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I have not seen any Canada goose goslings yet this Spring, and it sure seems like time. On my way to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha I drive by a lot of habitat where there are nesting geese, but have not witnessed any goslings floating behind mom.
How about you? Maybe I am just to busy admiring all the common egrets. I took this photo just a couple of days ago along the Wabasha/Nelson dike road. There were a total of 37 common egrets in the area of the photo.
Enjoy, the sun is coming out again!
Scott Mehus
Naturalist and golden eagle aficionado
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It is a treat to be able to spend my days alongside and working with our friendly Eagles. Part of their routine is to get photographed, of which we feel like they enjoy!
I hope you enjoy these photos from yesterday as much as I enjoyed taking them.
Regards
Heath
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Well, we sure have been spoiled with the early nice weather, but as we discussed before, even the plants have been spoiled! I was sure nervous the other night when the forecasters were threatening a freeze warning. So being a Nervous Nellie and not wanting to lose any of my precious lilies, I spent about an hour pulling every blanket, coat, sweatshirt and rug to cover all of my lilies. I probably could have got by without covering them, but I spend a lot of time caring for them, so I hated to take any chances, plus I did find ice in a wheelbarrow in my backyard, so it did get cold! I can’t wait for the lilies to start blooming so that I can share the photos of them with you.
With the cold weather and therefore a lack of bugs I was also very concerned about my purple martins of which over 30 have returned to the gourds that I have placed out for them. Cold wet weather can be very detrimental for them, so hopefully they make it through the next week of cold weather.
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What an early Spring we are having this year!! I have lilacs in full bloom in my yard right now, we typically expect them to be in full bloom around Mothers Day weekend, but this year they will all be spent by then. While checking out my rhubarb plants in the back yard earlier this week I discovered a morel mushroom growing. That is the first time I have had one growing in my yard. I resisted the urge to pick it, hoping that by leaving it, it will let it’s cousins know that this would be a great place to take up residence!! Once they come I will gladly pick them to eat. I guess the old folk adage to look for morels when the lilacs are blooming is true, at least in my yard it is.
My tulips are just about done for the season, it sure is nice to have them bring some color into our lives in the spring.
Scott Mehus
Naturalist and golden eagle aficionado
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I just recently noticed that (my) Purple Martins are back. I saw the first male on April 8th and another male appeared the next day and 2 females arrived this weekend. I have been a martin landlord for about six years now and the first birds usually arrive back between the 5th and 8th of April, so once again they are right on track. I have 24 martin gourds set up so I have a lot more martins to come back in the next month. I will let you know the progress as the season progresses.
On my way to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha this morning I saw my first dead turtle on the road. This is always so frustrating to see!! I know that sometimes it is unavoidable, but on too many occasions have I seen people purposely swerve to HIT the turtles. I will chat more about watching for turtles as we get more into “Why did the turtle cross the road season”.
There have been large flocks of American White Pelicans flying over the National Eagle Center the last couple of days. These birds are fascinating to watch as they soar on thermals, at one point they are visible and then turn slightly and they disappear.
This is an exciting time of the year to get out and enjoy Spring at its fullest!!!
Scott Mehus
Naturalist and Golden Eagle Aficionado
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