Tree Swallows in Autumn

The Tree Swallow with its snowy breast and iridescent green back feathers is one bird I welcome with joy each spring. This year I had for the first time in several years a pair of tree swallows nesting in my purple martin gourds in my yard. Several years back, there...

The Bobolink

During the long days of mid-summer in East Central Minnesota, the ditches of our county roads are inhabited by an assemblage of notable singers, often hidden but distinctly heard. Sedge Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, Dickcissels, Savannah Sparrows all sing from the...

Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora Chrysoptera

If asked to name a bird that we considered “our” bird, most Minnesotans would claim the Common Loon, the state bird. But the bright and unassuming Golden-winged Warbler would be a better choice. Over half of the global population of Golden-wings nest in the state, and...

Chisago County Community Gardens

What is a community solar garden?A solar garden is an array of solar panels producing electricity that can be bought by individuals or businesses in the community to replace electricity generated by fossil fuels like coal. In Chisago County, the local utility company,...

The Elusive Brown Creeper

The industrious Brown Creeper, seldom seen, always welcome. Last month during the Great Backyard Bird Count run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, I was gratified to have a Brown Creeper appear on the sugar maple outside my kitchen window on count day. It was nice of...