This is the week to check out the great blue heron rookery at North Mississippi Regional Park (or the one at Coon Rapids Dam too). I headed out to the North Mississippi rookery yesterday to take a look, right now the nests are very visible–even without binoculars. You can get a great view [ Read More ]
It’s that special time of year when migration is in the early stages and any sign of spring is a welcome sign–even the first few small flocks of common grackles like the one above. They really are a pretty bird in the right light. But soon, grackles will be driving people who feed birds a [ Read More ]
I’ll be on Outdoor Talk on KTLK FM 100.3 today (Sunday) at about 5:30pm talking about migration. I’ll also be on Showcase Minnesota tomorrow (Monday) morning between 10 am – 11 am on KARE 11.
Friday, I had a meeting in Eden Prairie, MN–the southwest side of the metro Twin Cities. As I traveling on the highway, I noticed a large group of gulls loafing on a pond off the highway. I made a mental note of the exit and decided to stop there on my way back home after [ Read More ]
There’s a very cool red-tailed hawk live cam at the Franklin Institute (as in Ben Franklin) in Philadelphia. Kind of a fun change of pace from the owl owl cams and falcon cams. Also, here’s an interesting news story about bald eagles taking heron chicks from a rookery in western Washington state. The article brings [ Read More ]
Yes, you read that subject line correctly: Endangered Species Condoms. And no, they are not for the endangered species themselves, they’re for one of the most over-populated species out there. Susan Gets Native posted a link on Facebook about the Center for Biological Diversity is “distributing 100,000 free Endangered Species Condoms in all 50 states [ Read More ]
Tuesday was one of the coolest days of my life as a birder and park ranger! I was one of the judges for the Minnesota Jr. Duck Stamp competition. This wasn’t the final judging for the Jr. Duck Stamp, our Best In Show entry is entered into the final round and I think it stands [ Read More ]
Tuesday morning I’m heading over to the Burnsville Civic Center as a judge for the Junior Duck Stamp Contest. I had grand schemes of Twittering during the event, but I was reading over my rules as a judge and there will be no Twittering! Check them out: Must have cell phones off throughout the judging [ Read More ]
It’s an oddly exciting day at the National Park I work for (Mississippi National River and Recreation Area)–the river is flooding and it’s odd to be excited by the flood and watch what the water will do. Since our visitor center is based in the Science Museum lobbby, we’re right on the Mississippi River in [ Read More ]
This week has been fun for watching returning migrants. One morning there’s the usual winter birds and then the next morning you hear a robin on territory (had our first one singing outside of the apartment today). I went to Carver Park this morning before work and a flock of red-winged blackbird males were lurking [ Read More ]
