Category Archives: Uncategorized

Visiting Pool 8 Tundra Swan Overlook on Hwy 35, Wisconsin

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I recently stopped at the new observation platform just south of Goose Island to see the tundra swans scattered over the surface of a thin sheet of ice just south of Goose Island, on Hwy 35 in Wisconsin.

They don’t normally stick around when the ice forms, but I guess these knew that a warm front will settle into Wisconsin this weekend! That makes it a great weekend to visit both Wisconsin and Minnesota for swan and duck watching. Volunteers and Mississippi River Fish and Wildlife Refuge personnel will be available weekends with spotting scopes and information until the Tundra Swans leave in mid-December. Alex had a container full of ARROWROOT TUBERS during our visit, which is what the swans are eating in Pool 8.

Yesterday, I met a gentleman, Pete Harmon, who had driven 12 hours from OHIO to come and photograph the swans.

“Creation is so magnificent,” he said, “I just feel priviledge that I can capture one tiny aspect of it in a photograph.”

Tundra Swans in Brownsville, Minnesota

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Had a note yesterday from one of my favorite bird photographers, Alan Stankevitz. He reported the amazing sight of seeing a 1000 Swans or more drop out of the sky onto Pool 8 at Brownsville, Minnesota…

“While spending a splendid afternoon today at the Brownsville Overlook (Hwy 26, 3 miles south of Brownsville, MN) there was a sudden fall-out of well over 1,000 Tundra Swans that dropped from high altitudes and landed on Pool 8. At first, they were just faint white specs way off in the distance, but within a few minutes they were beginning to land. What an incredible sight!
“I would estimate there are well over 10,000 Tundra Swans now on Pool 8 already.”

“I tried to capture the sight of the swans in the photo at left, but it doesn’t do it justice! The entire sky was filled with glittering swans.”

 

Fall Color Around the Bend

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It’s fall color time once again and we have color alerts for each of the ten river states along the Mississippi River. Visit http://www.greatriver.com/fallfoliage.htm

It’s also the peak season for migrating birds, and vast gatherings of sandhill cranes, Pelicans, geese, herons and other river waterfowl gathering to head down river.

It’s also the first time in 4 years that we can welcome the American Queen back onto the Upper Mississippi! The boat will be docking at Red Wing, La Crosse, Dubuque, Davenport, Burlington, Hannibal and St. Louis. Check the respective Visitor Bureaus for exact dates and time.

Decorah Eagles are just too good!!

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The Decorah Eagle live web cam is again focused on the new eggs in the 1000 pound nest! Visit http://soaringcafe.com/2011/03/decorah-eagles-livecam/

Also, please let me recommend the book recently released by Susan Schneider… DECORAH EAGLES: A Love Story, published by Friesen Press

It follows the three 2011 hatchlings as they mature. One female was electronically tagged and journeyed hundreds of miles her first year!! I found it to be an excellent book which documented not only the first year of these three eaglets, but also the online community that shared their lives on line.

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Entertaining New History of Steam from Michael Gillespie

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Great River Publishing is pleased to announce the KINDLE release of Michael Gillespie’s new steam history: 

RAILROAD STORIES..True Adventures, Humorous Tales, and High Melodrama from the Days of Steam [Kindle Edition]

Click on cover image to explore a sample edition ONLINE or to download a sample directly to your Kindle!
In this 340 page collection of old railroading stories, Michael applies his generous wit, dry humor, and historical insights to the school of railroading literature at the height of the steam era … journals, press reports, trade magazines all produced stories meant at the time to entertain readers… but which today offer a compelling folk history from the early days of railroads.

Eagle Update

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Getting quite a few questions on Eagles as November comes to a close. I do believe some of the Canada eagles are moving south, but weather is still mild on the Upper Mississippi River.

With Eagle viewing that is second only to Alaska, we can expect huge clusters, sometimes hundreds of birds in trees above open water… but they are widely dispersed until the river freezes.

Best eagle viewing begins AFTER the Tundra Swans leave, as they tend to leave just in front of the really freezing weather.

So stay in touch at www.greatriver.com and we’ll let you know as the season progresses.

Tundra Swans Arriving in Numbers

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As we drove Minnesota’s Great River Road from Red Wing  to La Crescent this weekend… “indicator species” at various waysides highlighted the arrival of Tundra Swans!

Such clusters of humans with binoculars and cameras announce the “swan song” of 2011. Best viewing of Tundra Swans seemed to be right along HWY 61 just north of Minnieska, Minnesota (Weaver Bottoms) and again just south of Goose Island in Wisconsin. No doubt the Swans are also clustered just outside of Brownsville, Minnesota, and perhaps just north of Alma, Wisconsin at Reich’s Lake.

A word of warning though… I saw two men standing on the railroad tracks engrossed in watching an American Bald Eagle soaring up above.

Not smart.

There is a very real possibility that when engrossed in viewing wildlife, one would never hear the train coming until it is simply too late. Stand well off the railroad tracks!!

Timber Rattlersnakes and River Bluffs

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A hiker recently hospitalized  after a rattlesnake bite near Caledonia is a rare reminder that there really are rattlesnakes in most Mississippi River blufflands.

My experience with the snakes while hiking
is that they do NOT flee a hiker, but lie still in hopes that we will not see them. Generally, when we do see them, they are laying in the sun on, or at the side of, the hiking path. If we are lucky, they rattle — but only as a last resort.  And not every snake will offer that warning.

My experience is that they blend into the background so completely they are almost impossible to see without a warning rattle. Coloration of a rattlesnake will vary from gray tones (when they live in limestone areas) to the normal tans and browns or yellows. But the triangular head, and the distinctly black tail with rattles are diagnostic.

I was hiking with a ranger in the bluffs in Missouri on one occasion and he leaned over to pick up a bit of litter… “Oh, shoot,” he said quietly, and slowly pulled away  his outstretched arm. The “litter” was in fact a coiled, nearly gray and white rattlesnake. It did not offer a rattle.

So if you are hiking in the bluffs, stay alert.