had kindly plowed the driveway and yard area so we were able to drive right in. As soon as we stopped the car we could hear the birds. We heard an unfamiliar song, one neither of us had heard before. There were the regulars, Black-capped Chickadees, Red and White-breasted Nuthatches, Pine Siskins and just a handful of Common Redpolls. We heard the new song a few more times and then glanced up to see three Snow Buntings circling over our heads. I had never seen Snow Buntings on our property before and we were surprised to see them in such a wooded area. To watch them in flight circling just over our heads was joyous. Bright, pure white with black wing-tips against the blue sky- it was fabulous! I expected them to fly off but amazingly they landed high up in a maple. We got good long looks of them until they circled the clearing a few more times and then landed at the top of birch snag about ten feet away.

I took photo after photo knowing I would probably never have this kind of opportunity again.

The third Snow Bunting peeked its head out for just one photo.

I felt they put on a show just for Ruthie and I and I knew it was going to be a special weekend.

Our Saturday field trip took us to Duluth. We tried two different locations to spot a Snowy Owl but had no luck. I was really hoping for Bohemian Waxwings but unfortunately no luck with them either. The winds had blown the ice further into the harbor which made the waterbirds move farther north. Driving up toward Two Harbors we did get good looks at some Common Goldeneyes. We stopped for a tail-gate lunch at the Lester River park. It was a particularly lovely February day- low winds and temps reached thirty. We got some good looks at White-winged Crossbills while we ate. Mike Hendickson our trip leader for the day got a call about a Rough-legged Hawk near the harbor. It was being hassled by crows and finally gave up and sailed away.

We saw several Northern Shrikes over the weekend. This one actually put on a hunting show for us.

We spent the afternoon at the Superior landfill (on the Wisconsin side) looking at gulls. Peder Svingen, another Duluth area birder and a friend of Mike's was all ready there scouting the birds. I'll say it out loud: gulls are not my thing. They are lovely to watch in flight. I can appreciate that. I just don't have a good eye for identifying them. It's overwhelming. There is so much variation in appearance as they mature. I don't think I can learn it so I don't try. Enough excuses? We watched as flocks of them circled over our heads. With Mike's encouragement and Peder's help I was able to single out a Glaucous Gull. All white, no color on the wing tips. Larger than the rest. Wings wider where they meet the body. Got it. In the next flock that rose up from the hill I was able to spot the Glaucous myself. (eventually...) Next Peder spotted an Iceland Gull. Boy, that one was harder for me to pick out, but I did. Twice! Lifer! Maybe there's hope for me. I'm trying to talk Mike into doing a gull workshop up in Duluth. If he does, I'll be there. After our full day of birding we headed back to Meadowlands to get on the bus for the evening owl prowl looking for Great Gray and Northern Hawk Owls in the bog. There weren't any Great Gray Owls seen all weekend. I felt bad for the birders that needed this beautiful owl for their life lists but in birding, that's the way it goes. I believe everyone at the festival got to see Northern Hawk Owls. We saw one on the owl prowl but it was waaaaaay cross a field and my photo looks like a dot.

Back at the Meadowlands Community Center for a wonderful dinner of pasties, our evening speaker was humorist/birder and Hartland, Minnesota native Al Batt. I've been lucky to hear Al speak twice before. He has a gentle sense of humor and is honestly the best story teller I've ever heard. A fine human being.

The alarm rang at 430AM on Sunday morning. I had a momentary thought:

Why do we do this birding thing??

The question receded as thoughts of the coming day- the people, the birds, the experiences and the laughter got me shuffling off the the shower and then to the layers upon layers of every imaginable thermal garment I could find. It was going to be a cold one with sharp winds from the north. I checked to be sure I had the 24-count pack of hand warmers in my bag.

Ruthie and I were thrilled to find that Al and Judd Brink, another great birder and very nice guy, were our trip leaders in the bog on Sunday. Off we go!

Gray Jays are one of my favorite birds. I got my lifer Gray Jay last year at this festival. They are total personality with feathers. Someone had put out dry dog food at one of the feeding stations and the Gray Jays loved it. These birds are fearless of people and have actually been known to follow campers looking for handouts.

A photographer watching at this feeding station had placed peanuts on the branches of this tree. Look at how this bird is prying the bark up looking for a nut. Unfortunately, our group wasn't able to find any Boreal Chickadees. I got my lifer here last year.

Here is a trip list (incomplete) for the weekend:

Snow Bunting

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Black-capped Chickadee

Purple Finch

Goldfinch

Common Redpoll

Pine Siskin

Bald Eagle

Common Raven

Ruffed Grouse (many)

Rough-legged Hawk

Northern Shrike

Common Goldeneye

Common Merganser

White-winged Crossbill

Northern Hawk Owl

Pine Grosbeak

Glaucous Gull

Iceland Gull - LIFER!

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

American Robin

I got to add another blogger to my Blogger Life List!

Dee from the Crane Lake Nature Blog was at the festival. I've been reading her blog for quite a while and I was delighted to finally meet her. Be sure to check out this post and read about her MOOSE sighting in the bog!

Thank you Ruthie for traveling up north to the bog with me again.

You are such a good friend.

Thank you Mike for all of you hard work in putting this festival together.

Your love for the Sax-Zim bog is a wonderful thing to see.

Thank you to the fine townspeople of Meadowlands.

Your warmth and hospitality made us all feel welcome.

Northern Hawk Owl

Taken last year 2/14/2009 in the Sax-Zim Bog.

Great Gray Owl

Taken during the irruption year 1/29/2005

Crabby Chickadee

2010-02-01T10:03:00.002-06:00

Check out the eyebrows on this Black-capped Chickadee!

I Love Redpolls

2010-01-31T21:28:00.002-06:00

We spent another day at Hasty Brook on Saturday. The temperature was still only 11 below when we got there. The birds were going crazy at the feeders and the four full thistle socks I had left a week before were empty. While Art went into the building to get the heaters going I started to fill the feeders. There was a good sized flock of Common Redpolls on the ground. When I approached they flew up into the trees but as soon as I opened the thistle bag they dropped back down and 4-5 of them landed on my head! Chickadees have landed on me before but these little Redpolls are usually more skittish so these little fluttering birds caught me by surprise. It was brutally cold so I finished filling and scattered plenty of thistle and oilers on the ground and headed indoors.

The photo above was taken upstairs through the patio doors. I sprinkled seed on the balcony railing and within minutes the birds came. This pretty little Redpoll was all of five feet away from me. Come on up and sip coffee with me and watch the birds.

January Rocks in Minnesota

2010-01-22T19:27:00.005-06:00

I'm not a New Year's resolution gal but I am going to try to change a few things. One of those changes to to get out and DO more. Another forward change is that we're going to get up to Hasty Brook more. We've got this wonderful building but it has no inside finished. We have LOTS of work to do to get the upstairs comfy and livable. Our Good Neighbor has been kind enough to keep our long driveway plowed so every other weekend, regardless of the temperature, we've gone to Hasty. Last Saturday we got up there in mid-morning. The first bird (other than the bazillion Chickadees) that I saw was a Northern Shrike. Shrikes are easy enough to find in northern Minnesota but this one was the first here- Yard Bird! This Shrike was not bothered by our presence and stayed in the area all day. It would fly between the other side of the creek and a birch snag over the feeders. I guess there were plenty of little snacks for the Shrike!

I love this photo even though the background makes my eyes wiggle.

My next new yard bird was this Bald Eagle. I see Eagles most every trip to Hasty but this was the first one that was "parked" there.

Last Tuesday evening Good Neighbor Mark called to tell me that they had a Varied Thrush coming to their feeders. I made a quick plan to drive up on Thursday. Wednesday morning when I heard the crummy freezing rain forecast for Thursday I knew I just had to drop my plans and get up there right away. When I got up there Renee was home and graciously invited me in! I spent the next two hours warm and comfy, sipping coffee with Renee, watching the Varied Thrush and waiting for the bird to drop down into the sun so I could get a good photo.

Lifer! And such a pretty bird. Thank you Renee and Mark.

This picture needs a caption.

I had about a million things to do today but a quick check on Facebook led me to a black bear den web-cam at the North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota. Lily the black bear mama was in labor and I was hooked. I watched her belly contract and listened to her huff. After a bit I heard the tiny squeak of the baby! I don't know which sound moved me more- the teeny tiny baby bear sounds or the soft huffs and grunts of mama. Finally I put the laptop down so I could get moving on my chores and errands. I glanced out the window to check the bird status in the back yard and something different caught my eye. It looked like dry leaves were spilling out of the Wood Duck box entrance. I kind of assumed that the army of gray squirrels had finally moved in but grabbed my binoculars anyway.

It was a Screech Owl!!

LIFER in my yard!

I grabbed the camera and fired off some shots.

(I have GOT to wash the windows.)

The photos were grainy at best.

I threw a quick post onto Facebook and called Art.

(I think he though I'd had a stroke or something...)

I called Susan and fluttered and babbled on about this amazing owl.

She understood me.

I NEEDED a better picture.

So I quietly slid the window up a few inches-

and cut a big hole in the screen!!

I've never heard a Screech Owl in this neighborhood before.

Maybe I'll try and call it in with my Birdjam (Hi Jay!)

So what do you think? Two lifers in January in Minnesota!

I think it's going to be a very good year.

Sunset at a tamarack bog.

Great Gray Owl Video

2010-01-06T13:30:00.002-06:00

Check out this amazing video of two Great Gray Owls in northern Minnesota. The video was taken by Sparky Stensaas yesterday evening in the Sax Zim Bog.

http://www.vimeo.com/8568813

It's another great year for owls in northern Minnesota.

I am registered for my third trip to the 2010 Sax Zim Bog Festival of Birds. Ruthie is joining me again this year. There is still room for all of the field trips so if you're tempted, check out the festival website.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T06:38:00.001-06:00

First Christmas Bird Count and a Lifer!

2009-12-31T20:03:00.003-06:00

I went on my first Christmas Bird Count on Monday. Deb my Minnesota birding/blogging friend from Sand Creek Almanac invited me to join her group in Pine County where she lives. Since the day would be starting very early, I drove up the afternoon before and stayed in a hotel so I could get to the meeting spot by 0700. Steve Weston and Jim Ryan, two very experienced Minnesota birders were the other two members of our group. I can't remember the counts but I believe we came up with 20 bird species. We spotted a flock of about 50 White-winged Crossbills eating cones in a tamarack bog. A single Snow Bunting right outside the car gave me the best look I've ever had of this beautiful bird. We saw many species that I expected we'd see: Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Red and White-breasted Nuthatches, Goldfinches, Purple Finches, Black-capped Chickadees, Starlings and about a bazillion Blue Jays. Bald Eagles, crows and many Ravens were counted. One farm house on our route had three surprises. The first was a female Red-winged Blackbird, very common in summer but unusual in winter. The second was a male Cardinal. Cardinals aren't very common that far north in Minnesota. The third bird was a total surprise. Jim spotted a Towhee fly away from a platform feeder to a dogwood thicket. Both Steve and Deb were able to get looks at the female. I missed it! By field marks it was id'd as a female Eastern Towhee- VERY unusual here in winter. I wasn't able to get my binoculars on her. I was disappointed but I asked Deb to write down the directions back to the farm and I made plans to return the next day. It was a fun day of birding but I knew I wouldn't want to drive two and a half hours back home after a long day so I went back to the hotel. Actually I really wanted to watch the Vikings play Chicago on Monday Night Football! I was exhausted and falling asleep before half-time. I was just about to turn off the light (the Vikings were losing anyway) when an enormous bus-load of high school hockey players checked into the rooms on both sides AND across the hall from mine! It sounded like stampeding elephants and slamming doors untilpast midnight! Grrr...

Tuesday morning I checked out and headed up to Hasty Brook about 25 miles away. I planned to fill the feeders and have a look around. I was thrilled to see that our Good Neighbor Mark had plowed out our driveway! I quickly filled the feeders and hustled back the the warmth of the car- it was six below zero outside! I plugged the directions from Deb into my Garmin and headed back to the Towhee farm to see if I could get a look. It was COLD waiting for that bird with the window open and the car turned off. I spent and hour and a quarter sipping coffee and trying to keep my toes and fingers from going numb when finally the Towhee popped up in the brush! I got my binoculars on her to get a good look and then started firing off pictures. I was so excited to see the Towhee. I've never seen one here in Minnesota. My lifer was last spring in West Virginia with the Flock.

I headed home looking forward to seeing how the photos turned out. When I got them on my laptop I got out my Sibley to help me reinforce the field marks. The longer I looked the more I thought the bird looked like a Spotted Towhee and not an Eastern. I sent the pictures off to my birding mentor Hap in New Hope to see what he thought. Hap agreed! It was a Spotted Towhee!! LIFER!! I forwarded the photos to Steve, Deb and Jim and all agreed it was a Spotted Towhee- a Pine County record in Minnesota!!

My patience and frozen toes paid off!! My last lifer of 2009 was the Spotted Towhee.

I wonder what 2010 will bring?

I hope you all have good health and much happiness and peace in the New Year and

I thank you all for your friendship and kindness here. yYu've all made this blogging adventure so much fun.

My Christmas Prayer

2009-12-25T08:05:00.002-06:00

Dona nobis pacem

Grouse in the Woods

2009-12-20T21:43:00.006-06:00

Art and I were on the road at 0730 headed north to Hasty Brook. Last month the creek was still open but today it was frozen solid and coated with fresh snow.
With the leaves gone and snow on the ground we could see the rolling contour of the land across the creek. I caught a glimpse of quick movement on the ground...

