Pileated Woodpeckers

Thanks must once again go to my friend and fellow photographer Paul Sundberg, for letting me know about this family of Pileated Woodpeckers. Paul is the manager at Gooseberry Falls State Park, and a couple of weeks ago he found this nest cavity in a birch tree that had a family of woodpeckers, and invited me down to spend a morning photographing the birds. Paul told me that the adults came in for the first feeding at about 6:15 in the morning, which meant that I had to leave the house by no later than 4:15.....

As luck would have it, the power to my house went out due to (I would find out later that day when I got home) a flying squirrel that had flown into the wires near the transformer on the power pole by my house, thereby shorting out the power to the house, rendering my alarm clock ineffective. Thankfully, Bezhig (one of my cats) was swatting at moths at the window screen above my bed at about 3:45 in the morning, which woke me up. If it weren't for Bezhig, I probably would have slept in and missed shooting the woodpeckers today.

I got to the parking lot at Gooseberry a few minutes after 6:00, and met Paul who was unpacking his gear from the trunk of his car. After a couple of minutes of walking through the woods, we were at the tree with the nesting cavity. The adults weren't around yet, so Paul explained to me that the tree the birds were in was almost sent through the chipper the week before, since the tree is on the right-of-way for the new Gitchi Gami bike trail extension that is running through the park. Paul was able to convince the contractor doing the trail work to postpone the work on that section of the trail until the young woodpeckers had left the nest, since it was likely that was going to happen any day now.

After about 20 minutes had gone by, the first adult came in..... and after a few minutes of sitting in a different tree, flew to the nest cavity and the young ones promptly came to the opening to get their first meal of the day. After the feeding, the adult jumped into the hole and after a few moments emerged with a fecal sac in its beak, removing the little one's waste in order to keep the nesting cavity clean and free of disease. The adults came in about once every 45 minutes for a feeding, providing us with plenty of opportunities to get some good images. I also had the pleasure of meeting three other photographers who were there with Paul and I to shoot the birds, John Pennoyer, Dennis O'Hara and Steve Van Kekerix. With 5 photographers present, it was not difficult to pass the time in between feedings. We chatted about photography and other things as we waited for the birds to return. It was a beautiful morning, nice and warm..... perfect conditions to view these amazing birds.

Pillow Fog

Just a quick post today..... as I was driving home from work I saw this incredible fog out over the lake..... it looked like waves of pillows..... hence my calling it "Pillow Fog". I have no idea if this is actually what it might be called, but it seemed appropriate. I don't know that I've ever seen fog like this before. It looked more like what you might see when looking down on the clouds from an airplane. Also included in this post is an image I took last year from this same vantage point, so you can see what the view is like on a clear day. This was over Wauswaugoning Bay on Lake Superior..... the Susie Islands are somewhere underneath that fog, and Isle Royale National Park can be seen in the distance, on the horizon.

Heaven on Earth

That's what today felt like..... like heaven on earth. It rained off and on all day long, with the rain at times coming down very hard. After the last shower, which ended at about 6:00 pm, the clouds and fog out over Lake Superior were joined by some of the longest-lived rainbows I've ever seen. Today was also the last day of the photography exhibit at Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais, and as I drove to town after work I saw one rainbow out over the lake that was visible almost all the way into town (which is about a 35 mile drive). I stopped near the reservation boundary to take a few photos of this most impressive scene. When my mom viewed this image later that night, she asked "Is that what heaven looks like?" I couldn't help but wonder..... and seeing the image in person, it certainly did feel like a bit of heaven on earth.

While in Grand Marais I took the opportunity to take a walk out on Artist Point and wait for the sunset. This turned out to be a very good decision, as I was treated to one of the most incredible sunsets that I've ever seen in Grand Marais. To top it off, while I was shooting images of the shoreline, a couple of kayakers came along which made a great addition to the scene. Although, upon seeing them on the lake I wished that I was out there taking all this in from the seat of a kayak, instead of sitting on the rocks on the shoreline. No matter on shore or in a kayak, however, I feel fortunate to have been there to witness it. There is a quote from a movie that I have always liked..... I can't remember the movie but the quote was "Chance favors the prepared mind." I think this applies here, as while I didn't intend to take any pictures on this short trip to Grand Marais, I threw my tripod and camera bag in the car so I would be prepared "just in case"..... as chance would have it, its a good thing I went prepared!

