Jan. 27,2013 - Birds and a Sunrise

Black-capped Chickadees are really common birds but this one was so cute I wanted to share it with you. This photo was taken at our home in northern Minnesota.

ChickadeeBlackcappedDunningLakeBoveyMN20121209hor

This Ruffed Grouse has been regularly coming into our yard and feeding on seeds that fall from our bird feeders. I’ve seen plenty of grouse in the woods on our land but this is the first time I’ve had one that seemed attracted to bird feeders.

GrouseRuffedsnowDunningLakeBovey20121216

Last week I showed you some Pine Grosbeaks that I saw in the Sax-Zim Bog. Here are some of the other birds from that trip. This is a Boreal Chickadee, much less common in Minnesota than the Black-capped Chickadee. Boreal Chickadees are year-round residents across Canada and Alaska in the coniferous forests. Their range just barely dips below the Canadian border in a few places and we are lucky to have them. This bird was coming to one of the feeders set up to attract winter birds in the Sax-Zim Bog.

ChickadeeBorealAdmiralRoadSaxZimBogLouisCounty20121213

Here’s a Red-breasted Nuthatch that was also visiting the Sax-Zim Bog feeders. This species is a permanent resident in the northern forests and in the Rocky Mountains but is well known for being nomadic in the winter. This year I’ve seen reports of them from as far south as Florida.

NuthatchRedbreastedmaleAdmiralRoadSaxZimBogLouisCounty20121213

While I was photographing the Pine Grosbeaks, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. It was this Brown Creeper foraging up the side of a tree. It is so well camouflaged that, without the movement, I might not have noticed it. Brown Creepers always fly to the bottom of a tree and work their way up to the top, often circling the tree as they go. They have stiff tail feathers to brace against the tree and their sharp, decurved beak is perfect for plucking small insects and insect eggs from the crevices in the bark.

CreeperBrownFriendsSaxZimfeedersBog20121205

Common Redpolls are a winter visitor to Minnesota. They nest in the Arctic and are remarkably good at surviving in cold temperatures. The reason for their southern movement in the winter is to find food, not to escape the frigid cold. This Redpoll was also visiting one of the Sax-Zim Bog feeders.

RedpollCommonAdmiralRoadSaxZimBogLouisCounty20121213

The day I visited the bog, I started out early from our apartment in Shoreview. I stopped at Rice Lake in Lino Lakes to photograph this colorful sunrise.

SunriseRiceLakeLinoLakes20121205