The snow dusting the spruce trees along the hill made the view look just like a Christmas card. Maybe one day one of those trees will be decorated for Christmas.

Again, movement- up in a tree--

A Ruffed Grouse!! She was up in a birch eating the catkins. I think she heard me scramble for my camera. We see Ruffed Grouse up there nearly every trip but it's so hard to see them before they see us. They're such pretty birds! After a bit I saw another female on the ground. She was walking slowly as they do but then took off running in a burst of speed. Then I spotted a male chasing!. He was displaying for her! I've never seen a male with his tail up and fanned and his black ruff all fluffed and shaking. At one point he hopped up onto a fallen log. He continued his dance trying to impress the two females.

I took about fifty pictures of the male and got this one to keep. It's not perfect but considering the distance and dense brush I'm pretty happy. I didn't see or hear any drumming.

I watched the three grouse for over an hour moving around the hill directly across the creek.

Can you see the female in the birch? They move slowly out to the tips of the branches to get at the catkins on the very ends. It was overcast and gently snowing all day and by mid-afternoon the light was all ready fading. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me as I began to see movement all over the hill. Through my binoculars I counted nine grouse on the ground, in the brush and up in the birch trees.

The lighting is poor but here are five grouse near the top of a large birch across the creek.

I had packed up my camera and was checking the lock on the patio door when I saw this grouse. It was at eye level in a birch on the near side of the creek, about twenty feet away. I ran for my camera and quietly slid the door open for just a few more pictures.

(I had to run the ISO up to 800 so it's a little grainy.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My trip list included a mature Bald Eagle and two Rough-legged Hawks.

It took the Chickadees all of five minutes to find me filling the feeders. Within an hour White and Red-breasted Nuthatches were zipping about. A small flock of Redpolls showed up shortly before we left. I haven't seen any Pine Siskins since the beginning of summer. Two pairs of Hairy Woodpeckers were vocalizing and chasing each other. Isn't it early for them to be pairing up?

I'll have to look that up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Vikings lost to the Carolina Panthers.

Ack.

The Eleventh Eagle

2009-11-23T17:42:00.002-06:00

Art and I made a day trip up to Hasty Brook on Saturday. Within two miles of our house in the Twin Cities I saw three Bald eagles and five Red-tailed Hawks. It promised to be a good day. By the end of the trip up I'd lost track of the Red-tailed Hawks, there were so many along the highway. This is a picture of the eleventh Bald Eagle. I spotted him on the ground about a half mile south of Hasty. I wonder what brought this enormous eagle down to sit in a pasture. There were several crows circling above but there was also a road-kill dear carcass nearby. As big as they look in the sky, this one looked enormous sitting in the grass. I used the truck as a blind, exiting the passenger side away from the eagle. As I crept around the front of the truck I was able to take many (about 50) photos of the eagle. This was the best. Later in the day as I was walking along the creek side back at Hasty I heard a pair of Ravens croaking above me. As I looked up I saw them harassing my twelfth Bald Eagle of the day. Not bad.

We didn't see any of the Wild Turkeys on Saturday- not even tracks. I wonder if all the deer hunting has them laying low. It was a pretty chilly day but Art ran a propane heater upstairs and with the ceiling insulated it was really quite cozy. The plumber had been out and the shower, toilet, sink/vanity and electric water heater are installed. I can't wait until we can get the electricity hooked up to everything in the spring. (Hear that Richard?) :)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-27T19:24:00.001-05:00

Skywatch Friday: The Skies are Always Sweeter

2009-10-22T21:21:00.003-05:00

From the balcony at Hasty Brook, after a long day of gray sky and rain, first one glorious rainbow and then another.

Look for more Skywatch Friday posts here.

When Wild Turkeys ATTACK!!! (sort of...)

2009-10-21T15:16:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Art for being such a good sport letting me post this video of him being a goofus.

Has it Really Been a Month?

2009-10-13T13:04:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts this past month. No excuses, I'll just catch up.

Art and the kids had the flu last week, fevers, aching muscles, cough and sore throat. The whole works. They all seem to be on the mend. I'm not sure why but I didn't get it. Thank God.

~~~~

A few weeks ago I got to spend a morning birding with "Hap in New Hope." For the most part birding was slow but the conversation was wonderful. Hap brought along a great photo album of many of the rare birds that he's seen here in Minnesota over the years. Any time that I can spend with Hap is special and I can be sure that I'm going to learn something good.

Thanks Hap! I hope we can go birding again soon.

~~~~

We have snow. On the ground.

Ack.

~~~~

My mad knitting skilz that Ruthie taught me are getting dusty. I finished my green dishcloth without too many bumps and loops (not part of the pattern!) I did find some pretty yarn at the thrift store last Friday and I hope to get back on track. I need to crank out a few posts first!~~~~

Canada Geese are flocking by the hundreds in the corn fields near home. I scan every flock hoping this will be the flock hiding a Cackling Goose. No luck yet...

~~~~

I've applied for a 911 emergency address for Hasty Brook.

