Duluth Trip Remembered

I'm sorry I haven't been the good little bird blogger and kept up to date with my bird blog. Quite honestly, since Duluth, I've kind of been on hiatus from birdwatching altogether. But looking back, I realized I never wrote about Duluth. So I'm going to give a recap of the high points now.

I had a great time, but it was COOOOOLD. The highest temperature it got was 4 degrees Fahrenheit. The lowest temp I saw on my rental car thermometer was negative 18 degrees. I can say with a decent amount of certainty that was the coldest temperature I had ever experienced. What's more, is there were wind chills overnight well below negative 40. In Houston, we're lucky (unlucky?) if the temperature gets below positive 40!

The sunsets over Lake Superior were awesome

It didn't snow until the very end (my host said it was too cold to snow), when a few flakes started to fall. I didn't get to see any owls, but I saw a handful of life bird finches, including Hoary and Common Redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks, and Pine Siskins.

Common Redpoll digging around in the Snow

I also saw some northern specialties such Snow Bunting, American Three-Toed Woodpecker, Sharp-tailed Grouse (three separate occasions!), Black-billed Magpie, and Gray Jay.

This Gray Jay was letting me get a lot of great photos

It really was an amazing trip. I utilized CouchSurfing, so I got to stay with a stranger/host whom I met online, and we got along perfectly. I not only got to do a lot of birding, but I made new friends and got to see a lot of the non-bird areas of Duluth :)