Cascade Eagle Nest 001

In spite of unseasonable cold temperatures and 2 inches of snow over the weekend wildlife are busy everywhere making preparations for little ones to come into this world. The eagles at Cascade River State Park are sitting on eggs. The nest is located right adjacent to Highway 61 so it is easy to watch the eagles on the nest.

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Cascade Eagles 001

The male and female usually switch nesting duties every two hours.

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Otter 003

I was sitting on the rocks in front of the Border Patrol Headquarters when this one appeared in front of me. He hissed so I hissed back. He came pretty close to me hissing every so often. He eventually decided that I wasn’t entertaining enough and moved on.

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Otters 002

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Otters 001

The otters in the Grand Marais harbor are pretty active and I am sure they will be accompanied by little ones before too long.

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Pileated Male Hard At Work

The male pileated woodpecker is busy making another nesting cavity at Gooseberry Falls State Park. They make a new one every year. The male does most of the work but it has to be constructed well enough to please the female. For some reason this male is building three cavities right next to each other. This is the start of the third one that he has been building. Pileateds typically build only one nest cavity each year. The only reasons that I can think of are that he has a lot of energy or he has been watching House Hunters on HGTV and now feels he has to offer his mate three choices.

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