An address. That makes it real.

~~~~

On our last trip to Hasty the siding and roof were on. We talked to the builder last week and the well is in! The plumber should be out soon to install the bathroom fixtures. Then we need to get electricity to the pump and we'll have running water!! We'll need to buy a water heater over the winter so we can run the shower next spring. I immagine showering with well water would be brisk.

I love it! I saw my first Great Blue Heron sneaking up along the creek. I'd heard them there before and they've flown over but it was the first in the "yard."

The view from the drive in to our place. Both garage doors are installed now.

You can see my spotting scope on the balcony. It's just a pefect spot for me to watch the creek and all the life around it. I'd like to find some kind of mount to attach to the railing so I don't have to have the tripod up there. Space is limited on the balcony and the tripod takes up a lot of it.

Here is the view of our new building from near the road. The clearing just ahead is the septic mound. This was the only site on our land that met the 150 foot set back (from the creek) required by the county. This area and the trees around it seems to be a popular evening roost spot for the wild turkeys up there. The big tom likes to do his strutting dance back and forth across the mound.

Isn't this a great spot to sip coffee and watch the world go by? The maples were just beginning to turn. We won't be able to go back up there until October 23rd. I hope the leaves aren't all gone by then.

Backing up from the chair, on the left you can see the stairway up from the garage.

Under the dormer oposite the stairs, we'll have a small kitchen. You can see the pipes coming up through the floor where the sink and counter will go.

Across the whole back we plan to biuld a wall to separate off a big bedroom. (15x32) Since the walls on the ends of this room are only 4 feet high, we plan to put up walls to create storage space on either end. We can't decide if we should make this space into two bedrooms. We have all winter to decide how to finish off this space. We'll also need to make a decsion about heating the building. We had the slab built with the pipes for in-floor heating but have not had the boiler installled. We'll wait until closer to the time when we can live there year-round. It will serve as our cabin for several years until our kids are grown and we are able to build a home at Hasty Brook.

Ruthie and Lynne Take on Wausau

2009-09-12T19:45:00.005-05:00

Here we are!! Ruthie and I are having a blast in Wausau, Wisconsin. We birded two parks today including Rib Mountain State Park where we took this silly picture.

Scroll down to see my personal best Turkey Vulture photograph.

I'm thinking of submitting it to WildBird Magazine. Amy?

What do you think??

We haven't found Julie Z. or Debby Kaspari yet. We'll try again tomorrow.
I need to keep this post short-
Ruthie's teaching me to knit!!
This is Lynne, Hasty Knitter signing off!

Recent Hasty Brook Birds

2009-09-11T08:19:00.005-05:00

There's not much time for text for this post as I'm leaving in a while for my road trip to Wausau with Ruthie. I've got a stack of bird photos from our trips up to Hasty this summer so I thought I'd just post them all together. This mature Bald Eagle is actually the last photo I took two weeks ago when we were there last. He cruised just at tree top level past the balcony.

I'm calling this little guy a Least Flycatcher. I am admittedly poor at identifying flycatchers so if I'm wrong, help me out.

When I took this picture of the Black and White Warbler I didn't even realize there were two birds in the view.

Here's an immature Bald Eagle flying over the yard.

The hummers liked the clover better than my feeder.

"Dueling finches!"

We have many Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers breeding at Hasty.

I finally got a picture of the Golden-winged Warblers breeding at Hasty. I've seen them for three summers but this is my first photo. It's not a great shot but I'm happy to have it. This bird spent a lot of time hanging upside down checking out clumps of dried leaves for insects. When I looked it up in my Peterson guide, that behavior was listed as characteristic of this warbler.

Chestnut-sided warblers are very common breeders at Hasty. They seem to be very curious birds and are easy to pish in for a closer look. In fact, this bird sat a long time letting me take pictures, then launched himself right at me landing only about two feet away checking me out!

These Sandhill Cranes were about a quarter mile from Hasty but last visit we had three Sandhills fly over the camper. I've heard them down by the creek several times but have never seen them. Maybe with our new view from the balcony I'll get a look.

White-throated Sparrows breed at Hasty but last visit the numbers were way up. Are they starting show up from the north? This one is shy.

It was only last summer that I was finally able to hear Red-eyed Vireos and identify them by sound. Now they seem to be everywhere up there. They are another bird that seems to be curious about pishing.

Well, that's it. Time to finish my packing for the ROAD TRIP! We'll have wifi at the hotel so I hope to post from there.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Pull Up a Chair

2009-09-09T20:25:00.002-05:00

I worked all of Labor Day weekend but we were up at Hasty the weekend before. Most all of the siding was up as was the decking for the balcony. The weather was lovely- warm but not hot during the days but chilly at night. In fact it got down into the 30's every night we were up there. I got up early one morning, made a pot of coffee and brought it up to the balcony to watch the woods wake up. Mist was rising from the creek and the sun shining through it gave it life. The white spots in the bare birch branches on the photo are big spider webs coated in dew. The Wild Turkey Gang was chuckling on the ground below the balcony, a Pileated Woodpecker called from across the creek and several Turkey Vultures were floating toward the south. I wish you all could have joined me!

I've got a few more pictures to post tomorrow showing the progress on our building. It's really coming along! I also have to pack my bags tomorrow because Ruthie and I are going on a road trip! We're going to Wausau, Wisconsin for the weekend to see Julie Zickefoose and her wonderful artwork at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. It's going to be a blast!

International Vulture Awareness Day

2009-09-04T19:55:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is International Vulture Awareness Day. I wish I had time to write a post beautifully singing the praises of vultures. Instead, here's a photo of a gorgeous Turkey Vulture floating past our balcony at Hasty Brook last weekend. All of you who know me even a little know of my passion for Turkey Vultures. I've taken more than a little heckling about my love for TUVUs. I don't care. They are simply magnificent. I love their physical form; crinkly red skin on their heads, large intelligent eyes, pearly white beak, silver lined wings. There is no other bird that can compare to them in flight as they hang effortlessly on thermals. While others watch for warblers to arrive in the spring, I am thrilled to see the the first Turkey Vultures return.

They draw my eyes to the sky and make my heart sing.

Turkey Chuckles

2009-08-24T19:03:00.002-05:00

There's a gang of five Wild Turkeys that live in the area in and around our place up at Hasty. I call them a gang because they've been known to chase our construction guys around the site. They seem particularly possessive of our yard and driveway. Last month when Art and I were up there Art heard them clucking and chuckling outside the camper. I started taking photos through the screen door but moved quietly out the door to stand about ten feet from them. This male in particular was so engrossed in pecking at the chrome on the bottom of Art's truck that he didn't mind my being so close. He'd make his funny mumbling noises, looking from every angle and then would haul off and smack his beak into the truck. Clang! Others in the gang crawled under the truck looking for the rival. You can see one peeking under the truck and one under the truck looking back. I think the one by the driveway is the look-out. The big guy in the middle puffed himself up, spread his tail feathers and dropped his wings in indignation.

The nerve of that truck-turkey!

Construction Part Two

2009-08-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

August 1, 2009

Art and I made a day trip up north to talk to the builder and look around. The slab was in!

This angle is from our current campsite, roughly where we'd like to build a house some day. We had hoped to build the house shell this summer but had to change plans. Building a house would have required new home financing and we would have had to have the house, inside and out, nearly completed within a year. We wanted to do some of those jobs like finishing the kitchen, baths, flooring, wiring etc. over time and we didn't want to spend that much money in so short a time. So, after much thought, we abandoned the plans of building a house for right now. We could build a garage though. We had been approved as part of our variance, to build a 32X32 garage with a maximum height of 25 feet. The garage would be Art's dream garage with lots of space for building whatever he wanted. I wanted a bathroom with shower so he could clean up before coming back to the house (in the future...). I also wanted a little loft area for a workshop/office for him. We'd add a little cantilevered balcony for me to watch over Hasty Brook. It's all we talked about last winter. We wanted to make the most of the space we were allowed to build. I hoped we could use some of the garage level as a relaxing living space over the next several years. Then Art got the idea to enlarge the loft area to a second story. Using an inexpensive software package (by Better Homes and Gardens- $60 at Costco) Art put together the plans keeping in mind our 25 foot height limit. We'll have plenty of room for a small kitchen area, a long bedroom (or two smaller-haven't decided yet) and a good sized living area facing the balcony and my Hasty Brook.

This is our future bathroom- sink, stool and shower. The red tubes are for the in-floor heating for Art's garage so he can eventually be out there all winter. We won't install the boiler for the heating until later but it'll be all ready to go.

Here's the view from the garage toward the septic tank and mound. Tommy seeded the area and in two short weeks the grass has taken hold and it looks pretty nice. Wouldn't this be a nice spot for wildflowers? I've been grabbing up wildflower packets (on clearance!). Should I spread them this fall or wait until spring?

Before the rain drove us away Art and I laid down some long, skinny aspen poles to give me an idea of what the usable space will be like on the upper floor. Yes, Richard, it was lots bigger than I expected! My vision of this space changed and I could see that there was room for a kitchen area and sleeping area too.

On our next trip up: walls!

Construction Part One

2009-08-22T08:07:00.005-05:00

July 3, 2009

When we arrived for the weekend the excavating equipment was here. We had all ready cleared most of the big trees in early spring before they leafed out.

July 14, 2009

More heavy equipment and the septic system is being installed.

The stakes are out and the county approved the building site.

Art got quite the workout hauling big rocks out of the construction area for us to use later for landscaping.

A huge truck and trailer backed into the cleared line to drop the septic tank into the waiting hole.

I ran down the driveway to get a shot of the tank being lowered into the ground but missed it. The worker in the white shirt is standing on the concrete tank. The trench leading away from the tank is for the pipes which will lead on to the mound system.

The tank is in. It was a little tricky for the septic designer to plan the septic system keeping it all away from the creek. We actually bought our second 10 acres last year in order to have room for a septic system site that would meet all of the set-back requirements.

Tommy the septic/excavation guy uncovered some huge rocks during his work. I asked him to save them, explaining sheepishly that I really like rocks. It turns out that Tommy likes them too and he offered to set them aside and later move them to a scenic location.

It was so nice of Tommy to spend some extra time helping me find the right spot and then set the rocks so they'd look the best. This is the largest of them.

It's nearly as tall as me!

More rocks appeared as he worked to bring the grade down to prep the site for the slab.

Skimming just a few inches over a large site makes a lot of dirt.

Next visit: the slab!

My View of Hasty Brook

2009-08-19T21:44:00.003-05:00

We made a quick day trip up to Hasty today to deliver the shower. The plumber is coming tomorrow and the electrician on Friday. When we pulled up the builder shouted out right away that the stairs were built! Finally I could get upstairs to see the view.

I'll be posting the photos of the building progress over the next few days but I can't wait to share the view that I'd been longing to see.

In case you didn't know, the river is actually called Hasty Brook on the map.

Pardon the rain spots on the camera lens. It was raining buckets.

Birders Who Blog Tweet and Chirp and Talk and Laugh...

2009-08-18T21:34:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the delay in getting this post out. I've been having computer issues that prevented me from downloading photos to my laptop. Thanks to some fine tweaking from Art, I finally got them ready. Last Saturday Dawn and Jeff Fine brought their RV through Minnesota on their way west. It was Dawn's inspiration to put together meet-ups of birders who use various media to communicate about birding, Birders Who Blog Tweet and Chirp. A wonderful group of birders assembled Saturday morning at the Lowry Nature Center in the Carver Park Reserve in Victoria, Minnesota. Roger Everhart of the blog Minnesota Birdnerd was on hand to demonstrate bird banding. Unfortunately, the windy,warm weather did not bring birds to the nets but Roger spent time explaining the banding program and telling of his experiences in banding.

Here's our group proudly holding a copy of WildBird Magazine (Hi Amy!) . Maybe you'll see our photo in the magazine in the future!

Left to right, front row:

Dawn from Dawn's Bloggy Blog

Lizette from Mike and Lizette's Travels and Thoughts

Virginia from Bees in the City

Penny from Penelopedia

Jeff (Dawn's hubby)

back row:

Me!

Hap in New Hope

Mike from Mike and Lizette's Travels and Thoughts

Richard from At the Water

Ruth from Nature Knitter

Dave (Penny's hubby)

Roger from Minnesota Birdnerd

not pictured:Sharon, aka "the other Sharon" or Hellziggy (who came later)

Volunteer handlers showed us the education raptors including this beautiful Merlin-

and this lovely mellow Barred Owl.

I believe these serious looking birders were gazing at an American Redstart high in the branches. After a leisurely morning at Carver, we all headed over to a local restaurant for a fabulous lunch. Laughter and lots of chatting filled the time and a delish lunch filled our stomachs. Our plans for the afternoon were to drive east to Bloomington and the Hyland Park Reserve for more birding. Right away in the parking lot as we arrived we got to watch an Eastern Kingbird hunting for dragonflies.

After the dragonfly was caught the Kingbird spent a bit of time trying to bash the wings off before it could be eaten.

We spent a lot of time on the dock overlooking the turtle pond. There was lots to look at and talk about. Sharon let me try out her 2X converter on my camera and lens. Here's a photo of a pair of Mergansers and a Mallard that I took using Sharon's converter. The auto focus wouldn't work on my lens with the 2X in place so I had quite a bit of trouble focusing. I have not used my camera on the manual focus mode so I felt like I was all thumbs, but maybe with more practice...

Turtles chillin'.

Some of our group had to leave early but most of us went to dinner at Merlin's Nest to meet the Birds and Beers folks. Another great meal and more conversation and laughter, it was a perfect ending to a wonderful day. I learned something from every person throughout the day. Birders are fun loving, big hearted people. We're planning to get together again for more birding and talking and laughing...

Thanks everyone for coming, some from long distances to make this day so wonderful.

BwBTC Meets Birds and Beers on Saturday

2009-08-12T09:14:00.002-05:00

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100657257602172319160.000470f1f9b8cfe6411ec&ll=45.032774,-93.293152&spn=0.679355,1.167297&z=9&source=embed

Here's a link to a Google map with all of our birding destinations for Saturday. I tried to imbed the map on my blog but I'm a bit to challenged to do it!

We're leaving for Hasty Brook to check on progress this morning and won't be back until Friday. When I get back I'll email everyone that I've heard from and send out my cell phone number just in case anyone needs extra help with directions.

I checked the weather forecast but I think we're too far out to predict so plan on any kind of weather. I've got lots of bug spray and will bring coffee (regular, not decaf) and some breakfast treats to get us through the morning.

I can't wait to meet you all-

Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp Meets Birds and Beers!

2009-08-03T19:21:00.003-05:00

All right Minnesota birders- it's time to get together for a fun day of birding and socializing, laughing, learning and maybe a beer or two.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

is the day. We're meeting at 0800 at Carver Park Reserve for bird banding with Roger Everhart, host of the blog Minnesota Birdnerd. Roger is a terrific birder and experienced bander. It's certain to be a fun and informative morning.

Here's a bit of information about Carver Park quoted from their website:

"This is a 3300 Acre Park Reserve, located west of Chanhassen. Carver Park Reserve supports a large wildlife population of trumpeter swans, osprey, mink, white-tailed deer, barred owls and numerous waterfowl and songbirds. The park reserve is home to the Lowry Nature Center, the first public environmental education center of its kind in the state.

Park visitors of all ages are delighted to discover the park's rolling wooded terrain and interconnected lakes and marshes. The park features miles (8.5 miles of paved trails, 12.2 miles of turf trails and six miles of horse trails) of trails that wind around the nature center, historic Grimm Farm and the King Waterbird Sanctuary. The trails also provide a valuable link to the Southwest Regional LRT Trail. Boaters and anglers can explore four lakes within the park reserve, and campers can enjoy a relaxing stay at the quite Lake Auburn Campground. The park continues to thrive in winter for cold-weather enthusiasts who treasure mornings and afternoons spent on miles of groomed cross-country ski trails that begin at the Springview trailhead. More than 1,700 feet of boardwalk takes you through marsh and tamarack swamps."

Bird banding runs from 0800 until noon. We're free to watch and/or explore the park to see what birds are to be seen.

There's a great place for lunch in nearby Victoria called Victoria House.

The plan for the afternoon is to head over to Bloomington and the Hyland Lake Park Reserve. Hyland Lake Park is home to the Richardson Nature Center. A quote from their website:

"Richardson Nature Center is the largest of Three Rivers’ nature centers. Come inside and enjoy an interactive wall-to-wall clay sculpture, view live animals and raptors, or relax in a rocking chair while watching birds from the wildlife viewing room. Outside, take in the abundant wildlife of the ponds, prairies, and forested areas found along the nature center’s 2.5 miles of trails. Or grab a spot on the dock and simply enjoy some peace and quiet."

We'll finish up the day with Birds and Beers at Merlin's Rest on Lake Street in Minneapolis at 6PM.

SO- come on! Join the fun!

Tell your friends. Bring your friends! You don't have to be a blogger, Twitterer or Chirptracker or Facebooker. Anyone interested in birding and meeting other birders to share all or just part of the day is welcome.

Here are a few of the people we're expecting:

Ruthie Johnson the Nature Knitter
Troutbirder
Roger Everhart from Minnesota Birdnerd

Hap in New Hope is my birding mentor- he's an absolutely amazing birder

Virginia from Bees in the City

Mike and Lizette from Mike and Lizette's Travels and Thoughts

Penelope from Penelopedia: Nature and Garden in Northfield Minnesota

Dawn and Jeff from Dawn's Bloggy Blog

Sharon aka HellZiggy

Everyone is welcome.

A New Lifer!!

2009-07-30T15:50:00.003-05:00

Hi Everybody! Remember me? I think this is the longest I've gone without a blog post. Lots of reasons- summer's been pretty busy. Work is progressing on our construction up north at Hasty Brook. Our two-story garage is on moving along. The septic system is in and has been inspected and the slab has been poured. The trusses are being ordered this week and materials will ship next week too. I received an email a few weeks ago from Richard from At the Water with suggestions and an amazing offer to help with the wiring of our new building. Last Friday Art and I took of for a drive to meet Richard at his lovely lake home to discuss the plans and get an idea of what we'll need.

My new life blogger is Richard of At the Water!!!!

