May 24, 2009 - Red Fox and more migrant birds

Diana and I made a recent trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior. I spent some time on the Gunflint trail and came across this Red Fox. It was on one of the gravel roads that lead off the Gunflint Trail.

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Most of our migrant birds are now back for the summer. This is a female American Goldfinch. Some people in Minnesota seem to have Goldfinches year round but at our house they leave sometime in November and return in late April. Females are less colorful than the males. They lack the black cap that the males have, and their yellow plumage is not as bright.

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Here is a male American Goldfinch. They are brilliant in their yellow plumage and they look like this all summer. However, at the end of summer they lose their black cap and the bright yellow feathers and they look very much like the females. This happens before they leave in the fall. Goldfinches don’t start nesting until about July. Many birds feed their babies insects, but the Goldfinches feed their babies seeds. By delaying their nesting, they time it so there are lots of thistle seeds (one of their favorites) available.

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Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have recently returned for the summer. This is a female and, while she is not as colorful as the male, she has a subtle beauty all her own.

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Here is the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. He is a strikingly beautiful bird, with his black and white plumage, and the red accent on his chest. We have noticed that the amount of red on individual males does vary. This one has a long streak of red running down to his belly while others have a much shorter red streak. We were wondering if this makes him especially attractive to the females.

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Marsh Marigolds are one of the early spring flowers that bloom in our area. They are found in wet marshes and ditches. I found these in a wet area near Bovey, Minnesota.

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