Drumming Ruffed Grouse 001

Even though there is still two to three feet of snow on the ground signs of spring are in the air. The weather was so nice Saturday I headed to the ski trails at Cascade River State Park to enjoy the outdoors. The skiing was excellent and I followed fresh wolf tracks on nearly every loop.

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Drumming Ruffed Grouse 002

Near the campground I heard the sounds of a drumming male ruffed grouse. I found him drumming on a pile of snow. The log that he typically uses for drumming was buried under several feet of snow.

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Drumming Ruffed Grouse 003

I did not expect to find a drumming ruffed grouse with all the snow still on the ground. I am sure even the wildlife is anxious for spring to come.

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Drumming Ruffed Grouse 004

The ruffed grouse’s feathers always amaze me with their colorful patterns. Intricate designs are woven into each feather.

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Drumming Ruffed Grouse 005

Even the feathers under the tail have unique designs to them.

I called a friend and we watched and photographed Rusty for about an hour. We pointed the grouse out to several park visitors, as they would not have noticed the grouse otherwise.

Very few people get a chance to see a ruffed grouse drumming in the wild. It made several peoples day to see it drumming.

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Lost

On the way home I saw this deer out on the Lake Superior ice. It almost looked lost as it walked dangerously close to the open water. I thought that the wolf that I had been following all morning might have had a part in driving this deer out on the ice. I have seen deer go out on Lake Superior’s ice to escape wolf capture.

Lost

Breaking Ice

The deer wasn’t the only thing out on the ice. The Coast Guard announced that they would be ice breaking outside of Duluth this week and that the fisherman should stay off the ice. I don’t think these guys heeded the warning, however, as the Coast Guard ice breakers approached they did retreat to shore. Lucky for them the ice didn’t break up where they were located.

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Grand Marais Sunrise

We also had a couple of nice sunrises this week. Spring always brings beautiful sunrises over Lake Superior.

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Split Rock Sunrise

There are only two days a year that you can photograph the sun directly behind the light from the Hwy 61 wayside. One in the spring and one in the fall. Fortunately I made it there in time.

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