What a nice fellow. Art, who can be a bit shy with new people said the meeting Richard was like meeting an old friend. Within minutes we were chatting like we'd known each other for years. Richard is a really interesting and multi talented man. His career history is amazing.

I've always said that the best part of blogging is the people I've gotten to know and the friendships I've formed. Richard is a perfect example. We got a tour of Richard's gardens and beautiful yard. We got to see the deck project he's been working so hard at. It's just so nice to actually see the views that I've seen through Richard's wonderful photos. I even snapped a few pictures of the young Orioles at the nectar feeder on his deck rail. We spent hours talking and laughing.

We even got to meet Richard's dog Jessy. I grew up with pug dogs and have a very special love for that breed so it was so nice to be able to spend time with this sweet old girl.

Isn't that a face to love?

Thank you Richard for letting me add you to my "Blogger Life List" and for your wonderful hospitality and friendship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere along the way this month I lost the ability to download photos to my laptop. Not sure what the problem is, but I'm hoping this weekend Art, my "computer master" will try to figure it out. In the mean time I'll try to get some Hasty progress pix onto my little net-book so I can share the developments up there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometime last year I put a little "Blogiversary date" button on my sidebar and then completely forgot about it. Last week I hit the three year mark on my blog. Here's what I said in my first post:

It's time to just jump in with both feet. I've stalled and fretted long enough. I decided to start a blog as a sort of electronic journal to record pictures, observations and thoughts of a piece of land we call Hasty Brook. We bought ten acres of wooded land in northern Minnesota in the spring of 2005. We justified it by calling it an investment/savings plan for the future. On the first trip up just to look at the property I was hooked! I'm not a photographer or writer by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd like to try to share what I see and feel when I'm at Hasty Brook.

I'm still taking photos (and I hope I've improved a bit), and I'm still writing of my love for that place. I have learned so much from you all about birds and life and friendships. I share parts of my life here at home, my travels, and my love for birds too but I think I've stayed pretty true to my intentions. The part of this whole blogging experience that's really caught my heart is you all who come here to read and maybe to comment. The friendships I've found here are extraordinary. The people I've been blessed to meet through this blog have enriched my life more than I can say.

Thank you for all of the kind words over these past three years. Thanks especially for the kindness and support during my tough times with the loss of my Mom and then my sister.

I wish I could meet you all!

Remember- there will aways be a place for you at Hasty Brook Assisted Living Community!

Come on Minnesota Birders!!!

2009-07-10T11:28:00.002-05:00

Attention all Minnesota Birders!!

Dawn Fine of the blog Dawn's Bloggy Blog and Sharon Stiteler the Birdchick are coordinating a bird outing and social on Saturday, August 15 here in the Twin Cities. Dawn formed a Facebook group called "Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp." It's a network of birders and nature lovers who blog and/or use Twitter and Chirptracker. There's even a website: Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp. You can read about it here and here

Dawn will be traveling through Minnesota and wants to do some birding and meet other bird/nature bloggers, Tweeters and Chirpers. So on August 15th Dawn's BwBTC will meet Birdchick's Birds and Beers!

I'm not sure where the outing will be but as soon as I hear I'll let you all know.

So come on Minnesota birders!!

Let's get together and meet. I've been fortunate to meet quite a few bloggers and to be very honest, it's a blast. Lets meet and put faces to names, share our knowledge, our love of birds, our stories and laughs.

So, take a big black marker and circle the date:

Saturday, August 15th!!!

"Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp" meets "Birds and Beers"

here in the Twin Cities!

Let's get the word out there readers- If you think you'd like to come (or even if you can't make it) please publish a post about this get-together so we can let all of our readers know about this fun day.

News Flash!

2009-07-08T20:29:00.005-05:00

I have big news!

I worked the 4th of July weekend but we were able to take a few days midweek before the holiday weekend to go up to Hasty Brook. I am thrilled beyond words that we signed the contract and construction will begin soon! We've decided to build a big garage (32x32) with a roomy loft above. The loft will be roughly 32x15 and there will be two 12 foot dormers in the center of each side giving us a "plus sign" shaped living space. There will be big windows on three of the loft ends and on the fourth we will have a sliding glass door that will open out to a balcony! The balcony will have a wonderful view of Hasty Brook (that's really the name of the creek). Included in our contract is the installation of a septic system and a drilled well. We plan to put a small bathroom on the garage level. Running water and a flush toilet!! It will be like a palace! Work started on clearing the garage site while we were up there. Art and I had all ready taken down the trees in this area in early spring. It's hard for me to believe that we are finally moving forward with our dream of having a home up there. We think the loft will make a great place to stay when we visit Hasty until we build a home in the future. We'll be doing a lot of the finishing work ourselves but we hope to have a completely closed in building by late summer. We've chosen the vinyl siding, steel roof, windows and trim. We'll do the wiring, insulating and sheet rock/indoor siding ourselves.

The creek water level was way down from our last visit. It's still a really birdy place though.

Chestnut-sided Warblers are singing everywhere.

American Redstarts are nesting near one of the tall spruce behind the camper.

We enjoyed watching these White-breasted Nuthatch babies beg (and beg and beg and beg) for food from their tired looking parents.
"Yank-yank-yank-yank-yank-yank-yank"

I love the song of the Red-breasted Grosbeak. Any opinions out there- is this a first year male? He sure looks tatty.

Red-eyed Vireo's song is a bit repetitious.

On one of our trips in to town to the hardware store I spotted two Purple Martin houses. They were just outside the nursing home. There were several faces in the windows watching the Martins swoop and dive. A friend gave me an old Martin house. I'll need to find out from Katdoc if our place at Hasty is a good spot for Purple Martins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I left my feeders up and filled two weeks ago when we were there last. When we arrived this time the poles were bent to the ground and the feeders were smashed and/or gone.

Bears.

I should have known better than to leave them because the same thing happened last summer in June. Art and I went on a long hike along an old logging trail through our woods. We came across an enormous pile of bear scat on the trail. Hmmm...

I know there are plenty of bears up there and I'd be thrilled to see one . I'd just like it to be

from a safe distance. Maybe from the high loft balcony!

Buddy

2009-06-26T15:26:00.002-05:00

We said good-bye to our bunny Buddy this afternoon. We don't know why he stopped eating two weeks ago, but after several vet visits, many doses of medicines and force feedings that he hated, it was time to let him go. Knowing it was the right thing to do doesn't stop my heart from aching.

Friday's Fledgling

2009-06-12T10:40:00.001-05:00

Country Roads in West Virginia

2009-06-10T08:09:00.002-05:00

Cute vs Fierce!

2009-06-07T16:46:00.003-05:00

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are adorable.

Cuteness cubed.

Like little olive colored Easter Peeps-

Couldn't you just pop one in your mouth?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While I was watching the Kinglets at Hasty Brook I felt I was being watched. I saw a big bird- a raptor out of the corner of my eye. It flew from right to left behind me, swooped down twenty feet to the creek level and disappeared. I didn't get a good look but had a feeling for wide wings. I've seen Northern Goshawks punch through our woods chasing Ruffed Grouse on several occasions but his bird was smaller. I felt that the bird had buzzed me, it came pretty close. Later that afternoon, coming out of the camper I caught a quick look at a hawk flying off from the birch snag nearest the feeders. Same one? The next day I was quite sure I saw the same bird perched in that snag as I walked up the driveway. As I got nearer it dropped down into the trees and flew off across the creek. Later on, sipping a cup of coffee, it flew back into the birch. A Broad-winged Hawk!

It sat in that tree about twenty feet away and about fifteen feet over my head. I watched it for a bit, then slowly brought my camera up. It looked at me a few times and started calling. High pitched but soft, two part kee-eeee. It gave me goosebumps.

The birds at the feeders went silent and still. The hawk didn't seem interested in them. It was looking around the ground-

There- one of the chipmunks. The chipmunk seemed oblivious to the raptor glaring down. The hawk's head swiveled up and down, left and right but its eyes never left the chipmunk. Just as I though it would launch itself toward the ground, my dog let out a woof and trotted over to defend her yard from those wicked little "chippies." Poor old Gidget makes occasional half-hearted attempts to catch chippies and then has to lie down from the hard work.

The hawk flew off and I haven't seen it since. It was only a few minutes but it's a memory that I won't forget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to Susan Gets Native for confirming my id on the Broad-winged Hawk.

Seven Seconds With a Black and White Warbler

2009-06-06T20:14:00.003-05:00

My sit still and wait method paid off.

It was seven seconds from the first shot to the last.

Hasty Critters

2009-06-05T10:23:00.004-05:00

We put out a mineral lick last year and it was a huge hit so we brought a new one up the last time we visited. Red Squirrel found it first and that little tyrant defended it LOUDLY the whole weekend.

This is MINE! ALL MINE!!

I love to bring a chair down to the creek to sit and watch. I have the best success with birding by choosing a spot and sitting quietly for a while.

A mink popped into view. He gave me a look over and because I sat still he soon went about his business of fishing in the creek. I didn't have my big lens with me. He was actually quite close.

Uh-oh! Something's coming!
Our dog Gidget sniffed me out and came wandering through the brush to be with me.

The mink slipped off the log and started swimming toward me. When he realized how close I was he swam under the log to the right in the picture and disappeared.

I sat on the steps for a long time waiting to get this Canada Warbler. I had heard him singing earlier but he just wouldn't come out in the open. Not a great picture, but the best I could get.

My son John snapped this picture of our first ever Oriole at Hasty Brook! I had just set the hummingbird feeder out and in he flew. He took a long drink and was chased off by a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Another bird along the creek was this Common Yellowthroat. He's a sneaky little guy, popping up for a look, then dropping back into the grass. A little pishing brought him up long enough for a quick photo.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were paired up and mating. Look at how well camouflaged they are from the back.

They were constantly checking out the sap wells.

I got a lifer that last weekend- the Olive-sided Flycatcher! It is a decent sized bird that would fly quite high catching insects, then land up at the top of a birch snag to eat what it had caught. We watched for quite a while as it caught bees and dragonflies in the air.

I was pretty sure of the id but sent it off to Hap in New Hope for confirmation.

Thanks Hap!

Chestnut-sided Warblers were everywhere. I love these warblers. They're beautiful and cheerful and have a nice song. They also seem quite curious of us as we move about. I can always count on one of them to sit nicely for a photo.

Bird in a Bottle

2009-05-31T19:08:00.004-05:00

Last weekend at Hasty Brook wasn't all about the fire. It was also one of the birdiest weekends I've ever spent up there. I'll be stretching it out over a few posts because there was such good birding. One of the first birds I heard was the Veery. A friend recently said the Veery sounds like "a bird in a bottle." That's such a perfect description. Have a listen here. Veeries sing up at Hasty all day and well into the evening. I remember the first time I hear a Veery up there a few years ago. I had never heard such a sound in my life and honestly wasn't even sure it was coming from a bird. That first summer I couldn't even get a look at one to identify what I was hearing. That was when I decided to buy a birdJam (hi Jay!). I spent quite a few hours scrolling through the birdsongs trying to find that magical song. Finally, I found it. I identified the Veery by its song! The next spring, armed with my field guide and knowing finally what a Veery looked like, I caught a glimpse of the Veery. For the next few years I looked forward to hearing its lovely song and I saw them a few times but could never catch a photo.

Last Saturday hearing Veeries all around me I pulled out my birdJam to call one in.

In he came! That Veery flew in and I don't think he left my side the whole weekend.

Sitting on the hill watching warblers, there was the Veery.

Down by the creek, watching the water go by, there was the Veery.

Sitting watching the sunset, listening the the Common Loons fly over to the little lake, there was the Veery.

I walked along the creek looking for wildflowers and there the Veery popped up watching me.

Saturday evening after the fire, and after we washed up and had our dinner Art and I found a spot to sit and relax, a spot where we couldn't see the blackened grass and brush and trees.

The air was soft and the light was golden. The Veery flew in and sat in the spruce just a few feet away. And he sang.

I like to think he was singing of spring and new life.

Hasty Brook Fire

2009-05-27T07:14:00.005-05:00

Memorial Day Weekend will stay in my memory forever. Lots happened but I'm hoping to share the lessons we learned about fire safety. Bonfires in the fire ring are a big part of our time up there. They are enjoyable on many levels but mostly they are a time for conversation for us. Art and I had a bonfire Saturday morning, burning some punky wood that he had cut a few summers ago. We had cut some trees last month to prepare the site for our garage and we wanted to burn up the older wood and stack the newly split wood to dry. We let the fire burn all the way down to ashes and decided to drive over to our nearest neighbors to visit for a bit. We did not douse the ashes with water. Mistake number one. While visiting we smelled smoke but really didn't think much of it. The neighbor pointed out the DNR (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) fire spotter plane flying overhead. Feeling uneasy, we headed back. We were gone for less than an hour. As we drove up our long driveway the smoke was thick and we knew we were in trouble. We have a clearing with woods on three sides. The fire was on all three sides.

Art jumped out of the truck running toward the fire and I drove like a maniac back to the neighbors to ask for help. They followed me back with shovels and rakes. In the photo above you can see that we had piled more dry wood near the fire ring to burn later in the day. Mistake number two.

The area to the north of the fire ring is a thick stand of small aspen mixed with beaked hazelnuts. It's so thick you can't walk sideways between the growth. The fire was heavy in here. Luckily in this are it was primarily grass and leaf litter burning. This was the area that I was working. The neighbor told me to shovel the fire back into the black- meaning move the fire back to where it had all ready burned. At one point I felt panic as I realized that there was fire burning on all sides of me. I walked through the low flames and kept on shoveling. Fortunately I was wearing jeans and sturdy shoes. I was still scratched and bleeding when all was done.

The fire extended down the hill on all three sides beyond what we could originally see. The four of us just kept shoveling. We bring a 50 gallon water jug up there when we go but don't have a well so there is no source of running water. The creek is about 20 feet below our camp site and at least 50 feet away. There was absolutely no time to haul water from there. About 20 minutes into it, it seemed we had gotten most of the grass and brush fire out. Two DNR water trucks arrived with four fire fighters. Without any talk, they went to work to make sure they could contain the fire.

This picture above show the scariest part of the fire. There are two birch clusters here with a spruce tree behind them. When we drove up the birch trees on the left were burning at least 30 feet in the air. The red object in the photo is a big metal bell. The burning bark eventually burned itself out and thankfully the trees were healthy and green and the wood didn't burn. The fire fighters were very concerned about the high flames though as they can send off bits of fire to blow away and cause secondary fires. There were several large spruce trees in the burn area but luckily none caught fire.

The fire came within just a few feet of this downed spruce. This tree went down last fall in a wind storm. The way it fell, the top half is hanging about 15 feet above the ground at the creek level, making it very difficult to cut up. The wood and needles are dry and if it had caught fire it would have gone up like a roman candle.

Another area where we were fortunate that a spruce didn't burn. The ground drops off past where the burn shows and the fire continued down the hill.

Here you can see just how close the fire came to our camper. The fire fighters also spent a good deal of time chopping open a dirt pile containing the stumps and roots that the bulldozer guy pushed out of the way when he built our driveway and clearing a few years ago. The fire had gotten down under ground and peat and wood were burning deep in the pile. The fire fighters also cut down several birch snags that were burning on the inside. One in particular was white and untouched by flames on the outside but had burned on the rotting inside all the way up so that flames were shooting out of the top. They were actually able to push that snag over, bust it up and get the fire extinguished. Smoldering stumps were also a worry. Once all of the flames were out they poured many gallons of water on the smoldering stumps and that smoking dirt pile.

When the danger was over, one of the trucks left for a refill and another call. The smoke spotting plane was radioed and released. Two fire fighters stayed for quite a while checking and double-checking for hot spots. The crew chief, once he could relax a little, spent some time walking the perimeter of the fire, showing us what to look for so we could continue checking for smoke and heat. He said it was clear that the fire had originated in our fire ring and believed that the swirling winds had picked up glowing bits beneath the ashes and blew them to the nearby wood pile. He offered suggestions to prevent such a thing from happening again.

Never leave ashes unattended. Period. Douse the ashes with water.

Don't stack wood within 15 feet of a fire ring.

Don't leave old snags standing near a fire ring. We had just discussed these snags the evening before. They are bird magnets BUT there are lots of them in our woods so these will go.

Clear the ground around a fire ring of all organic material for at least 10 feet. We put ours in 3 years ago and the ground was sand and gravel then. Each year however, grasses and weeds seeded, grew and died. That was enough to burn. We need to pull anything that grows to keep the gravel bare.
~

Make sure to have at least some water handy- enough to put out the fire in the ring.

Have tools available to put out a small fire (shovels and/or rakes)

A few hours later a conservation officer arrived to look over the damage. He only issued us a warning because the fire had started in a fire ring. If the fire had started as a brush pile burn we would have been ticketed (felony) and it would have cost BIG $$. It's pretty likely that we will be charged the cost of the fire fighters' time and consumed resources. Fair enough. I am eternally grateful for their help. Art and I and the neighbors were able to contain most of the fire, but we wouldn't have been able to handle some of it. The fire crew came again Monday morning to feel for warmth. They will check it again today.

They estimated that only a little over a tenth of an acre burned. Small compared to the other fires they fought last weekend, but huge to my heart.

I know how very lucky we are.

But I get physically ill thinking about what could have happened. I will never relax around fire again.

I came away with cuts and scratches and a cough from the smoke. Art was wearing shorts and has a few decent burns and blisters on his legs and hands. Thankfully we were both wearing sturdy shoes but the soles are burned. No one was hurt, the camper didn't burn.

Feel free to scold me. We should have known better. But if one person can learn from our mistakes- I'll feel better.

