birds

Hawk appears bemused by the snowfall

Jan 25, 2023

Local photographer and filmmaker Ben Threinen took this photo of an immature red-tailed hawk waiting out the snowfall on the morning of Jan. 19. “Looks cold!” Threinen said.

Charm of goldfinches at local feeder

May 18, 2022

Some of the over 20 goldfinches that gathered Sunday, May 8, for a meal at a feeder on West Elm Street in Lake City. A group of goldfinches is called a “charm.” Abby Peterson and Mary Lou Dirksen took several photos of the charm, including this one.

Springtime bird sightings at Hok-Si-La Park

Apr 6, 2022

Lake City photographer Ben Threinen sent these photos of birds at Hok-Si-La Park last weekend. At left is a downy woodpecker. At right is a pair of sandhill cranes along Highway 61.

Blue heron lets one get away

May 12, 2021

Lake City photographer Ben Threinen submitted this photo of “a blue heron practicing catch and release before the Saturday fishing opener.” 

One last time on the ice

Mar 24, 2021

Raptors on the frozen waters of Lake Pepin Friday in a photo submitted by Terri Orth. By now their perch has melted away.

Christmas bird count tallies more than 3,000 birds and 47 species

Jan 27, 2021

The Christmas Bird Count for the Wabasha area was held on Dec. 27, 2020, with 18 participants in the field and three participants counting at their feeders, for a total of 52 hours and 393 miles. The count was 3,132 individual birds and 47 total species. It was no surprise that the high count of...

Pelicans visit area in droves on their spring migration

Apr 23, 2020

Just a few of the hundreds of pelicans on Frontenac Pond Sunday, according to Ben Threinen, who took this photo. He went back Monday and found only six were left. 

Birds of a feather float separately, together

Sep 26, 2019

Three species of birds share a floating log but also keep to their own kind in this photo submitted by Old Frontenac resident Allen Anderson. He took the photo on Lake Pepin on Thursday, Sept. 19. “I thought it added new meaning to ‘Cruis’n Down The River.’,” he wrote.

Pelicans on Frontenac pond

Apr 24, 2019

Lake City photographer Ben Threinen spotted many pelicans on Frontenac Pond late last week. Over the next few days the pelicans departed.

Spotted: Sandhill cranes

May 9, 2018

Lake City photographer Ben Threinen captured an image of two sandhill cranes south of Lake City last week. The birds can be found in scattered areas around North America but are less common in Minnesota than in neighboring Wisconsin according to https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/sandhill-...