Blue Goose ~ Day 11

June 11, 2014 ~ Clearwater, Minnesota to Thief River Falls, Minnesota

I woke at sunrise and got a decent Americano and cake donut at the bakery. Briefly this morning, the sun was a hugely scarlet in the east, not discrete, but softened by a light cloud cover which soon increased, and the rest of the day progressed from overcast to light rain, heavy pouring rain, intermittent rain and drizzle to just steady quiet rain (although not so quiet in the van.) But all that started mid-morning, and I got to Crane Meadows NWR at 0700 and had time to walk the Platte River Trail for 3.5 miles. I had to laugh; the reference book on the refuges that I have said that, yes, there is a Visitor Center, but no one might be there. It was open, I walked in and no one was there. So I picked up a map, watched the purple martins outside and headed for the trail which was 1/4 mile away. It was beautifully maintained, 5-6 feet wide with small packed gravel and was nearly flat the whole way, meandering through a variety of habitat, including prairie meadows, bur oak and pin oak woods, brush and shrubs along the river and the shore of a large lake, and around small wetlands. 

Leopard Frog at Crane Meadows NWR

It was cool enough, not too buggy - a good way to start the day. The first bird I saw / heard was a Belted Kingfisher, rattling down the river, and on the return loop, I saw a female Hooded Merganser with her odd straw-colored brushy crest sticking out from the back of her head. Most of the birds I saw were those I have been seeing the last few days, including Eastern Bluebirds, Flickers, Blue-grey Gnatcatchers, Great-created Flycatchers and a single Common Yellowthroat out in the open. I would hear them constantly and predictably whenever the trail wound through their habitat which is shrubbery near water but usually don't see them. 


Back at the refuge, I walked in again where three men were working, sitting at a conference table, but they answered my questions about the cranes and ticks while I filled my water bottle. Sandhills breed here and they estimated they currently have about 20 pair. Their offspring are called colts. I heard while walking, and while I didn’t see any, their call as they fly high in the sky is wild and thrilling, evocative as a loon’s. I see them fairly often in Michigan. It is interesting that the river here is named the Platte as is the big river in Nebraska where sandhills congregate by the thousands during migration. 

They are seen intermittently all over the refuge and in the surrounding fields, or even in the yard in front of the center as they were one morning earlier that week. 

So, ticks…I had researched them online the night before and tried to make practical sense of the information. i read about deer and wood ticks, that there are several kinds and that each kind comes in various sizes depending on its sex, on whether it is engorged with your blood or whether it is a larva, nymph or adult. And that the deer tick is the size of black pepper or the head of a pin. So my question was: How is one ever supposed to find a pepper grain on one’s body, especially, as one guy said, ticks like to crawl to the hairline or armpits or the groin area. He said he just feels all over his body for bumps at the end of the day and that people should check all over carefully every night, a good plan in the privacy of your home, but not so great in a van. It evidently takes several hours for the tick to do damage so discovery and removal prevents any diseases they can carry, which can be significant. I am now wary of walking in grasses anywhere. Ticks apparently lie in wait on grass stems for a host (me) to pass by, whereupon the ticks grab on, hitch a ride and begin exploring this wonderful new habitat. So lately, I’ve been tick-obsessed, and being slightly grubby and sweaty and itchy anyway, I need to just chill about this and take reasonable precautions. 

The minute I left Crane Meadows, the rain started and really didn’t end until the next morning. 

Who doesn’t have mind wandering while driving. Random thoughts: I hope Brad and Angelina never break up; same for Bill and Hillary; and I hope Detroit gets its mojo back and becomes a working vibrant city in the next decade. Something usually prompts such thoughts so I suppose it is the talk about Hillary's new book, or a segment on a homeless girl who graduated at the head of her class while living in a shelter. Although Rashema Melson lives in the DC area, I probably thought of Detroit while listening to her talk about the grim conditions she endured being poor and black. Her story is amazing and anyone can google it on NPR.  