~~~~~

Thank you to neighbors Mark and Rene who without hesitation ran to help us.

Thank you to the DNR for spotting the smoke, and for calling in help.

Thank you to the DNR fire fighters for doing your jobs so well, and for the kindness and reassurance you showed us afterwards.

NOT Birding By Boat

2009-05-20T12:48:00.009-05:00

Our scheduled trip for Friday was called Birding By Boat. The group would ride in rafts, gently floating down the New River (I was assured it wouldn't be the white water section), taking in the lovely scenery along the way. We'd been having quite a bit of rain, mostly in the mornings and I wasn't enthused about sitting in a wet raft. I was OK with getting off the bus in the rain for birding but actually sitting on a wet seat? Mmmm...not for me. I had had a major "hit the wall" the evening before. I'm not complaing at all. I had heard and seen so many remarkable birds that day but I was feeling like a super-saturated solution. Dig back in your brains and find that chemistry term. Need help? This from Wikipedia:

The term supersaturation refers to a solution that contains more of the dissolved material than could be dissolved by the solvent under normal circumstances.

Small particles (seeds) can trigger the separation of the dissolved material from the solvent. In solid form these seeds can lead to the formation of crystallites or even large single crystals.

In simpler terms, if I tried to identify or photograph ONE MORE BIRD- My brain would turn to stone. I had run into Jeff Gordon that afternoon and he asked me if I'd had a good day. YEAH! Did you get any lifers? YEAH!

What did you see? Mmmm...can't remember.

Who were your trip leaders? Uhhhh...can't remember.

Where' did you go? Duhhhh...I don't know.

I was fried. Dinner was fun, a chance to chat and laugh and relax. Five minutes into the after-dinner program my eyes slammed shut. I didn't want to disrespect the speaker or embarrass myself so I quietly left the room and headed back out to my car. I passed Geoff Heeter on the way and told him that I really needed some down time and because the weather forecast was for heavy rain the next day, I would not be attending Birding By Boat. He asked me to rethink my decision and at least check the weather in the morning. OK.

Early the next morning, Mary tapped on my door for wake-up and she told me that the Birding By Boat had been cancelled! Heavy rains with possible lighting meant no river travel. Geoff Heeter and Jeff Gordon would instead lead a bus trip they quickly dubbed "Winging It". I had slept well and felt my brain had decompressed so I dressed to go.

On the bus, Jeff asked everyone if there was a particular bird that they wanted to see. Having been mocked by Carolina Wrens during my whole trip to Cape May last October, I mentioned that I'd REALLY like to see one. I know for a fact that a Carolina Wren would not be a lifer for anyone on that bus but me, but Jeff promised to get one for me. Our first stop was a golf course. Hardly off the bus, Jeff called out Northern Rough-winged Swallows. LIFER! Jeff's head perked up as he heard a Carolina Wren singing just up ahead. He played a little birdjam (Hi Jay!) and called that baby right in. HA! GOTCHA! LIFER! Jeff made sure I got a good long look at the Wren. My pictures are lousy, but I don't care. I travelled many, many miles to get that delicious bird.

Thank you Jeff.

Within minutes Geoff and Jeff had an Orchard Oriole in sight. LIFER! That's three lifers in about five minutes. Am I glad I went? Yes, yes, yes.

We started walking across the grass toward a stand of evergreens when suddenly one of the leaders (Jeff or Geoff) called out "Cape May Warbler." I stopped in my tracks with a lump in my throat. Way back when I bought my first field guide Birds of Eastern and Central North America by Roger Torey Peterson I thumbed through the book, looking at all the wonderful birds, making a mental list of the ones that really tugged at me- either for their beauty in form or flight or for the bit of natural history that told of their lives. The Cape May Warbler was on that list. And there it was.

Geoff quickly got it in the spotting scope and I could barely see it through the tears in my eyes. After everyone got a good look, Geoff cranked up the magnification and offered looks again. I was speechless.

Thank you Geoff.

I cannot tell you how many photos I took of this bird. I'm thankful for digital.

This Cape May Warbler made four life birds for me in about fifteen minutes.

Here's the Jeff/Geoff team looking like the professionals that they are. Awesome birders, generous and patient, and lots of fun. Thank you guys!

Later we stopped along the river and I got another lifer:
Warbling Vireo

It was a beautiful spot along the river.

We made a quick stop just to grab pictures of this lovely waterfall. Happily, no lives were lost crossing the wicked, steep, curved hill. We were told that road carried a lot of commuter traffic (at high speeds).

Another stop along the day was this park with clearly marked signs.

"Come on everybody! Let's go this way."

A sweet Yellow Warbler sang for us.

All together it was an EIGHT LIFER day for me!

Warbling Vireo
Purple Martin
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Carolina Wren
Cape May Warbler
Orchard Oriole
Yellow-throated Warbler

Our dinner that night was at the Cathedral Cafe. Jane, Kathleen and Mary brought "a few" bottles of wine to have with our dinner.

After a delicious dinner prepared by Dave Pollard and his family, Kathi read a poem she had written called "Birding With Bill." It was sweet and funny and very well crafted. Julie Zickefoose gave the talk later, sharing stories of some of the birds that have affected her life and the lives of her family. I was so touched that Julie included me in a section on Turkey Vultures and was delighted to know that she and I share strong feelings for this spectacular bird. She spoke of totems and their meanings and how important TUVU's have been to her at various times in her life. I am comforted to know that there is someone else out there who understands my depth of connection to this bird that most find less than attractive.
Thank you Julie.

I love this picture. I took it from what I'm guessing was the choir loft. I can see so many of the people that I got to know at the New River Birding and Nature Festival, people who shared their knowledge and mad birding skilz. People who shared their stories and laughter, smiles and hugs. Seriously folks, if you're thinking of attending next year- do it.

Beth brought her cement chicken to serve as the Flock Mascot. It weighed a TON but did a gooood job!

My Take on Cranberry Glades

2009-05-13T09:18:00.006-05:00

Up at 0500 with a tap on my door from Mary (since my alarm clock didn't work), hit the shower (we had 8 women and two showers so planning was a MUST), off to Burnside by 0600 for a hot breakfast and then pile in the vans by 0700 for our day trips. This was my morning routine for the week. Tuesday's trip was to Cranberry Glades, a ninety minute drive on mostly twisting narrow roads. Geoff Heeter drove our bus that day. "Oh shit!" popped out of my mouth more than once when he'd swerve a bit off the road and drop (several inches) down onto the shoulder. GULP!

The drive didn't seem that long though as we spent the time chatting and laughing, getting to know each other better. Most of the Flock was on this trip.
Jane, Kathi (with her back to us), Mary and Tim. Kathi had the coolest birding vest. Mary's getting a start on her "warbler neck."

It wound up being another really hot day but it stayed cool on the boardwalk under the shaded tree canopy. It smelled so good up here. Kind of like home in Minnesota.

I tried to take a panoramic shot to show how we were really in a bowl. At this higher elevation of 4000 feet there was no leaf-out yet. I think for me, the most memorable bird sighting on this trip was this Blackburnian Warbler.

He sang over our heads for quite a long time.

Moving from tree to tree, giving us different backgrounds to photograph.

I saw my first and only Blackburnian last spring at a park near home so this one wasn't a lifer, but it was pure eye candy.

This Black-throated Green wasn't a lifer either, but we got to watch two of them singing on their territories. The dividing line happened to be the road we were standing on so from time to time the two would duke it out right over our heads.

Keith Richardson, Dick Dennis (with another cool birding vest!) Connie Toops, Kathy Dennis (Denapple blogger) and Jane.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What I learned this day:

I LOVE hanging out with birders.

The Flock rocks!

I hope Geoff doesn't drive any more.

Birding By Butt Day at New River

2009-05-08T20:53:00.003-05:00

I'm still in a twirl trying to process my pictures and memories of my week at the New River Birding and Nature Festival in West Virginia but I'm WAY behind in posting so I decided to just jump right in. (For some reason I'm not able to build links, sorry.)
Look at these beautiful Kathies! That's Kathie from Sycamore Canyon in Tuscon on the left and Kathi the Katdoc on the right. About every third woman at the festival was a Kathie/Kathi/Cathy/Kathleen etc. Coming from Tuscon poor Kathie was always cold.

Susan, Mary and Tim.
Susan is an old friend since we met last October in Cape May. Mary could make me dissolve into a fit of tear-squirting giggles just by looking at me. Tim is hilarious. He flew into Charleston a bit ahead of me but waited for my flight so we could caravan on to Opossum Creek Retreat. When I came around the corner toward the baggage claim area and I saw his smiling face I could have just melted. Out of everyone, I was most nervous about meeting Tim. I needn't have worried- Tim is wonderful.

Birding by Butt included a banding demonstration by Bill Hilton Jr. from Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History near York, South Carolina. I have subscribed to This Week at Hilton Pond longer than any other blog.

Bill has done extensive work banding and researching Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. I took many photos of Bill banding birds that day but found this photo particularly moving. Look at this hummingbird's tiny foot grasping the lead on his mechanical pencil.

After each bird was banded Bill chose someone to release the bird. Look at the priceless expression Kathie's face. Her joy was a delight to share.

BITE that finger!

Jane, Susan and I took a quiet stroll and found a great birding spot on our own. This Scarlet Tanager looked like a Christmas light in the tree-top.

Another shot of the Hooded Warbler which I believe was my first lifer of the trip.

Earlier in the afternoon on a birding walk Geoff Heeter pointed out this Blue-gray Gnatcatcher working on her nest. She would fly in with bits of lichen and gently tamp them down into place with her chin.

I spent time every day on the big covered porch out back at the Meadows. This day someone spotted this Eastern Bluebird baking in the sun on the lawn. Not sure if he was anting (do Bluebirds do that?) or just soaking up the sun. Maybe he knew that rain was going to be coming later in the week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Art and I are headed up north to Hasty Brook tomorrow morning. We're hoping to talk to our builder again to firm up our plans for moving forward with building this spring.

New Friends at New River

2009-05-06T08:44:00.004-05:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to get a blog post written about my week in West Virginia. I'm having a hard time gathering and processing my thoughts. The New River Birding and Nature Festival was amazing on so many levels. The birding was fabulous- twenty-eight lifers for me! Our Farmhouse at Opossum Creek Retreat was as comfy as could be and rocked with laughter. The hospitality shown us was warm and kind- like family.

My head is spinning with the stories and memories and as glad as I am to be back home, I'm feeling quite sad and adrift. I met Susan, Laura, Katdoc and Beth last October in Cape May but the rest of this group were new meetings. I've always believed that we reveal enough about ourselves through our blogs to let readers know a bit of our character so I had ideas of what these bloggers would be like. Every last one of them are delightful, sharing and loving. I have never laughed so long and so hard. I was constantly wiping tears from my eyes- mostly from laughter but often from the emotions of the moment.

I spent a week in a most beautiful part of our country that I'd never seen before with guides that cared deeply about the area and about sharing their knowledge and talents. It was obvious that they loved showing us both life birds and common birds. I spent a week with people who loved birds as much as I do. I fit in. I formed new friendships and deepened old ones. I miss the "Flock." I still have several hundred photos to sort through and edit and of course there's work around the house to catch up on. I don't want to hurry through my pictures and memories though. I'm holding them all close.

This is most of the Flock:

Beth from My Life With Birds

Tim from From the Faraway, Nearby

Nina from Nature Remains

Jane from Jalynn's Window on Nature

Barb from My Bird Tales

Kathie from Sycamore Canyon

Me!

Laura from Somewhere in NJ

Bill from Bill of the Birds

Kathi from Katdoc's World

Mary from Mary's View

Jane from Wrenaissance Reflections

Kathy from Life, Birding Photos and Everything

Susan from Susan Gets Native

not pictured:

Kathleen from A Glorious Life

Julie Zickefoose

Jeff Gordon

Jim McCormac

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope I didn't miss anyone on the list, but I miss you all.

Quickie in West Virginia

2009-04-27T16:53:00.002-05:00

Hooded Warbler LIFER!!!

Well, we're here! Travel went well and I'll say, the company here is SUPERB!!

My first life warbler was this gorgeous Hooded

Warbler. Isn't he spectacular? The FLOCK has grown with the surprise arrival of Jane from Jaylynn's Window on Nature and

Barb from My Bird Tales

What a treat! You'll never find two sweeter ladies.

Blogging is an amazing way to meet folks.

Amen.

Gotta run- the progam's going to start soon.

Ready, Set, GO!!!

2009-04-25T18:20:00.002-05:00

Well my bags are packed (mostly)

I'm ready to go...

