Swallow world

The most numerous swallows in the Eastern US are tree swallows and barn swallows. Tree Swallows are metallic blue on the top and have a bright white belly:






Barn Swallows are one of  a few species of birds that can be found on every continent on Earth:










Back to tree swallows:






The Willet and the Swallow (not a bad name for a birding-themed British pub):


Juvenile Barn Swallow at the Brigantine wildlife refuge:


And this is the reason you want to have swallows around your property - mom is bringing him a nice juicy greenfly:

Minnesota winter birding

Great Gray Owl recap:







Rough-legged Hawk. They are winter visitors to the New York area, but they are very shy and hard to see. In Minnesota, there were a few that buzzed right by our car:




A spring ritual has started for Sharp-tailed Grouse. Starting late January and through April, they come together in open spaces called leks for mating dances:


The males come together and put on a display, trying to outdo each other in front of the females:


The ritual happens in early morning, so the light is not very good, but their dances are still fun to watch:


Another grouse - this one is a Ruffed Grouse. They live in the forest and do not come together to leks.


Common Redpoll:


This is a finch called Pine Siskin:


Occasionally, the siskins get very territorial around the feeders:


Another Common Redpoll:


Purple Finch:


Local squirrels make bird noises... and like bird food:


Pine Grosbeak:


and a regular wild turkey!


Sightings list at the guest center:


On the way to Duluth, we also stopped by the Basilica of St Mary in Minneapolis:

Minnesota owls

One reason to visit northern Minnesota in the winter - it's because these beauties consider Duluth in February to be their mild resort weather:


This is the Great Gray Owl:


They are the largest owl in North America, although not the heaviest - most of their bulk is feathers (but that's what keeps them warm!)


Reminds me of a certain recent presidential candidate:


Great Grays, like all owls, have incredibly sensitive hearing:


Their ears are located right next to their eyes, inside the facial disk. You can see on this picture how the facial disk is shaped to funnel the incoming sound towards where they have the ears. It helps them hear a mouse moving under feet of snow!


I like this picture - the owl looks exactly like a cat that's cleaning itself!


This is a Northern Hawk-Owl. It is incredibly rare, even in the northern Minnesota in the winter:


We were lucky to come across one - it was in the tree right on the side of the road:


I am happy to have seen it - I might never get to see another one!


And this is what we call a tree owl:


We made Duluth, MN our base for this trip. It turned to be a cool town, with a lot of charm even in the cold weather:


The town is defined by a huge steel bridge that dominates the downtown area:

Anatomy of an attack

Nice sequence of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron getting some breakfast:



















Juvenile night heron - trying to find a bit of shade: