Sept. 18, 2016 - Summer Birds

Summer is quickly turning to fall in Minnesota. Here are a few bird photos that I took this summer.

Silverwood Park, in St. Anthony, MN, is close to our office and I sell my note cards and calendars there. It’s also a good place to take bird photos. There are lots of Barn Swallows and they don’t mind being around people. Note the long, pointed wings and the extended outer tail feathers on this adult bird.

SwallowBarnSilverwoodParkAnthony20160521

Tree Swallows are also abundant at Silverwood Park. They have long pointed wings but do not have extended tail feathers. Both swallow species are insect eaters. The insect population is much lower now than it was in the summer so most swallows have already left for their winter home in the tropics.

SwallowTreeSilverwoodParkAnthony20160601

At our home in northern Minnesota, we again had several pairs of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks coming to our feeders. This male is a handsome bird with his black and white plumage and the red accent on his upper breast.

GrosbeakRosebreastedmaleDunningLakeItascaCounty20160523

Here is a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak. She looks very different than the male and is not as showy.

GrosbeakRosebreastedfemaleDunningLakeItascaCounty20160525

We have a small pond next to our driveway. One day some Cedar Waxwings were flying around the pond catching insects. To take a break, they would land on this snag that stuck up out of the pond. The out-of-focus green grass in the distance made a nice background for this photo.

WaxwingCedarDunningLakeItascaCounty20160717

Here’s a side view of a Cedar Waxwing on another perch. Notice the small red tips on the wing feathers. This supposedly reminded someone of sealing wax and hence the name waxwing.

WaxwingCedarDunningLakeItascaCounty20160717

We had a pair of Common Loons on our lake again this year. They used our nesting platform and laid two eggs. Only one of them hatched and after about a week we didn’t see the baby loon again. With no young loons to watch over, the adults have no need to stay here so I think one of them has already left for its winter home. The other one has started to molt and its face is about half gray at this point. I expect it will soon leave as well.

LoonCommonDunningLakeItascaCounty20160702close