I drove to Tamarac NWR which was stunningly beautiful in the North Woods way with big lakes, marshes and forests, the air having a wonderful fragrance emanating from the flora. Bald Eagles, Tundra Swans, White Pelicans, a Hairy Woodpecker, five Turkey Vultures in a tree trying to dry their wings, Wood Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, Purple Finches….

Tundra Swan at Tamarac NWR

Tamarac is another large refuge at 66 square miles and it also had an impressive Visitor Center with educational and interactive exhibits. A woman who sat at the desk was telling someone about Pileated Woodpeckers and noticed a tick crawling up her arm and was totally unperturbed: “As long as it’s moving, it isn’t doing any harm. I’ll get it off in a minute.” The feeders were filled, which is where I saw Purple Finches.  Many of the Visitor Centers have stopped feeding for the season so it's nice to have such easy access to local birds. 

The best bird sighting of the day for me was a pair of Red-necked Grebes, a female ON (on nest) and her presumed mate patrolling through the reeds. They were close to shore.

Red-necked Grebe at Tamarac NWR

I decided to spend my down-time hour along the road and just watch the grebe pair. A pickup truck pulled in, and two guys wearing camouflaged gear got out and started fishing but the drizzly rain then turned to serious rain and they left, although one had already caught and released a good-sized fish. They were standing on a culvert by the road and one almost fell in but was "rescued" by his friend, and they were laughing as they went on their way. And Adam called after I had been sitting for 30 minutes. My rule is not to talk on the phone during that time, but I inadvertently answered so then had to start my hour over. I have no idea exactly why I am doing this, but it adds some discipline and structure to my days. And is somewhat mediative, but I try to hold off looking at the time as long as I can. I do allow myself to research birds or trees in my field guides (not using the Internet though), but nothing else, like car-keeping (straightening and re-rorganizing for instance) or talking to Adam or Virginia who give me daily updates from Kzoo. If I pick a good place, it’s fine, but so far, I find 60 minutes is more a segment of time to be endured than restorative but plan to continue. It's not that hard. 

The northern half of this refuge is in the White Earth Indian Reservation, so there were homes along the main road as I was leaving. 

WIKIPEDIA

The White Earth Indian Reservation (or Gaa-waabaabiganikaag (lit. "Where there is an abundance of white clay") in the Ojibwe language) is the home to the White Earth Band, located in northwesternMinnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in that state by land area. Community members often prefer to identify as Anishinaabe or Ojibwe (in their language) rather than Chippewa, a corruption of Ojibwe that came to be used by European settlers to refer to them.

Tamarac NWR 

I put in a Bob Dylan CD since I was in Minnesota and continued driving in the rain, generally north and west.

By late afternoon, I got to Rydell NWR a few miles south of US 2. It was closed, but I had actually stopped there a year ago and walked a mile trail so felt I knew the place. I could have walked (and had planned to) but it was raining and I have no rain jacket yet, so I sat in my car in the parking area and saw clearly only two birds: a Tree Swallow and an Eastern Kingbird. It was a long hour; I was mildly frustrated as I could not identify all the pines by the parking lot nor the grasses and it was lonely and gloomy in the quiet drizzle. 

Last year, the people at Rydell told me that the newest refuge was Glacial Ridge just to the west of Rydell, and I saw a sign on US2 saying it was 3.5 miles south. I drove the 3.5 miles plus another mile and never any more signage. The Internet information was vague so I guess this is still in early development. It is refuge #550 or close to that. 

I stopped at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen thinking I might stay there, but then found out that Thief River Falls had a Walmart and continued on, wanting to be closer to Agassiz NWR where I was going the next morning. 

I had dinner there at a “Sports Cafe" - reasonably good pasta with asparagus, shrimp and bacon in an Alfredo sauce. After brushing my teeth in the bathroom, I went to Walmart and bought some Chobani…the mini containers with wee bits of chocolate in the yogurt. Read a zuzu book for 30 minutes until my reading lamp started to fade and went to sleep lulled by the rain and wind outside.