Sept. 28, 2014 - North Shore - Part 1

This past week, Diana and I made our annual fall visit to the North Shore, Minnesota’s shoreline on Lake Superior. The fall colors this year were exceptional! This is a small bush near the entrance to the visitor center at Split Rock Lighthouse. I really like it when my photo includes leaves that are totally red, others that are partially turned, and some that are still green.

FallColorsSplitRockLighthouseBeaverBay20140919

Fall colors are at their best when you get a wide-angle perspective. This is a rocky hillside on Caribou Lake in Cook County. I took three photos and stitched them together in Photoshop to get this panoramic view. (Click on the photo to see a larger version of it. Then click on the word “Close” in the upper right corner to return to the original size.)

FallColorsCaribouLakepanaramaCookCounty20140921composite

This is the start of a hiking trail near Finland, Minnesota.

FallColorsFinland20140924

I found this Rusty Blackbird one morning when I was birding Park Hill Road near Finland, Minnesota. I hadn’t explored this road before but it was a quiet area with lots of birds. Rusty Blackbirds nest all across Canada, but not in Minnesota, so this one was probably migrating to its winter home in the southeastern United States.

BlackbirdRustyParkHillRoadLakeCounty20140923

This Magnolia Warbler was also along Park Hill Road. Most Magnolia Warblers nest in Canada. However, their breeding range does extend into northeastern Minnesota so this one might, or might not, be migrating already.

WarblerMagnoliaParkHillRoadLakeCounty20140923

This Blue-headed Vireo, found along Lake County Road 7, looks like it’s giving me a very stern look.

VireoBlueheadedLakeCountyRoadFinland20140921