Crane Lake Nature Blog

I came over the top of the hill and there was a young Broad-winged Hawk standing on the nest. I got a few pictures before he hid out of sight. He has a really good hiding spot because I couldn’t find him again.

The other Hawk youngster was still sitting out in the open in pretty much the same spot as when I was last here on July 15th. He has grown a little but doesn’t look quite as mature as his sibling. I wonder if he got kicked out of the nest by the bigger sibling. This Hawk is still being fed by the parents so hopefully he will be fine. It looks like he has a full crop: note the bulge just under the throat.

The young Hawks were vocalizing quite a bit when I left. Their wheezy little calls were being answered by the parent Hawks.

It is the peak of the Blueberry season right now. These were picked yesterday at an undisclosed location. Everyone has their secret blueberry patch. The berries above were picked somewhere along the Echo Trail. Just driving down the trail and looking for suitable habitat should yield a pint or two.

Wow, what a lucky shot! If I hadn’t forgotten my sunglasses on the top of the hill, I never would have gone back up there. I had walked by this young Broad-winged Hawk 3 times without noticing it. He had just left the nest, but was still unable to fly. His only defense is to sit completely motionless. His back feathers completely blended in with the trunk of the Jack Pine where he was perched. You can see in this photo where he is losing his downy feathers and growing in flight feathers. Notice the spikey feathers under the chin.

Finally got out on the lake and took a ride up to Namakan. It was a beautiful summer day. A stop at the campsite on Mitchell Island was very productive. Juneberries are prolific this year. Wow, what a treat!

These berries are also known as Serviceberries. I don’t think either describe the fruit very well as the berries don’t ripen in June - it is now July - and Service berry just doesn’t make sense. Oh well, they are delicious to pick and eat right off the bush.

While we were relaxing on the beach, I couldn’t help but notice the birds. There were a pair of dueling Yellow Warblers. They had their territory firmly staked out. One bird had the prime territory where there were lots of shrubby trees, the other bird was delegated to the pointy end of the island where there were many pines. Somewhere in the middle ground was a Yellow-rumped Warbler with young ones.

I thought I heard Pine Warblers and was eventually treated to some wonderful looks at one. He was carrying a couple of bugs in his beak, but he was still able to warble his unique trill. His entire body would tremble as he made his distinctive call. I would dare say they were raising some families on this island. I could hear several Pine Warblers calling in the tall stands of Red Pine.

Then I heard a soft high trilling and there was a group of Cedar Waxwings. I thought, yes come down and eat some of these plentiful Juneberries there are enough for everyone. But they stayed high in the trees and foraged in the pine cones.

As we relaxed on the boat and soaked up some sun, a female white-tailed deer came out on the other side of the channel for a drink of water. She stared intently into the woods and finally a young fawn came out of the shade to join her mother in a drink of water.

For a small island it held some wonderful surprises.

The wild Strawberries have started to ripen. These delectable tiny fruits are sweeter than any full size Strawberry. It is a treat to pick and eat as you go. I can’t imagine how many you would have to pick to make one jar of jam, but I guess some people do that.

Found this beautiful little flower on the Vermilion River Gorge Trail

I think it is Pyrola chlorantha, or Green Wintergreen.

The Broad-wing Hawk chicks have arrived. There were two in the nest on June 28th. You can just make out the head of the baby bird in this photo - the chicks are completely white.

The parent birds were nearby and not happy with my presence.

I didn’t stay around any longer and got out of there.