Tag Archives: Upper Mississippi River

May 2023 Updates

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What a difference a month makes! Temps are settling in the 40s one week, 70s next, and then back to 40s! Snow accumulates, then melts, then falls again. Our great Mississippi rises, then falls, then floods! Just now, the crest is slipping from La Crosse into Iowa, but hover close to moderate flood levels everywhere.

Many parks are still closed, but birds are still moving along the Mississippi River flyway. They are, however, moving in fits and starts along with inclimate weather and high water. Their one necessity is the availability of food along the route. With another round of nice weather approaching Wisconsin and Minnesota, birds should be back on the move!

Our Sandhill nest is full of activity as the eggs hatched on April 29 – about a week early. Eagles are busy with their own fledglings, so check out nests for the white heads of adults busy with bringing food to the nests. Egrets and Great Blue Herons have arrived and are visible in ponds and sloughs not directly on the flooded Mississippi River. White pelicans also are checking out the smaller wetland ponds along the flooded river. We see them frequently.

Riverboats, including the Twilight, the newly restored Julia Belle Swaine, and the La Crosse Queen are all eager to start their seasons “come hell or high water!”

I will be posting several links just to remind you of what you can find on our Mississippi River at this time of year, and also on greatriver.com While I no longer post daily, our archives are filled with seasonal information!! Use the Search Button above or search through our CATEGORIES! And Happy Spring!

2023, April 1… Pelicans, Trumpeters, Tundra Swans, Divers and Dabblers, Crowd Pool 8

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Between thunderstorms, Winter Snow Warnings, and now Sunshine! I’ve been wondering what the response of our (mostly) migratory waterfowl would be over the course of the last day or two. Viewing has been great from Goose Island south to the Bay immediately north of Stoddard, along Hwy 35. Big white swans on their own in pairs are most likely Trumpeter Swans, while the migratory Tundra Swans will be visible in large numbers. If you see a thick cluster of large white birds, check closely for the large bill, heavy body and short neck of the pelicans.

All the waterfowl have been passing through for 2-3 weeks, as well as the mass of migratory ducks. Bring your bird guide to ferret out the many species of Dabbling (shallow water) ducks and Diving ducks (bigger, deeper areas) you are bound to see. Bald Eagles are abundant and Sandhill Cranes are pretty much settled into their nesting territories now and are busy calling to one another.It’s a wonderful time of new life on the river!

Trumpeter Swans die on Twin Cities Lake

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I’m constantly amazed at the swan stories I’ve seen reported this winter as Trumpeter Swan populations increase on the upper Mississippi River. This particular story is a sad one. If you find a dead Swan, please make a phone call to your local DNR.

More than a dozen swans have died at Twin Cities lake

Lead poisoning is the suspected cause of death. FEB 4, 20

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Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization

Trumpeter swans continue to die of suspected lead poisoning at a lake in the Twin Cities metro area. 

Last year, 11 of the majestic swans were found dead at Vadnais Lake in Vadnais Heights. This winter, two additional trumpeter swans have been located deceased at the lake, including one on the lake’s north end/east side, and another at Sucker Channel. 

Sucker Channel is where the 11 birds were found dead last year. Four of those 11 were tested, with results positive for lead poisoning. The trumpeter swan found at Sucker Channel this week has been sent to the University of Minnesota Diagnostic Lab for necropsy and testing.

Vadnais Lake Area Water Management I Organization has a theory about how the swans are being poisoned: 

“Swans use their long necks to reach the bottom and pick up stones to grind food in their gizzard. Lead sinkers are just the right size for the job, so swans pick them up preferentially. Sinkers get ground up in their gizzard and incorporated into body tissue. These carcasses pose a risk to scavengers and pets that might feed on them.”

The group is urging the public to keep an eye out for more dead swans and for anglers to avoid using lead fishing tackle, instead opting for tin, tungsten, steel, glass and other non-lead alternatives. 

The dead swan on the north end of the lake cannot be safely retrieved, so it will stay there for the time being. Anyone who finds a dead swan is asked to report it by calling 651-204-6070. 

So Much Has Changed!!

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Ice fishermenWhat a difference two weeks can make! River is frozen. Swans long gone. Ice Fishermen abound. Eagles will be searching out open areas in the ice field. And while you may see local fishermen out on the ice… BEWARE. River ice cannot be trusted, even from day to day. River currents EAT ice.

A fisherman friend relayed that he used a special truck for ice fishing… the top had been removed so that if he fell through the ice, he could immediately push off and head for the hole.

Well, it happened that he DID fall through, and he immediately swam to the surface break. Current is obviously a great enemy, but hypothermia strikes in minutes.

He found himself sitting on the edge of the fragile ice edge, kicking his feet in the water. He had to logically think, “this is not normal. I SHOULD be freezing to death.”

So he pulled his body up and ran for the highway where he had his “road truck” parked. He made it to the truck, started out onto Hwy 35. He did reach the highway… and stopped right in the path of traffic.

Another driver stopped behind him, realized something must be wrong, and found Harold hypothermic behind the wheel of his truck.

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!!

River Transitions

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The seed islands north of Stoddard have been crowded this week with pelicans gathering for the trip south. With November just around the corner, and our first frosts already in the air, it’s time to start watching for Tundra Swans! I heard from Al Stankevitz that he has seen a very few towards the center of the pool at Brownsville, Mn. So be on the lookout for the long white necks of the Tundra Swans. In a few more weeks we should have many thousands!!

Just a reminder, too, that we have an extensive BIRDING section in the Mississippi River Home Page!

Please use the REPLY link to update our fellow birders on your observerations! This will be a spam-free way to keep one another posted on birding along the Mississippi River!!

Spring, Spring Spring!!

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Photo by Rich MiddletonWe’re close to hitting 50 degrees in the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Sandhill cranes, Canada Geese, starlings have all returned. The Mourning Dove is cooing again and the morning is beginning to be vibrant with bird chatter. We’ve heard from the St. Louis area that pelicans are back on their way north. I don’t know that ANYONE appreciates spring like someone who lives up here!