What a mess! I'm not sure I can make the 50 pound weight limit on one bag and I might have to add a duffel. Thanks to the wonderful Northwest Airlines, I'm sure I'll have to pay extra no matter what I do. But you know what? I don't care because tomorrow morning at 0550 (YES that's 5:50 AM!!!) my flight takes off heading to West Virginia and the New River Birding and Nature Festival. I'm expecting to add some lifers to my Bird Blogger Life List:

Jane from Wrenaissance Reflections

Mary from Mary's View

Nina from Nature Remains

Tim from From the Faraway Nearby

Kathie from Sycamore Canyon

Kathie from Life, Birding Photos and Everything

Kathleen from A Glorious Life

Beth from My Life with Birds

Ok, I met Beth Cape May last October but she didn't have a blog then.

Other bloggers going to West Virginia and all ready on my life list are:

Susan from Susan Gets Native

Laura from Somewhere in NJ

Kathi from Katdoc's World

There are a few more bloggers who are trip leaders for the festival who will also add to my Blogger Life List:

Julie from Julie Zickefoose

Bill from Bill of the Birds

Jeff from Jeffrey A Gordon

I'll bet there will be a few new birds too! My life list stands at 201 right now and looking at what we should expect to see there during spring migration I'm pretty sure I'll be adding to that list.

So it's time to close up and weigh my bags. I'd better double check that Puddy the cat's not inside.

Wish me luck!

Testing My Net-Book

2009-04-24T20:43:00.002-05:00

I needed to make sure I could download photos to this little travel lap top.

This is my old dog Gidget stretched out on the bed among the cords and socks and camera batteries. I'm pretty sure most every thing is ready to go but my mind won't stop spinning. It's starting to sink in that the day after tomorrow I'll be meeting many of the bloggers that I've gotten to know over the last few years, people that I all ready consider friends.

This is a really tiny, lightweight laptop. I'm hoping it'll be great for travelling, but wow- these buttons and te screen are really tiny for my old eyes!

What's New Pussycat?

2009-04-20T18:52:00.002-05:00

Here comes another one of my disjointed, rambling posts. I started a two-week stretch of vacation from work today. This week off is to get ready for the New River Birding and Nature Festival in West Virginia. Finally, it's just around the corner and I have about a bazillion things to do. I brought my suitcase up ages ago and started piling things in and around it. The pile is now about four feet high and the suitcase is buried. Tonight I'll start making my list. A list of lists. Clothes for who knows what kind of weather, zip-lock bags full of every kind of little bottle from shampoo to soap, lotion to bug spray. One zip-lock just for a travel pharmacy! (One never knows what one might need) Rain gear including a Gortex jacket and one of those silly crumpled hats with a brim all around. Don't forget the vest with one hundred pockets so I can forget which pocket I put that thing in. My new hiking boots are pretty well broken in (bring a box of band-aids just in case). Will I have enough shirts? I hear there's a laundry there so I suppose I can stop worrying about that.

What about my gear? I've packed and re-packed my camera pack over and over. With every electronic gizmo comes a charger cord. I have cords and AC adaptors coming out of my ears. I'd pay big money for single universal cord for all of my stuff. I'll need to enter my destination into my Garmin. I fly into Charleston and then drive on to Fayetteville (I think) and I have no idea yet how long that drive is. I splurged and bought a teeny tiny new laptop to bring along. The one I have is cracked, taped and weighs a lot. The new one is not quite half the size and weighs less than two pounds. I'll need to load Picassa onto it for picture editing, add some of my favorite bookmarks and I'm good to go.

Tomorrow I need to pick up my new prescription sunglasses and grocery shop to stock up the frig and freezer for next week. I've never been away from my family for a whole week before. They're a very self-reliant group so I don't worry too much about that.

I haven't had time for much birding lately. I did stop by a local pond to get another look at the mutt duck. He wasn't around- but look!

Another mutt duck! Isn't this one pretty? She was a little bigger than the rest of the mallards. I'm assuming she's a she because there was a drake following her around constantly chasing other males away. Maybe he prefers blonds!

This is a leftover picture from the Sunday that Art and I drove to the heron rookery by the Mississippi River. Actually it's the only heron picture that I like from that day. Once I spotted the Turkey Vulture I didn't have eyes for herons any more. Speaking of Turkey Vultures, several of you have mentioned to me a link to an organization called The Turkey Vulture Society. I looked at their website about a year ago. There is some terrific information on their site and about two months ago I decided to join. I followed the directions on their site and made my membership payment on line using Paypal. I immediately received confirmation of my payment from Paypal and waited for my confirmation from the Turkey Vulture Society. Nothing came. I sent several emails and got no replies. Finally I approached Paypal and initiated a claim to get my money back. Eleven days later I got an email from Paypal stating that my money would be refunded. I'm not sure what happened to the Turkey Vulture Society, but I assume they have dissolved their organization. It's a shame. I'm especially disappointed because I really wanted to be a "card carrying member". I haven't checked but I would assume that Paypal has pulled their affiliation with them. It's still a great source of information but don't send money!

I wonder if I'll ever be able to get a good, sharp photo of a bird in flight? Maybe I'll find a willing teacher in West Virginia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I took flowers to the cemetery today. It's been one year since my sister Phyllis died. The year of all the firsts is over and I'm hoping my heart will ache a bit less. Please do something for me friends. Tell someone you care about that you love them. Send a note, or better yet call or visit. Let them hear you say the words and listen to their voice too. We all save pictures but we can't keep voices. I miss Phyllis's voice.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-15T21:11:00.002-05:00

Hissssss!

They're Here!

2009-04-03T10:26:00.002-05:00

Art and I drove over to North Mississippi Regional Park last Sunday to check out the Heron rookery. It was a sunny but chilly day, nice for a brisk walk. We didn't get far before I spotted this guy- my FOY Turkey Vulture!! I nearly tipped down a hill trying to get a few shots as it floated overhead. Who needs herons when there's this beauty in the sky?

Think Mink?

2009-04-02T21:39:00.001-05:00

I'm Having a Giveaway!!

2009-03-31T21:37:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago I received an email from someone at Harper Collins offering me a review copy of a new book by Suzie Gilbert called Flyaway: How a Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings. I replied right way asking for a copy. The book came in the mail and I dove right in. I really enjoyed this book. From early on Suzie Gilbert always had an affinity for animals, both wild ones and pets and she especially loved birds. After college her career path eventually led her to a job in an animal clinic where she found herself drawn to injured birds. That interest led to her becoming a volunteer at a rehab facility for raptors. She eventually became a licensed rehabber herself and began rehabbing birds at her country home. The stories of various birds brought to her for care are often hilarious but sometimes heart-breaking. Trying to find a balance between raising two young children and her admitted obsession with birds was very difficult for her. She told stories of carrying a basket of baby birds along with her to her children' games so she could keep up with the non-stop, every 30 minute feeding schedules. Bringing nestlings up to the age of releasability was a huge time commitment.

Several years ago I volunteered at a wildlife rehab center. My duties included syringe-feeding the baby bunnies and cleaning various cages. I became very adept at giving an injured Canada Goose her daily pills (not an easy job) and cleaning her pen. If you think geese on a golf course are messy, think of the mess one could make in a small room! I also got to use my laboratory background by doing white blood cell counts on the animals needing them. I even drew blood from ducks and rabbits. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and actually bought the materials to study to become a licensed rehabber. Life got in the way. My Dad's health became poor and I started back to work part time in a hospital laboratory. Then that rehab center closed and I didn't have the time or ambition to follow through on those plans. Reading Suzie Gilbert's book brought back lots of memories and maybe a few regrets that I had never completed that path that I had started. But her honesty in telling of the conflicts and difficulties of committing to rehabbing showed me that it really wasn't meant to be, at least for that point in my life.

Now let's get to the giveaway! Kyle Hansen from Harper Collins offered to send free copies of the book to ten people who would like one. If you're interested, reply in the comments AND send me an email with your full name and mailing address to

l.schoenborn@comcast.net

Wordless Wednesday- What is it?

2009-03-25T21:46:00.002-05:00

Lynne and Art's Excellent Adventure

2009-03-16T10:17:00.007-05:00

Spring weather finally made it to Minnesota this weekend and Art and I couldn't wait to get up to Hasty Brook. We left early Sunday morning with temps all ready in the thirties and a forecast of mid fifties. We left the interstate at Moose Lake and took the more scenic back roads the rest of the way. It might add a few minutes to the drive but we usually see something good to make it worth while. Sunday was no exception. Driving along the county road, woods on the right and an open field to the left, we spotted a Ruffed Grouse flying low out of the woods. Art slowed assuming it would continue across to the field but it stopped right ahead in our lane. As he swerved to avoid it we saw a Northern Goshawk punch out of the woods and swoop down on the grouse! Maybe it was the nearness of our car that made it pop back up into the air without the grouse. It flew up, made a turn and headed back for another try. By now Art had made a U-turn to get a better look (sound familiar Mary?) The Goshawk lost interest with us so close and flew off to the field. I got my bins on the grouse. It didn't appear injured but was still flattened on the blacktop. A car was approaching in that lane and it slowed and swerved to avoid hitting the bird. Since it didn't seem the grouse was going to move, Art got out of the car to shoo it into the woods. The poor thing really didn't want to move, probably still watching for the Goshawk. Clapping and waving his arms the grouse stayed hunkered down. Art finally had to nudge at it with his foot. The grouse took off like a shot and disappeared into the tall grass at the edge of the woods. I've only seen a Goshawk once before. A few years ago at Hasty Brook we watched in awe as a Goshawk dashed back and forth across our yard chasing a grouse. After the unsuccessful chase the hawk perched for a while nearby so we got wonderful looks at that gorgeous raptor.I don't have a picture of a Northern Goshawk but this month's issue of the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer has a great article about this raptor and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources's efforts to monitor their habitat and nesting sites.

We continued on our way, still shaking our heads over what we had just witnessed. Arriving at Hasty we parked at the end of the driveway, loaded up with our supplies and walked down the still snowy road to our campsite. The feeders were mostly empty but there was still quite a bit of seed on the ground. There was a gang of Black-capped Chickadees that never even paused in their feeding as we walked up. They flew about the empty feeders, scolding and chattering fearlessly as I filled them. We were immediately "greeted" by a pair of red squirrels. These cheeky little squirrels were NOT happy that we were near what they thought was their bounty. Pint-sized attitude.

The next birds to arrive to the full feeders were the Red-breasted Nuthatches. I counted seven of them at one time on and around the feeders. There was lots of "yank-yanking" and chasing about going on. By now I had set up a camp chair to watch and take pictures but I had to move because it seemed I was sitting in their favorite flight path. They would grab an oiler and fly off to eat or cache the seed. After ducking my head a few times at their approach I decided it would be wiser to move. They look just like a pointed dart flying straight at your face!

There were still plenty of Common Redpolls moving about. While out hiking I saw and heard several flocks flying overhead.

They swarmed the thistle feeders as soon as they were filled but there were at times at least 100 of them feeding on the ground. They seemed to especially like the oilers that were being uncovered as the snow melted. I wonder if the shells might have been softened, making them easier to open.

I heard the Redpolls singing more on Sunday and the males were definitely showing more of the beautiful raspberry color on their throats and chests.

I'm really going to miss the Redpolls when they leave for their northern breeding grounds. I'm not sure if it was just from the sun, but their caps seemed a bit iridescent.

It was a terrific day of birding. Here's the trip list:

Common Redpoll

Pine Siskin

Black-capped Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Hairy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Common Raven

American Crow

Blue Jay

Canada Goose

Bald Eagle

Northern Goshawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Northern Harrier

Rough-legged Hawk *

The Rough-legged Hawk floated on the thermals overhead at Hasty for quite a while. This was the first time I'd spotted one on my own- and it's new to my Hasty Brook yard list!

Turtles Part Two

2009-03-12T19:39:00.001-05:00

Did you figure out how to feed them?

I added this little turtle gadget to my iGoogle RSS feed page. You can feed the turtles by clicking within the field. Each click adds a piece of food. You can also grab the turtles and spin them but I feel like I'm tormenting them if I do that. I have actually found myself thinking about getting back to feed them. Kind of sick isn't it? Do I need help?

Turtles

2009-03-12T19:38:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday, Laughing!

2009-03-11T12:05:00.002-05:00

After he chewed through ANOTHER feeder this squirrel fell off and was buried in the snow.

It's Raining

2009-03-10T07:31:00.002-05:00

We're having a nice soaking rain right now, as I listen to the Robins sing their summer morning/dusk song, and I just heard my first Mourning Dove of the year. The rain is expected to start freezing this morning turning to 3-6 inches of the white $%&@ throughout the day. We're under a winter storm advisory until tomorrow morning. Laundry is my job today and I plan to bag up more stuff to drop off at the local ARC store. Time to crank up the Bose, put on another pot of coffee and get to work!

Boreal Chickadee in Sax-Zim

2009-03-09T22:13:00.003-05:00

One bird that Deb an I REALLY wanted to see was the Boreal Chickadee. Last year at the festival I heard them and caught a quick glimpse but I wanted a good look to make it a lifer. Well, this year was the charm. Several times during Saturday's field trip we were told that the chances of a Boreal Chickadee were a sure thing. No Boreals. Finally at the last feeding station stop on Admiral Road, just a few moments after the trip leaders said it was time to move on, someone called out "Boreal Chickadee coming in." In he flew! It zoomed in and flew right into the deer rib-cage. I got many pictures of the chickadee butt barely sticking out of the bottom of the ribs. At one point it flew to a branch just a couple of feet from me. It was too close for my lens so all I could do was watch it with a happy grin!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3/10/09

Note: I just finished entering my bird observations into E-bird and this Boreal Chickadee was my 200th life bird!!

