We lucked out with excellent weather for Minnesota in February. There was very little wind and little new snow. Temperatures ranged from the low teens to the mid 20s. And we even had some sunshine!
Our guide did a great job of helping us find the birds that were around and we worked hard to find a few others. Unfortunately, some of our targets were just not in the area. We still saw some beautiful birds and I have now seen 227 species for the year.
The pink color on pine grosbeaks and common redpolls brightens the winter landscape.
More male pine grosbeaks:
Northern Shrike:
Downy woodpeckers can be hard to distinguish from hairy woodpeckers. One helpful field mark is the black dots on the white feathers at the edges of the downy's tail. The spots show nicely in this photo. (One way to remember which is which: Downy-dots).
Rusty Blackbird
White-winged Crossbill. Their bills are hooked and crossed, which is ideal for opening pine cones.
Ice covered light at Duluth Harbor
We enjoyed some nice meals, but I thought some of the entrees at the Vietnamese restaurant did not sound appetizing. I was happy with my choice of sweet and sour chicken.
I will head to Massachusetts next week for another trip with Tropical Birding which will once again be led by Dorian Anderson.
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