Peregrine!

Yesterday, I headed up to Duluth. One thing on the agenda was Peregrine Watch in Canal Park. I got a glimpse of the adults flying overhead and peeked at the 3 chicks through the scope. At one point I even saw Mom and Dad Falcon do a food exchange!!! Amazing!

The picture isn't the greatest but on the left is the nest box and sitting on the ledge in the center is a parent falcon. See the white dot on the green? Kinda? Well that is the adult. Trust me.

Snowy Owl!

In the past week, I have gone up to Duluth in search of Snowy Owls on 3 different occasions. I got skunked a couple times but yesterday I finally spotted one!

My First Snowy Owl!

Take 2: Not the best but decent considering we were on a major bridge in a moving vehicle

This year is what people are calling an irruption year for snowy owls - they are coming down from the tundra where they are normally found in large numbers. There is some debate over the precise reason that owls are coming down this year but it is generally tied to food supply. Duluth happens to be one of the areas frequented by the owls.

If you are not familiar with this owl but read Harry Potter, Hedwig is a snowy owl. Only, in the books Hedwig is female and in the movie Hedwig is played by a male. Actually 7 male owls. Probably because the males are smaller and were easier for the actors to handle.

A bridge to Wisconsin over Lake Superior

Ice on Lake Superior

The rest of the snowy owl spotting team

It was a great day hanging out in the city. We saw 2 snowy owls - the one in the pictures on the bridge and another flying down by the grain elevators. I also got Starbucks and some shopping in. Just amazing :)

Hawk Ridge

Overlooking Lake Superior first thing in the morning

As the weather starts to change, migration starts. Here in Minnesota is one of the top raptor migration sites in North America - Hawk Ridge (hawkridge.org). Due to several factors, thousands of raptors pass over this ridge on the way south due each year. The first factor is the numerous thermals that are formed on a nice sunny day. This allows the raptors to soar and glide south rather than flap the whole way. The second factor is Lake Superior. Birds of prey generally won't fly over large bodies of water. These, along with a few other factors, funnel a large number of birds from Canada over this single ridge.

First year Sharp-shinned Hawk

The key to Hawk Ridge is weather. If the weather is rainy, you might as well stay home since the birds are not going to be moving. On nice sunny days, you get a respectable number of birds migrating though. The best weather for raptor migration is the first sunny day following a couple rainy days. On those days, you can see tens of thousands.

Broad-winged Hawk

Today was a good day to be at hawk ridge. After a few showers early in the morning, the clouds started to break up and thermals started to form. We started our raptor watch with a tour of the banding station. While we were there, they caught and banded 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks. Others, narrowly escaped the net. It was a treat to see all the action. Many of the birds they band are first years. They are still figuring out how to hunt and therefore tend to be a bit hungry. Because of this, they are more likely to be attracted to the lure used to bring them down to the net.

When we returned to the top of the ridge, the action in the sky was just getting underway. In the hour and a half or so that we were there we probably saw several hundred raptors. Our species included: American Kestrel, Broad-winged Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk and a Turkey Vulture.

Not a bad morning!

Weekend Up North

My grandparents came to visit me this past weekend. It was a fantastic change of pace from the past week. We just moved slow and relaxed and saw some sites. On Friday I showed them around where I work. On Saturday, we hit up the Duluth and Superior area. We went to Canal Park as well as a couple Wisconsin State Parks. In addition, my Grandpa showed me some of his childhood stomping grounds.

Lighthouse at Canal Park

Manitou Falls at Pattison Park State Park

Little Manitou Falls at Pattison State Park

Shortly after my Grandparents dropped me off at my house,  my housemates asked if I wanted to go to Duluth with them. So I hopped back in the car and went to Canal Park and Superior Street with them. On the way home we grabbed pizza in this cute little place in Moose Lake.

It was a fun filled, relaxing weekend and a bit of what I needed!

What a Week!

The past week has been insane! We had the Ways of Wildlife Camp with 18 campers and many field trips connected to animals.

On the first full day of camp, my half of the group went to the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth. We got a behind the scenes tour and got a glimpse into what it takes to run an aquarium. It was lots of fun and we saw a bunch of fish. As a special bonus, the tall ships were still in the Duluth Harbor when we got there. 

My group in with the scuba diver in the sturgeon tank!

Me and a moose

Tall ships in Duluth

The next day we went back to Duluth to be a zoo keeper for the day at the Lake Superior Zoo. Here we went behind the scenes and cleaned the kangaroo enclosure. Then we got to explore the zoo before rushing back to the center for a Wildcat Sanctuary program. As part of this program we made enrichment for the cats which basically means we used cardboard boxes and paint to make giant cat toys!

Campers in front the the 'roo exhibit

(notice the matching t-shirts we made!)

Me showing my arm span!

The awesome cat toys!

On Wednesday, we learned about wildlife rehab. We took out a bunch of salvage animals and learned how to do a physical and bandages on an injured animal. It was a great lead in to our afternoon at an animal hospital. We took a tour of the vet clinic and rehab facilities in Garrison. Afterward, we took our picture by a huge Walleye (Minnesota's state fish)!

Me in front of the giant walleye!

On Thursday, we started the day in the barn. Half the group did kestrel handling and the other half did barn chores. It was fun to see how excited the kids were to gut the food or feed a herp. That afternoon, we drove down to the Wildlife Science Center. We saw the wolves, bears and other critters that they house.

Four wolves checking out our group!

Friday morning was a repeat of Thursday and then the campers got picked up after lunch. All in all this was a crazy week. It was exhausting because I worked nearly 90 hours but it was fulfilling at the same time. Through the week we got to see alot of critters and the campers learned how much work goes into caring for animals. It was great to see the kids get so excited to see, touch or feed an animal!

~*~ aquarium fun ~*~

Yesterday, I got the chance to go up to Duluth and see the Great Lakes Aquarium. This aquarium has primarily freshwater fish native to the great lakes area. Right now, they have an exhibit on seahorse which was fun to see. Who doesn't like seahorses?

The visit was great because for the most part, the aquarium was empty. This meant that I could meander around at my own pace and have full view of the tanks :) In addition, I got a behind the scenes tour of the filtration and some of the holding tanks. One of the neatest things of the entire trip was watching the SCUBA divers feed the sturgeon. It looked really fun and is something I hope to try someday!!

GIRLS BIG NIGHT OUT

Last night, me and several of the other interns (Amy, Emily and Manu) made a road trip up to Duluth, MN. Hawk Ridge was having an owl program at night so we decided to make an evening of it. First we went to Pizza Luce - a really good pizza place in downtown Duluth. I tried brushcetta and a pizza with a different type of sauce. Surprisingly, both were good!

Following dinner, the four of us headed up to Hawk Ridge in hopes of seeing an owl. The program was good and we all learned a thing or two to add to our bird programs. We stayed out in the frosty night air for an hour and a half waiting for word that an owl had been caught down at the bird banding station. Many jumping jacks later (and little feeling left in my toes) we decided to call it a night. The fact that no owls were caught is unusual for this time of year because normally there are numerous saw-whet moving south.

After the long evening, we returned to the Audubon Center. Turns out we were not the only ones freezing because all of the water was removed from the raptor enclosures to prevent frostbite. Also, the Kestrels spent their first night of the season in their winter enclosures. More signs that the seasons are changing!