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Meet Your Furry Woodland Friends
With over 150 species of mammals and birds that call Northern Minnesota home, identifying them correctly can be hard to come by. We’ve narrowed down a few resources to help you.
Northern Minnesota, an online resource for nature-related recreational opportunities up north, has complied information on animals, birds, reptiles and fish native to the region. So if your wondering if you saw a boreal chickadee flutter by, you can check links to photos and descriptions and make a firm identification.
Howling Practice for Wolf Pups
Everybody now: “Awwwwww…”
Last July, Tuscarora Lodge guest Greg Mickelson happened upon the home site of a wolf pack in the Boundary Waters. He found it rather occupied by these pups, who, while honing their instincts, were obviously hamming it up for the camera. Clearly. The good stuff starts at :56.
Nice how every now and then, rare footage like this (and ooo! remember this?) crops up , but it’s all the more remarkable in that it’s not from a professional nature documentarian. Just someone in the right place and right time.
Now, follow your own instincts: Copy link to Facebook, use gratuitous emoticons and remember to use all-caps when you type “Cutest EVER!!!”
Monitoring Moose: How you can help!
Researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Duluth Research Resources Institute have been doing studies on the moose population in the northern Minnesota. They have set up a web page where anyone can assist in their research by reporting a moose sighting. If you’re lucky enough to get a good photo, you can post it there.
Additionally, they detail ongoing projects, survey results and methods used to gather information. All very interesting, and worthwhile research for people who love these iconic beasts. We can play a simple part.
Have you spotted a moose? Add your sighting here.
Photo: P. Takash
“In the Company of Moose”
Why didn’t my high school guidance counselor tell me I could do this for a living:
Biologist Vic VanBallenberghe has spent more time living with wild moose than anyone in the world. His son, filmmaker Jonathan VanBallenberghe, follows him over the course of a year in Denali National Park, Alaska, showing the passion behind Vics research as well as the growing intimacy of their relationship.
Catch North House Folk School‘s special screening of “In the Company of Moose” this Sunday at noon. Better yet, bring an aimless, undermotivated teen with you for half price admission (just kidding, it’s free.)
Via Boreal Video Labs.
Emily Gray Koehler: Printmaker
We discovered these lovely woodcuts created by Emily Gray Koehler, an artist who hails from Minnesota. They are careful studies of nature. Her prints of soft sedges, quiet bays and painted turtles remind us why its so good to live here.
Find one for your wall here.
Voyageurs National Park Moose Study
While trekking through the woods, we’ve mused about the decline of moose in the Boundary Waters. Like most everyone else, we’re mostly left scratching our heads. Could it be the climate? Is it some disease? Is forest management a part of the issue? In other parts of the country, moose are maintaining or increasing in population. Why not here?
Researchers from the National Park Service, US Geological Service and the University of Minnesota’s, Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute are collaborating together to demystify some of the theories that have plagued them for years. In February 2010, they radio collared eleven moose in Voyageurs National Park and will be monitoring the habits and movements of the group until 2013.
Via Timberjay.
Photo Friday: Marty Harris
Dang! I always, always, always forget to bring along a nature journal or moleskine when I head into the BW.
Detail
Marty Harris doesn’t though, and we’re very glad about that. “Mike & the Gray Jay” is a sketchbook study in ink, that’s dripping with a general tone and overall feel of AWESOME-BOMBness (btw, you are absolutely required to click the image to see the larger version.) And that’s just drawing stuff around camp! A good reminder that while lovely sunsets and loon sightings make good pictures, those campsite memories are worth capturing too.
Marty’s photostream on Flickr has lots more where this came from. Keep on drawing, friend; you have inspired many today!
“Play Again” Documentary Takes Teens Offline… and Into the Woods
What happens when you unplug six tech-savvy teens, and take them on their first wilderness trip? You know the answer already… so telling you wouldn’t quite be a spoiler, would it?
“Play Again” promises to carry a redemptive, much-needed message. Sadly, the documentary doesn’t appear to have any scheduled screenings in the lecture halls or art-house theaters of Minnesota – for now. But of all people, it’s the kids who need to see this the most. So do the next generation a solid and pass along the “Hold a Screening” link to any teacher friend you know.
Via Trailspace.
Name That Tune… and the Bird Who Sings It
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard beautiful bird calls in the wilds of Minnesota, but never got around to identifying them. Plus, all the lushly-illustrated field guides don’t help much, if all you have to search by is what your ears have heard.
A few such mysteries were solved for me, when I checked out this bird songs interactive illustration (by Bill Reynolds) on MN-DNR’s site. In particular, the simple chant of the ovenbird and the lovely warbling trill of the veery will now be ever more appreciated, now that I know who’s making them.
Any favorites of yours successfully identified?
Monitor the Loon Migration Online
Maybe you’ve never given much thought to where loons spend their winters. You’ll have good reason to now… As it happens, many of the 12,000 Minnesota state birds call the Gulf of Mexico home in the cold months; specifically, areas affected by the BP oil spill.
As the birds begin their southward trek, MN-DNR wildlife specialists are keeping tabs on four of them on this web site – and so can you.
Having surgically fitted the birds with tiny satellite transmitters, the specialists can track their progress, location, and well-being. The latter of which, says Natural Resources Supervisor Pam Perry, is a heightened concern this year. Although the headlines may proclaim that the surface oil has been removed, loons will dive up to 200 feet deep to catch fish which may be contaminated.
Sadly, Perry told us on Friday, one of the loons (#55482) has already died along the western shore of Lake Michigan.
“Someone is on the way to retrieve the bird, so we don’t yet know the cause of death.”
On a happier note, bird lovers can do more than passively observe. The DNR has a page dedicated to the issue of loons in the Gulf, with many opportunities for volunteering and donating.
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