Birding

I remember the very first black-backed woodpecker I ever observed. It was the summer of 1995 in Itasca State Park where the late Ben Thoma, a well-known naturalist at the park, pointed to a tree near the east entrance and told me what had made a particular cavity in tall jack pine...

On a recent cold night, I left the warmth of my house in exchange for a brisk walk outdoors. I've always enjoyed the feeling of fresh, crisp winter air in my lungs, the sound of squeaky snow underneath my boots and the supreme quiet of woodlands in the wintertime. Everything about...

If you spend enough time in the great outdoors, you’re bound to experience something unusual — most notably, something relating to encounters with wildlife. Be it a chickadee landing on your hat, a bear sniffing at your barbecue grill, or a deer licking birdseed from a feeder,...

On any given day at my house, I can look through my windows and enjoy watching birds feeding on suet and black oil sunflower seeds. I observe the usual assortment of wintertime birds as most everyone else in northern Minnesota enjoys seeing — chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, downy...

During a cold and snowy evening recently (and there have been a few this November), I watched a ruffed grouse shuffle along the forest floor on its way to a dense stand of hazel. It was obvious to me that the bird had something in mind. As soon as it reached the edge of the thicket,...

While hunting in both Colorado and Minnesota this fall, I’ve often been in close contact with coyotes. I encountered mostly the signs they leave behind (scat and tracks), but only rarely catch glimpses of the actual animal. And even more common than their visual signs are their...

Last winter was one of the coldest Minnesota winters on record (let's hope that this winter isn't a repeat). Aside from frozen skin, higher home heating costs, rippled electricity, propane shortages, and stalled vehicles, you probably also noticed increased bird activity at your feeders....

I clearly remember when I observed for the first time a Clark’s nutcracker. The year was 2006, while I was deer and elk hunting in the Colorado Rockies for the first time, too. I was taking a noon-hour break, lying on a steep grassy slope overlooking a large and sprawling basin...

On a recent, beautiful mid-October morning, I sat on a bench adjacent to Lake Assawa sipping coffee and enjoying the warm sun and pleasant lakeside view. A pair of trumpeter swans was swimming together on the opposite side of the lake foraging on tubers and other aquatic morsels....

I observed my last hummingbird of the season on Sept. 20. The lone male hummer sat on one of my feeders and drank heavily from the reservoir’s fresh sugar water. Off and on throughout the day I saw the bird — likely the same bird, or so I thought. Watching him feed and rest,...

I've been spending a fair amount of time hunting ruffed grouse this early fall. During the first couple of weeks of Minnesota's small game hunting season, I was in the woods 10 of the first 12 days. Most of the time, I had only the last hour of light, or the first hour of light;...

Minnesota is home to many different species of birds. Some, such as the ruby-throated hummingbird, eastern bluebird and rose-breasted grosbeak, are only part-time residents. These birds arrive in our woodlands, fields, and backyards without fail every spring, but, come autumn, migrate...

The distinctive call of the barred owl is a familiar call of the woods: "Hoo, hoo, too-HOO; hoo, hoo, too-HOO, ahh." Its call is even better described and remembered as, "Who-cooks-for-you? Who-cooks-for-you-all?" No other owl gives a hoot like this owl's hoot. In fact, the barred...

Just a few days ago I enjoyed a tour of Mentor Prairie, a state wildlife management area near Mentor, Minn., with DNR Crookston area wildlife supervisor Ross Hier. Ross showed me a number of wildlife habitat projects that he annually conducts on the 2,144-acre WMA. As we drove...