June 2, 2013 - More Spring Photos

Seeing and hearing male Red-winged Blackbirds as they stake out their territories is one of my indicators that spring has arrived. Here’s a photo taken about a month ago in Cohasset, MN, showing one of them in full display mode. He’s vigorously singing his “konk-a-ree” song. He’s also trying to make himself look as big as possible by fluffing out his feathers, spreading his tail, drooping his wings, and fully displaying his orange epaulets.

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Yellow-headed Blackbirds are not as numerous as Red-winged Blackbirds. But I always seem to find them in Deer River, MN. This male was feeding on the ground under a bird feeder.

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Flowers that bloom before the trees leaf out are called spring ephemerals. By blooming early, they get full sunlight without having it blocked by the tree leaves. This flower is called Bloodroot; I found it by the shore of Lake Winnibigoshish (“Winnie” as it’s called locally). The name Bloodroot comes from the orange/red juice in the leaves and stems which was used by American Indians as a dye.

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Here’s what Bloodroot looks like before it opens up. The flowers are still buds and the leaves wrap tightly around the stem.

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The male Green-winged Teal is a beautiful duck. This photo was taken at the Grand Rapids, MN, wastewater treatment plant. You might think that’s an odd place to be taking nature photos but birders know that wastewater treatment plants are bird magnets; we make regular stops at them when we are birding.

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This photo of a Common Loon was taken in Cohasset, MN. Our state has the largest breeding population of Common Loons in the lower 48 states. They got a late start in nesting this year because of our extended winter. Many lakes had record-breaking late dates for ice-out, but the loons were ready and are now well into incubating their eggs.

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