Crane Lake Nature Blog

It was a great weekend for Warbler watching. The weather was perfect in the woods early Saturday morning, the sun was out and the winds were relatively calm. The new arrivals were exuberant in their excitement of being back on their breeding territories - the woods were alive with birdsong.

Mocassin Flower

I was at my favorite trail, the Astrid Lake trails that go south from Lake Jeanette, on the bog walk. The Mocassin flowers are blooming along with many other wildflowers.

I was with 3 friends from Nelson’s: Judy, Charlie, and Juanita and we were looking for the boreal specialties that occur in this habitat.

Connecticut Warbler

We were thrilled to find some really good birds this day, among them was the Connecticut Warbler. His ringing warbling song reverberated through the woods - it was clearly the loudest song in the forest! Other birds that we found were:

• Blue-headed Vireo
• Boreal Chickadee
• Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
• Cape May Warbler
• Winter Wren
• Nashville Warbler
• Red-breasted Nuthatch
• Common Goldeneye with chicks

• 

  Labrador Tea

The bog plants are coming to life and taking advantage of the short growing season.

Alder Flycatcher

Later we went back to a different area with an alder swale and picked up an Alder Flycatcher and a Black and White Warbler. We also had great looks at a Black-billed Cuckoo.

The number of new birds arriving in Crane Lake is on the rise in a big way. It seems all the birds came back over night. Like this Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

A fitting name for a handsome little warbler that sports Chestnut colored feathering on either side of his breast. The bold yellow cap brings attention to him.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

His cheerful little song brings joy to the woods: please, please, pleased to meet ya; and is repeated over and over.

Nest

I took a little break, when I got back to my car,  and while sipping on some coffee I spied this nest hanging on a small Jack Pine.

Red-eyed Vireo nest

It was beautifully crafted out of small strands of Birch bark. It looked to me like the nest of a Red-eyed Vireo. For a bird that spends most of its time in the canopy of the forest trees, they surprisingly build their nests very low to the ground. I don’t think this nest was occupied and was probably still here from last year.

Nashville Warbler

and some Warblers are extremely hard to photograph. The Nashville Warbler is one of those Warblers that are extremely hard to get. They’re flying all over the place, never sitting still. And if they are still for a split second, they’re usually way up in the tree top.

Nashville Warbler

One thing nice about this time of year, is that the leaves are not fully leafed-out.

Black & White Warbler

As far as Warblers go, the Black & White Warbler is probably the easiest to photograph.

Black and White Warbler

Sometimes they’ll just sit there and look at you.

Cape May Warbler

The Cape May Warbler is another challenge. They don’t really like to descend from the cover of the conifers.

I do really like the Latin name for this bird, Dendroica tigrina, it refers to the bright orange cheek patch on the side of the Warbler’s head like the orange of a tiger. Now that’s a fitting name!

Parula americana

This little Wood-warbler is one of a few birds that has the same common and scientific name and that is the Parula. There are two species of Parula; the Tropical and the Northern. Bonaparte is credited with naming the bird and in Latin the name would be translated as parus, “a titmouse”; and -ula meaning “little”, a diminutive suffix, hence “little titmouse”. The second part of the Parula scientific name is americana, which refers to American.

The other Parula species, the Tropical, only occurs south of the U.S. border. Both of these species are part of a bigger family called the Parulidae - and that includes all the Wood-warblers.

Northern Parula

The Wood-warblers are coming back to northern Minnesota and Crane Lake in droves.

Northern Parula

May is a lovely time of year and it seems like each new day brings a new bird back from the tropics.

Northern Parula by Cathy Ramberg

Canada Anemone photo by Cathy Ramberg

Fly Honeysuckle

I wonder why the wildflower Fly Honeysuckle has the strange name, I think I like the scientific name, Lonicera canadensis, better. Canadensis refers to Canada, and it’s up here close to the Canadian border where this wildflower blooms early in the spring.

Leatherleaf

The Leatherleaf is just about done blooming now. This plant has a good name, the plant retains its leathery leaves year round. It’s one tough plant that can keep its green leaves on all winter.

Pixie Cups

Pixie Cups are actually a lichen, and they look like this year round as well.

Juneberry shrub

Juneberry shrubs are blooming now. They have the showy white flowers that you can see everywhere up north right now.

Trailing Arbutus

White Pine

Back in the woods on the Astrid Lake Hiking Trail there are some huge Pine trees. Red and White Pines tower over the hiking trail.

Fire Scar

This huge White Pine has a fire scar from a long ago forest fire. It’s amazing that they can survive with a nasty scar like this, but actually wildfires have been found to be beneficial to the forest and the behemoths that grow there.

Harris' Sparrow

He won’t be around for long, the Harris’ Sparrow is heading north to his breeding grounds.

American White Pelicans

It’s always kind of surprise to see a big flock of White Pelicans when they’re migrating north. They look like big white hawks with black wingtips. The White Pelican of North America is quite different from their cousins the Brown Pelican. For one thing, the White Pelican migrates north for the breeding season, while the Browns stay put and are permanent residents down south along the coastlines. Brown Pelicans will also fly in formation, like Geese, along the coast. White Pelicans don’t fly in formation, they soar and make use of warm air thermals for lift, like Hawks.

White Pelicans

They are beautiful birds as they soar along with barely a flap of a wing.

Minnesota Birding

Here’s a scan of my photo that made the cover of the Minnesota Birding Magazine that’s published by the MOU or Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union. The MOU is the state-wide birding club that brings birders and ornithologists together to promote conservation and knowledge of birds in Minnesota.

The photo of a male Evening Grosbeak feeding a juvenile was taken last summer towards the end of July. Many Evening Grosbeaks seem to frequent the town of Crane Lake during the spring and summer to nest and raise families.

Palm Warbler

Warbler Waves that is!

Palm Warbler

The Warblers are starting to move into the area, like this Palm Warbler that I photographed down by Mora at Knife Lake. Early Warblers to watch for are Yellow-rumped, Palm, Black & White, and Pine. They usually arrive a few weeks before the others.