My favorite falls

Partridge Falls. There is something about it that makes it special..... something that sets it apart from the rest. It has always been my favorite waterfall. Its off the beaten path, and I suspect that's why I've always liked it so much. While it is relatively easy to get to (provided you don't mind driving down a rough old 4.5 mile logging road), it is out in the wilderness and not part of any park which is probably why most times when you visit the waterfall you have it all to yourself. I have been visiting this waterfall for as long as I can remember, and each time I see it I am still in awe of its power. It never ceases to amaze me. A more intimate experience than High Falls in Grand Portage State Park, you are literally at the foot of the falls when get there. To fully experience its grandeur means you come away with wet clothes, as you are so close to the base of the falls that you get a nice, refreshing shower. For each and every one of us, there are places in this world where we feel at home, at peace with ourselves. I have lots of these places out in the wilds, but Partridge Falls is one of my favorites.

(Below: If you're lucky, you might see a moose on the way to Partridge Falls!)

An evening on Swamp Lake

I spent this evening paddling around on Swamp Lake, which is the largest inland lake on the Grand Portage Reservation. Its also one of my favorite lakes. It has a couple of small islands, and is pretty shallow so there are lots of reeds that grow up out of the water. Some wild rice also grows on the lake. More often than not I shoot images of Swamp Lake from the Mt. Sophie fire tower, which provides for a really spectacular vantage point. Sometimes, though, its nice to get out on the lake iteself.





I probably could've picked a better night to do this, however. While the time I spent on the lake was almost perfect, the hike in to the lake and back out was a nightmare. The mosquitoes were horrendous. I'm sure that tomorrow I will look like I have the measles or something from all of the bite marks on my arms. It was worth the bugs, though. I saw some loons from a distance, and the sunset was amazing. What made the evening really special, though, was the deer that I saw as I was heading back to the landing just before sunset.





As I paddled towards shore, a young deer came out of the woods and was walking along the shoreline, occassionally poking its snout down into the water to eat some of the vegetation growing along the edge of the lake. The deer really didn't seem to mind my prescence, and I just sat and drifted in the canoe and watched the deer feed for awhile, every now and then snapping an image with the camera. Another great night in the north woods!

Finger Point

I did some hiking on the Canadian side of the border today, in Pigeon River Provincial Park. While this is not a staffed park, they do have some very nice hiking trails. I hiked to High Falls, then out to Finger Point, which was my first time out on that point. The trail out to Finger Point is pretty cool... it follows the shoreline of Pigeon Bay for a while, then curves inland before beginning to climb the bluff near the end of the point. I'm not sure what the elevation gain is to the top of the bluff, but I'm guessing its around 300 feet. The view when you get to the top is incredible, it is literally a 360 degree panoramic view of the surrounding bays and ridges. I can't believe that I have never hiked up there before, since its so close to home! At the end of the trail there is a large wooden bench that is carved in the shape of Lake Superior.... certainly not something you expect to find way out there! I highly recommend the hike out to Finger Point, if you ever have the time. Its definitely worth it.

Torrential Rain

(Above image: Taken about an hour after the rain stopped..... )

What a crazy day..... early this morning, sometime between midnight and 1:00 am, it started to rain. The weather forecast was calling for a LOT of rain, including flood warnings, but you know how those things go. You read it and think, "Ah... we'll probably only get a little bit of rain". Well, this time the weather forecasters were right! Between midnight and 11:00 a.m., about 5.25 inches of rain fell in Grand Portage, in less than a 12 hour period of time! According to the USGS monitoring station on the Pigeon River at Middle Falls, the gage height of the Pigeon River went from 5 feet to just over 10 feet in a matter of 3 or 4 hours. In that same 3 to 4 hours, the discharge rate went from about 900 cubic feet per second to almost 6,000 cubic feet per second. The water level in the river is probably the highest that I have ever seen it (of course, I am fairly young.... I'm sure that people older than me have seen it this high before). The rain made for lots of problems throughout Cook County.... several roads were washed out, and Highway 61 was closed for a while at the Devil Track River due to debris and water on the highway. Parts of downtown Grand Marais were flooded, with some roadways reportedly having about 4 feet of standing water on them. Unfortunately, I had to work all day so I was not able to head out and get pictures of the damage throughout the county, but I did get some shots of High Falls at Grand Portage State Park, which show how high the water is.



(Above image: Taken June 8, 2008 - 2 days after the rain and still raging!)

(Above and below images: The Pigeon River just above Partridge Falls after the rain)