More Eagles

2009-03-05T20:44:00.003-06:00

The focus isn't terrific but this is the best of my pictures of Donald the Golden Eagle. I mentioned yesterday the surprising difference in the talon size between Golden and Bald Eagles. I remembered today a bit of information about their talons. Bald Eagles take food from a primarily aquatic environment. Their talons do well with fish which make up the majority of their diets. Golden Eagles hunt away from the water taking land animals and they require longer talons to safely take their prey. I learned that the primary food source for the Goldens that over winter in south-eastern Minnesota is Wild Turkeys.

I would be thrilled to see a Golden Eagle in the wild. Some day...

I think this is Angel. This eagle was very animated and was watching the eagles flying over the Mississippi River with great focus.

This eagle was very quiet and held itself in a very upright posture.

Here Columbia is being fed some tasty rabbit.

We did see quite a few eagles along the highway between Redwing and Wabasha. There were quite a few immature birds feeding on fish along the edge of the ice on the river.

Finally we spotted a beautiful mature Bald Eagle sitting in a tree top alongside the road. We pulled over and I raised my camera slowly to get a picture...

Road Trip!

2009-03-04T19:54:00.002-06:00

It could not have been a nicer day for a road trip. This morning three friends picked me up, we turned on the Garmin and headed off for Wabasha, Minnesota and the National Eagle Center. Art and I had been there a few years ago when the Center was located in an old storefront but now they are in a beautiful new building right on the Mississippi River. We were greeted at the door by an super friendly employee with a great smile and endless tips and information about the Center and their eagles. She even walked us out of the building to direct us to a terrific Irish pub for lunch! I had a bowl of Irish stew and nearly licked the bowl clean.

Back to the Eagle Center. My first stop was a large airy room with big windows overlooking the river. The Center's eagles greeted the public here. I was thrilled to see the Golden Eagle. I had never seen a Golden Eagle before and he was gorgeous. We learned that during the Golden Eagle survey of the area surrounding Wabasha this winter there were 70+ Golden Eagles counted. They are not year around residents of Minnesota, but migrate down here for the winter. They are trying to capture two Goldens so they can attach radios to find out where they spend the rest of the year. Goldens are a bit smaller than Bald Eagles but their talons are nearly twice as long. We enjoyed a fabulous hour long program featuring one of the Center's eagles (Columbia I think.) I spent a fair amount of time (and $) in the gift shop helping to support the Center. I got two very cool shirts to take with me to the blogger Flock rendezvous at the

New River Birdng and Nature Festival at the end of April. It's fast approaching!

I'm incredibly tired tonight so if this post is a bit rambly or disjointed, I apologize.

G'nite.

The Cutest Bird in the Bog

2009-03-02T20:13:00.003-06:00

This post is going to be short on words, but big on cuteness! I've been to the Bog a few times and have never been able to find a Gray Jay but this year I saw them.

There is something very engaging about Gray Jays. They have big eyes and soft coloring.

Gray Jays are notoriously fearless around people, looking for tasty hand-outs and I've heard that with a little patience they can be hand fed.

They chatter with happy, cheerful voices

They really seem to enjoy being around people and I was grinning ear to ear watching them forage and call and fly about.

I am so happy to add these amazing birds to my life list.

Owls in the Bog

2009-02-19T17:21:00.005-06:00

It's been a good winter for northern owls in northern Minnesota. Multiple sightings of Great Gray Owls, Northern Hawk Owls and Snowy Owls have been reported. We all had high hopes for the festival weekend. Unfortunately The Great Grays were getting tougher to find and we didn't see any over the weekend. This is a picture I took in January 2005 during the owl irruption that winter. I was very lucky to see 80 Great Gray Owls in one day trip up north.

We did see a few Northern Hawk Owls. This was a life bird for many of the out of towners and I was glad to see the excitement on their faces while they gazed at this very cool bird.

We got to watch as his head would swivel about looking for prey and keeping an eye on us.

Does this branch make me look fat?

Yeah, well your 19 layers of clothes don't do much for your figure either!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group on Friday's Duluth field trip did get great looks at a Boreal Owl. One birder in that group really stood out. Fifteen year old Tucker L. drove up with his Dad from Iowa for the festival. I was thrilled to share his excitement when he showed me his great picture of the Boreal Owl and I was even happier for him when he told me it was his 300th life bird!!

Stop by Tucker's blog Birding with Tucker and read his account of finding his 300th life bird. Please leave a comment and offer congratulations on his achievement. I have a feeling Tucker will do something really special with his life and I'm positive he'll make an impact on the world of birds.

More From the Sax-Zim Bog

2009-02-19T09:50:00.002-06:00

Sunday was an early rise for us as we needed to be on the bus at 530AM. I think the alarm rang at 425AM as we had a 40 minute drive from Duluth to Meadowlands. Ugh. Our trip that day would take us through Aitkin County and our first stop was just north of a little town called Tamarack at a field where there was a Sharp-tailed Grouse lek. We needed to be there early if we wanted to see them dance. There were approximately two dozen grouse in the field. Most of us stayed in the bus and watched out the windows. The extra elevation in the bus gave us a little better view and helped at bit with the cold. The birds were still a pretty good distance away but with binoculars we soon could see the dance. A male would tip his tail strait up into the air, cup his wings with the tips pointed to the ground, inflate the air sacs on his neck and start stomping his feet. Another and then another would join the dance and soon a whole group would be doing the boogie! It was one of the neatest birding moments I've ever seen. I took just over 100 pictures, trying to capture spectacle. This picture is the closest I came and I'm still disappointed. However, one of the trip leaders mentioned that in March the Aitkin County Department of Natural Resources sets out blinds in this field that can be reserved for watching the Sharp-tailed Grouse lek. Art and I are going to do it. He said we'll have to get to the blind EARLY in the morning before the grouse start to gather at the field. I can't wait to get a closer view of these birds and their dance. LIFER!!!

Most of the rest of my pictures are from the Sax-Zim on Saturday. Our bus went to several wonderful feeding stations that local residents maintain to bring birds in for viewing and to feed them during our harsh Minnesota winters. We got good looks at both of the wintering grosbeaks. The males are a deep dark pinkish- very pretty. But like female Cardinals, I like the more subdued colors of the female Pine Grosbeak.

We only saw a few Evening Grosbeaks. Isn't this male handsome? I wouldn't want a pinch from that beak.

We also saw several Ruffed Grouse throughout our weekend. These birds are quite shy and secretive. They blend in with the twigs and branches and can be tough to find. We see quite a few Ruffed Grouse at Hasty Brook especially in areas where there are lots of young aspen trees. Deb told me that is prime Ruffed Grouse habitat.

White-winged Crossbills have been seen in large numbers throughout Minnesota this winter. They feed on the seeds in spruce cones and since the cone crop in Canada is poor this winter they've moved south to find food. We saw plenty of them during the festival weekend. They are fun to watch as they are able to dangle like acrobats on the tips of spruce branches, using their special crossed bills to pry open the cones and get at the seeds.

The Second Annual Sax-Zim Bog Winter Birding Festival

2009-02-17T14:38:00.004-06:00

What a terrific weekend! Deb and I both took Friday off so I stopped by her house in the early afternoon. I got to have a tour of her new house and let me tell you, it's simply amazing. You can see that lots of thought went into every aspect of the design and lay-out. Ruthie and I stopped to see Deb last year after the festival when the house was still empty but now with their wonderful antique pieces and the wood stove in the center, it looks like a family home. I even got to meet Deb's husband the Hermit. Their yellow lab Sally is just a doll. I could have rubbed her ears forever but it was time to hit the road again. We made it to Meadowlands and got our registration packets. Once again, Mike Hendrickson the man behind the festival was there to greet us. I need to congratulate Mike on another hugely successful festival. In total there were 155 birders from 22 states and one man who came all the way from Australia to experience the Sax-Zim Bog. We had mostly sunny skies and high temps in the low twenties, great trip leaders, wonderful dinners and outstanding evening presentations. Friday night brought Larry Weber, a retired high school science teacher who talked about life outdoors during Minnesota's winters. He had a beautiful slide presentation ( 35 mm slides- not a power point!!) illustrating the diversity of tracks and other evidence of the presence of life. Larry's enthusiasm was contagious. He sat with Deb and I for dinner and I especially enjoyed our conversation about Bernd Heinrich- one of my favorite nature writers.

Deb and I boarded our bus Saturday morning at 630AM for our day-long trip through the Bog. I had a personal bird wish list of three: Boreal Chickadee, Gray Jay and Sharp-tailed Grouse. I also wanted to get a better look at Hoary Redpolls. I saw a few in the Bog last year but I wasn't comfortable that I'd be able to pick one out of a flock of Commons. We did see a few throughout the day but I got my best look at the Admiral road feeding station. There was a Redpoll feeding frenzy going on but one of our guides pointed out this Hoary Redpoll perched a little away from the crowd.

An overall frosty appearance.

Beautiful.

I was able to follow it to the ground and watched as it fed with the rest. These are very cautious and jumpy little birds. The Hoary is in the top right of this picture.

Here, on the left you can see how little streaking there is and also how much finer it is. The rump is white on the Hoary, streaked on the Common. TINY, stubbier bill on the Hoary.

White under tail coverts, while the Common has streaked.

It was overcast when I took these pictures so the lighting isn't perfect, but my memory of this Hoary Redpoll is clear. You can bet that the next time I get up to Hasty I'll be watching the Redpoll flock with a keener eye, looking for the "frosty" one in the crowd.

Whoot! Dancing sharp tailed grouse.

2009-02-15T10:15:00.001-06:00

Whoot! Dancing sharp tailed grouse. LIFER!

2009-02-14T16:07:00.001-06:00

Our great gray owl in the bog.

2009-02-13T12:28:00.001-06:00

Going to the Bog!!

There's a Ditch Near Hasty...

2009-02-12T11:09:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posting here, life has gotten busy. The hospital I work for has had numerous lay-offs that fortunately haven't affected me. In fact, I'm part of a group working on a big computer project for the lab and I've been putting in LOTS of extra hours. (Counting my blessings here). My wrist seems to be recovering nicely. I've done two bird outings with lots of photography and it felt petty good. Before the CTR surgery holding the big lens on my camera gave me trouble. I'm off work today as Art had his first age 50+ Roto-rooter (colonoscopy) procedure today. We go to the same clinic and when we both turned 50 we were given packets that included cards to schedule colonoscopies and "advanced health care directives"!!!

"Here ya go- while you do the prep for the colonoscopy, you can fill out your living will!"

Sweet.

Anyway, while poor Art is sleeping off the versed I thought I'd download my pictures and throw a post together. We had a day of mild weather last week so I packed my gear into the car and headed up to Hasty for a day of birding by myself. When Art and I were there the week before we had filled the feeders and then dumped the rest of the seed all over on the ground in the campsite. Last Friday as I started walking up the long driveway toward the campsite I could see major bird movement in the yard. About half way up the drive I could hear them. There were AT LEAST 300-350 Redpolls and a handful of Pine Siskins feeding on the seed! As I reached the camper they all flew up into the tree tops in one big whoosh. I set up a camp chair, got out my camera, sat down and waited. It took a while but soon a little flock of bold Chickadees zipped in, probably thinking they finally had the feeders to themselves. Within seconds the entire flock of Redpolls dropped from the trees, chattering, bickering and eating. I sat six feet away with my jaw dropped, barely able to take in the sight. Redpolls are such pretty birds. I saw my first ever Redpolls last winter at the Sax-Zim Bog Winter Bird Festival . Two weeks ago I saw a handful at Hasty and a single Redpoll at home and now I was sitting in this huge flock grinning like a goof! It was definitely a birding bliss moment for me. Have you ever had a birding bliss moment?

I just love these guys.

I'm pretty sure I saw two Hoary Redpolls in the flock but I couldn't find them in my pictures.

"Hey lady! The thistle is getting a little low here!"

When I got too cold to sit in the snow any longer I headed back to the car and set out to do some exploring. There were three Wild Turkeys in the trees near the road. I had seen their big tracks in the snow by the feeders and was glad that they seem to be making it through the winter. It was funny to hear them cackling in the trees in mid-winter. I hope they hang around come spring. I'd love to get a look at little poults. Down the road a ways I came across a flock of Snow Buntings that lifted off the road and landed on the lake. I pulled over to get a better look but when I got out of the car some local domestic geese waddled toward me honking and hissing so I stayed put in the car and moved along. Glancing over the fields I spotted a pair of Northern Harriers gliding low, hunting for rodents. I love to watch Harriers hunting. They face the ground, skimming low, listening and watching for food. It seems a bit early for them to be back for the season but I have seen sightings of them on the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union listserv this week. The Ravens and Crows were very vocal that afternoon and there were pairs of Downy Woodpeckers chasing and calling- all signs of spring approaching!

Around mid-afternoon I decided to turn toward home. It had been windy all day and was getting quite overcast. There was just one more place I wanted to check. As I drove along highway 73 toward Cromwell I scanned the fields for a Northern Hawk Owl that had been seen and reported there. THERE! Up ahead on the right-on the power pole! I checked my mirror, no one was coming behind me, so I pulled over onto the shoulder so I could get a good look. I knew the ground was still hard so I was startled when I felt the tires on the right side of the car start to sink. The flat crust of snow left by the snow plows hid the ditch and tricked me into thinking that the shoulder was wider than it was.

#%@*&!!!

