September 9, 2016
We left the motel around 6AM. We crossed the Red River in Fargo, Montana into Moorhead, Minnesota around 7AM. On the way through Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”, had many Great Egrets and Hawk species to see from the freeway.
We arrived around 11AM at Palmer Lake Park in Brooklyn Center, an inner-ring suburb of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. Here is a link to some information: http://www.cityofbrooklyncenter.org/index.aspx?NID=461
We enjoyed talking to a nice couple there. We saw Sedge Wrens, Northern Cardinals, several unidentified Wood Warblers including the Common Yellowthroat, a Bald Eagle, A Ruby-throated Hummingbird, American Goldfinches, a Northern Waterthrush and a Gray Catbird family.
Around 1PM, we drove across the St. Croix River at Lakeland, a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota into Hudson, Wisconsin.
We arrived at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Necedah, Wisconsin around 3:30PM. Here is some information about it: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/necedah/
We arrived at the visitor center just as it was closing but Robert and Nancy, the volunteers and Leann, the Deputy Manager, were kind enough to spend some time chatting with us about this wonderful place and where to see the Whooping Cranes we wanted to see. We want to thank the three of them for being so kind.
The visitor center here is an amazing example of eco-friendly designs. Some of the many things they do are the use of paving bricks made of recycled plastic and car tires with a porous joint filler allowing water to dissipate into the ground. The fibre cement siding is long lasting and fire resistant. The sinks are low flow and sensor activated to conserve water and they have solar panels on the roof to help light the building.
We took a short walk outside behind the building where we found an Eastern Phoebe using one of the Crane Statues for a perch.
Blue Jays, American Goldfinches, American Crows, Eastern Kingbirds, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Woodpeckers and more were seen near the feeder behind the building.
A Black-capped Chickadee perched on it for a minute.
An Eastern Fox Squirrel watched us from a tree nearby.
Quite a few White-breasted Nuthatches were seen in the trees as well.
We took a drive to the Goose Pool and Sprague Unit where we saw Great Blue Herons and Trumpeter Swans were seen during our visit.
A Painted Turtle was walking down a trail.
We had such a marvellous time there and did not want to leave but time and darkness decided we must go. It is a place we will remember as magical. We want to thank everyone at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge for the work they are doing to keep the Refuge alive and well.
The next journal is dedicated to photos of the wonderful pair of Whooping Cranes we got to see at the Sprague Unit.
We headed to Wautoma, Wisconsin to spend the night.
Weather
Fargo, North Dakota Raining 55F (12.7C)
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota Cloudy 64F (17.7C)
Necedah, Wisconsin arrived Overcast 64F (17.7C)
Necedah, Wisconsin leaving Overcast 66F (18.8C)
Wautoma, Wisconsin Overcast 69F (20.5C)
We are not authorities on birds, wildlife, plants, cameras or photography, if you are doing research on any subjects, please refer to a more educational site for advice and double-check whatever you research.
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