In a split second my car was resting on the frame and I was stuck. I crawled out of the car and flagged down a car for help. The car that stopped held an older couple who were delighted to try to help. The woman got out first and she couldn't have been 5 feet tall and 100 pounds. The husband was tall and fit looking. He told me that they'd give me a little push and I'd be on my way. I asked the Little Woman to get in the car so I could help push instead of her but she said she didn't drive. As the husband walked up I realized he had an artificial leg!! When we saw that the frame was resting on the ground and hopelessly beyond pushing, we flagged down another driver with a diesel truck. The Truck Man hooked a strap the the back end of my car and started pulling. The front end of my car swung to the right and went all the way down into the ditch. I couldn't even get out of the car! By now the Little Woman was frozen so she got back into her car. Limping Gentleman went off down the road to stop traffic and Truck Man had to pull me backwards for a few hundred yards, crossing into the other lane of traffic to get my car out. I thanked Truck Man as he rolled up his now broken strap. I offered to pay for a new one but he just smiled and left as I babbled my gratefulness. I turned to Limping Gentleman with tears in my eyes, and offered my thanks. He hugged me and told me not to let it ruin my day of birding and to drive home with care. Such kind people. I can only hope that I can offer such kindness to some one else when they're cold and tired and feeling so careless.

A few miles down the highway I stopped for gas and called Art to tell him of my experience. He didn't laugh or point out my mistake. He said he'd offer two pieces of advice. First, he said, stop at the restaurant across the street and get a bite to eat and relax. Second, drive back up to Hasty and scout around for birds some more before heading home.

The homey Country Inn was just what I needed. They were serving all-you-can-eat fried fish and it was delish!! After three cups of coffee and I won't say just how much fish, I drove back to Hasty. I parked and walked back up the driveway for another Redpoll fix. This time I didn't even bring my camera. I just stood there as the Redpolls swirled around me. As the chill set in and I turned to leave I heard the maniacal call of a Pileated Woodpecker. He swooped in and landed on the same birch snag where I saw him last summer. He was close by and looked me in the eye.

SHIVER.

I made my way back to Highway 73 and turned south again. As I passed the spot where three strangers had so generously helped me, I looked around for the Hawk Owl. About one hundred feet off the road beyond my tire ruts, in a tree silhouetted against the glowing sunset, sat a pair of adult Bald Eagles.

I drove the 150 miles home with a full heart.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-04T20:36:00.001-06:00

Chickadee-dee-dee

We Hit the Road...

2009-01-31T16:23:00.001-06:00

Art and I were on the road at 0645 this morning, headed north to Hasty Brook. The thermometer on the car said 27 degrees. I honestly don't think we've seen 27 degrees for several weeks. The sky was quite overcast but was supposed to clear later in the morning. There was hoarfrost on every branch and it was particularly thick in the bog areas that we drive through south of Hasty. When we arrived we had to park on the side of the road at the end of the driveway as the plowed snow was a few feet deep. We climbed over the snow pile and trudged the deep snow down the long 300 foot driveway to get to our campsite. I carried my camera backpack, binoculars and a big bucket of thistle and shelled peanuts for the feeders. Wonderful Art lugged a 50 pound bag of oilers!

Before we even looked around we filled the feeders. A group of 5-6 Black-capped Chickadees saw us coming and followed us from the car to the feeders, talking to each other the whole way. They fluttered around our heads as we filled the feeders. A pair of Downy Woodpeckers watched and scolded. We cleared an area in the three feet deep snow and set up a pair of folding camp chairs and sat to drink a pop and cool off a bit. A pair of ravens flew around the clearing- I think they were checking out the nutty people lounging in camp chairs in the snow. The sun burned through and the sky was blazing blue as the temps crept up into the thirties. I heard first and then saw a flock of White-winged Crossbills fly into the tops of the spruce trees. A new one for my Hasty yard list! Pine Siskins quickly found the thistle and a few Common Redpolls flew in. Another new Hasty yard bird. The Redpolls were pretty hinky and I couldn't get a decent picture.

A neighbor stopped by that we hadn't met before and invited us to come for a cup of coffee. He'd heard that I was a birder and he and his fiance wanted us to see the birds that came to their feeders. There were Redpolls on their deck! It was the best look I'd ever had. While we drank our coffee and chatted I got to watch the Redpolls four feet away through the patio door. The turkeys from last summer have taken up residence in their yard too, eating shelled corn and cleaning up all the fallen bird seed. All too soon we had to head back home. It was a short trip but I was so happy to see our place. It really made me yearn for the day when we can live there year round.

I was pleased to have seen the Redpolls both at Hasty Brook and at the neighbor's. Last winter was the first time I'd ever seen a Redpoll. I loaded my pictures onto my laptop and started to write this post when I heard an unfamiliar bird call out in our New Hope back yard. I grabbed my binoculars and wouldn't you know it- there was a Common Redpoll on my feeder at home!

Today I got to add Common Redpoll to my Hasty Brook list and my yard list at home.
My trip list wasn't huge but it was special. Actually ANY trip to Hasty Brook is special.
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Pine Siskin
White-winged Crossbill
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Common Redpoll
Rock Dove
Wild Turkey
American Crow
Common Raven
Goldfinch
Red-tailed Hawk
Bald Eagle

My New Favorite Quote

2009-01-21T14:09:00.005-06:00

"Maybe if more people had a duck in your life,

maybe we all wouldn't be all so mad at each other"

Joe Mansheim

Check out this link that Ruthie sent to me.

If it doesn't make you grin just a little, there's something wrong with you.

(the Minnesota accents alone should make you smile)

Trucking Duck

2009-01-21T10:57:00.002-06:00

Testing mobile blogging.

This picture is one I saved on my phone. Here's Susan holding a teeny tiny hermit crab on the beach at Cape May last October.

I was going to use the caption "Susan's got crabs" but I wasn't sure if she would think that was so funny...

37 Random Things About Me-

2009-01-20T07:59:00.004-06:00

I naturally snatched this meme from Jayne for two reasons: There's nothing going on up here to blog about and I could copy and paste and add my own answers with minimal typing which is handy for a one handed typist!

37 Random Things About Me

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yum!

2. Have you ever smoked? Never. Both of my parents and all 5 of my siblings did at various times though.

3. Do you own a gun? No, but Art does. Licensed and locked.

4. What flavor Kool Aid is your favorite? Cherry

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? Love them grilled to a bit crispy. Mustard ONLY.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? Prancer. (with Sam Elliott. Makes me cry every time)

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee.

9. Can you do push-ups? Umm...no.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? A military 4-way medal that was my Dad's.

11. Favorite hobby? Birding/Blogging

12. Do you have A.D.D? No, I'm pretty rigid at work but sloppy at home.

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? Yes with bifocals. That reminds me I need new ones...

14. Middle name? Marie.

15. Name thoughts at this moment? Need to make a grocery list...

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Coffee, Lipton's Diet Raspberry Iced Tea (instant), Coke (not diet)

17. Current worry? Lay-offs.

18. Current hate right now? Knowing how much dirty laundry there is downstairs.

19. Favorite place to be? Hasty Brook.

20. How did you bring in the New Year? Sleeping. I had to work at 0630 on January 1.

21. Where would you like to go? See #19.

22. Name three people who will complete this? Susan, May, Ruthie.

23. Do you own slippers? I need a new pair.

24 What color shirt are you wearing? Blue and white.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Never tried them. I do love micro fleece sheets in winter.

26. Can you whistle? Yes, but not as well as my brother Phil.

27. Favorite Color? Yellow.

28. What songs do you sing in the shower? Anything. Right now I'm really loving Ray LaMontagne and Emmylou Harris.

29. Would you be a pirate? Arrr...NO. They fight and steal and don't shower.

30. Favorite Girl's Name? Amalie Rose. That's Molly's given name. Amalie was her great-grandmother from Germany. Rose is from St. Therese, the Little Flower.

31. Favorite boy's name? John Wallace. Johnny was named John for my Mom's father and Wallace for my Dad.

32. What's in your pocket right now? A rosary and Cabella's chap stick.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? A funny email from Richard.

34. What vehicle do you drive? Pontiac Grand Prix GTP.

35. Worst injury you've ever had? Torn meniscus.

36. Do you love where you live? YES.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? Four.

Let's see whole else wants to share these 37 random facts.

Ice

2009-01-19T20:10:00.002-06:00

I wish I had something great to post about. I haven't been out birding in what seems like ages. My left wrist which I use to hold my camera lens had been giving me fits for quite a while so it was definitely time to get it fixed. Even holding my binoculars for any length of time caused problems. Last week I had it surgically repaired but that meant I was pretty much house-bound for the week. Minnesota temperatures for nearly the entire week were below zero and this ice was the view out the window. I think I have a bad case of cabin fever. If we have a warmer day this week or next I plan to make a day trip up to Hasty Brook. I can't put into words how much I miss that place. Our cabin plans have been put on hold due to the state of our economy. It's the smart thing to do I know but I can't stop believing that we'll live there some day. We'll just move in smaller steps.

I do have another birding festival coming up. In February I'll head up to the Sax-Zim Bog for their second Sax-Zim Bog Winter Birding Festival.

Last year Ruthie and I went and had a blast. This year Deb and I are going and we're on a mission to see a Boreal Chickadee. There have been plenty of sightings up there so I expect we'll get our bird. I've still never seen a Gray Jay either and hope to add it to my life list as well. It's been a terrific winter for northern owls too. Snowy, Great Gray and Northern Hawk Owls have been seen frequently. I can't wait to get away to this festival. One of the field trips goes right past Hasty Brook and spends time in the areas around our place. We'll be visiting Sharp-tailed Grouse leks several miles from Hasty. Can't wait to learn more about the birds in my area.

2009-01-14T13:25:00.002-06:00

I saw this quiz on Red's blog and can you believe it? This is what I got:

Your Power Bird is a Vulture

Your Power Bird is a Vulture

You are always changing your life and the lives of those around you.
You aren't afraid to move on from what holds you back.
Energetic and powerful, you have a nearly unlimited capacity for success.
You know how to "go with the flow" and take advantage of what is given to you.

What's" Your Power Bird?

I loves me some Turkey Vultures!

Oooh Baby- It's COLD Outside!

2009-01-14T09:03:00.002-06:00

Here in Minnesota we're stuck in a pretty nasty cold snap with high temperatures forecast in the single digits below zero. That's the kind of cold that hurts pretty fast. When my kids left for the bus this morning at 0630 it was 17 BELOW!!

There's nothing much going on around here. I had carpal tunnel repair surgery on Monday. I'm hoping to have fewer problems holding binoculars and my camera with the fix. I'm out of work for two weeks and I can take off the soft cast tomorrow. The only birdwatching I'm doing is out the window using nothing but my eyes! It's really too cold to get out anyway.

The Lincoln's Sparrow has moved on or was snatched by the neighborhood Cooper's Hawk. I'm hoping he's hanging out somewhere else. It seems most of the house sparrows that he associated with have moved on too. There have been many Pine Siskins, Juncos and House Finches here for the last few weeks. Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers are regulars and there's been a pretty Red-bellied Woodpecker here for the last few days. Hope he stays- the flash of color is bold in the white/gray/brown of our winter landscape.

There's been new Junco behavior with the colder temps. I understood from the field guides that Juncos are ground feeders but there are a few that have decided that the thistle socks are a good spot for lunch. This one has one foot on each sock! Even the cheeky Pine Siskins couldn't chase him off. This morning I saw a Junco on the wooden suet plug feeder drilling away for suet. They must need a tremendous number of calories just to stay warm.

The colder it gets and the harder it snows, the busier the feeders get.

I had to toss in a picture of John and Molly from Christmas Eve. It's hard to believe that they're both in high school. I'm so proud of them. They are both growing into such good people- kind hearted and responsible. They have semester finals today and tomorrow.

Good Luck to my Kid(ney)s!

Hey- HEY- Hey!

2009-01-08T19:12:00.004-06:00

Tim from the amazing blog From the Faraway, Nearby is hosting IATB #91. Join Tim as he takes you on a whirlwind tour of the ten top birding regions of the world. It's sure to be a fabulous trip! When you're done with Tim's tour, be sure to scroll back and look around at Tim's posts. He is a magnificent photographer and his writing is beautiful and from his heart.

Sven and Ole

2009-01-06T18:55:00.003-06:00

Way up here in Minnesooota we have Sven and Ole jokes and Ole and Lena jokes. We like to laugh at ourselves and our predominantly Scandinavian heritage. There's not much else to do in January... No sir-ee Bob!

I thought I'd share a Sven and Ole joke

Sven and Ole are walking down a street in Madison, Wisconsin, when and they see a sign on a store that reads, "Suits $5.00 each, shirts $2.00 each, trousers $2.50 per pair." Sven says to his pal, "Looky here! We could buy a whole gob of dese, take 'em back to Duluth, sell 'em to our friends, and make a fortune. Now when we go in there, you be quiet, okay? Just let me do the talkin' 'cause if they hear your accent, they might think we're ignorant, and try to cheat us. Now, I'll try not to sound like we're from Minnesota. They go in and Sven says with his best Wisconsin accent,"I'll take 50 of them suits at $5.00 each, 100 of them there shirts at $2.00 each, and 50 pairs of them there trousers at $2.50 each. I'll back up my pickup and ....." The owner of the shop interrupts, "You're from Minnesota, ain't you?" "Well...yeah," says a surprised Sven. "How'd you know dat!" "Because this is a dry-cleaners."

If you liked that one I've got more- Ya-sure, you betcha!