This link will take you to the page where you can follow the migration of several loons from Lake Vermilion. The ones labeled with a V are the Vermilion loons. Click on the loon, then on “play animation” to follow their path from their summer to winter homes.
Visit again in the spring to follow them back to the Lake.
Courtesy of the Lake Vermilion Fire Brigade’s blog:
Again, this year, the Lake Vermilion Fire Brigade was the honorary sponsor for the Antique and Classic Boat Show on Labor Day weekend at The Landing. The Brigade volunteers were there to sell their merchandise and give hands-on tours of the Brigade I.
The boat show is an annual event organized by three local residents who are enthusiasts of the antique boating hobby: Sandy Jackson, Mark Ludlow and Jeff Stebbins. They pledged to donate any profits from the event to the Lake Vermilion Fire Brigade. This year, they said that it was with great pleasure, that they donated $700.00, to what they feel is a great asset to the lake.
The LVFB would like to extend a BIG Thank You to all the boating fans that attended
Removed from loon
Seconds later, they released the bird back to the water.
While the bird might normally be expected to flee from the scene once released, the two men were shocked to see that by the time they got back to the dock, the loon was floating nearby, as if waiting for them.
“We laughed like hell,” said Erickson.
So had the loon come back to say thanks?
“You bet he was thanking us,” said Erickson.
“I don’t know what else to think of it,” agreed Anderson.
Last the two men saw, the loon was back in deeper water and it appeared it would survive its ordeal. “He was diving just fine when we left,” said Anderson.
The DNR will be temporarily closing some state forest roads and trails due to wet, soft road conditions. These will begin within the next couple of weeks. Generally, all roads and trails within a particular forest will be closed, but not always. Signs are posted at entry points and at parking lots.
Road and trail conditions are updated every Thursday by 2 PM at MN DNR Trail Conditions.
Please check conditions prior to planning your trip to avoid being disappointed by temporary closures.
This story was recently published in the Duluth News Tribune, written by John Myers:
Harley the eagle first made news by getting a ride on the back of a motorcycle, but raptor experts now say he’s making news under his own wing power.
The male bald eagle left his summer home on western Lake Vermilion in mid-September, paused a couple of weeks near his former home south of Superior, then made a 640-mile dash to Arkansas in about 12 days. He covered nearly 500 of those miles in just four days.
It’s not clear why Harley went that far south or why he’s settled in a valley of the Ozark Mountains between the towns of Jasper and Parthenon. Scientists placed a GPS transmitter on Harley last winter and are able to track his whereabouts.
Arkansas isn’t known as an eagle wintering hotspot. And Harley certainly flew over lots of eagle food and eagle habitat to get there, said Julia Ponder, director of the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center.
“Eagles are obviously much more common in our area than Arkansas, and we were all extraordinarily surprised by Harley’s jaunt to Arkansas,’’ Ponder said. “But this is a perfect example of how much we do not know about wildlife. The biologists in Arkansas did know they had a small population there, very small compared to our wintering populations, but they had no idea of the northern connection, either.’’
Ponder said they may never know why individual birds behave the way they do and that Harley’s travels raise more questions than answers.
“Harley has done several unexpected things … his abrupt move to northern Minnesota earlier this year, then his jaunt to winter in Arkansas,’’ she said. “When dealing with (just one animal) we can’t make solid scientific conclusions. But every piece of information adds to our knowledge base and gives us ideas of where to look for more information. No one had any idea of any connection between the Arkansas eagles and our northern birds.’’
Harley was found Aug. 3, 2009, foundering along Douglas County Highway T near Wascott by Harley-Davidson motorcyclist Brian Baladez of Cloquet. The bird appeared injured, disoriented and was unable to fly.
Baladez captured the bird in his leather jacket and used a bungee cord to secure it to the saddle bags of his motorcycle and drove it 50 miles to Duluth. Harley eventually was taken to the Raptor Center, where he was treated for lead poisoning and malnutrition. Veterinarians later had to do surgery on the wing from an old break that hadn’t healed properly.
Harley was nursed back to health, fitted with a GPS transmitter and set free — with Baladez called in to handle the release — in late January at a bald eagle wintering area along the Mississippi River south of the Twin Cities. He flew north and spent much of the spring along the South Fork of the Nemadji River on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border, only about 30 miles from where he was found.
In June, Harley moved north along the St. Louis River and then moved even farther north to Lake Vermilion in mid-July. He spent most of August and September in a relatively small area in the western reaches, or the Cook end, of the lake before taking his 12-day trip south to Arkansas.
The Raptor Center handles more than 800 birds of prey each year. Of about 100 ailing eagles that come into the center each year, more than one-third die because of lead poisoning.
Reports on Harley’s travels can be followed at www.theraptorcenternews.blogspot.com.
Courtesy Duluth News Tribune, Author John Myers
Harley the motorcycle-riding bald eagle has flown north to the western bays of Lake Vermilion after spending part of his summer along the St. Louis River and in the Sax-Zim bog area.
Harley — sans motorcycle — had spent much of the spring along the South Fork of the Nemadji River on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. That was only about
30 miles from where Harley was found floundering along a Douglas County road last August.
In June, Harley moved north along the St. Louis River and then moved even farther north to Lake Vermilion in mid-July. He has spent most of August in a relatively small area in the western reaches, or the Cook end, of the lake.
“Both his evening roost sites and daily wanderings are limited to a fairly small area of the lake,” said Mark Martell, director of bird conservation for the University of Minnesota Raptor Center in St. Paul, in a blog on Harley’s location. “This western edge does not have as many historic eagle nests as parts of the lake further east.”
Martell speculated that Harley might be avoiding confrontations with territorial nesting eagles that are keeping him away from other areas of the lake.
Scientists can track Harley daily because he is wearing a tiny GPS transmitter.
Harley was found Aug. 3, 2009, along Douglas County Highway T near Wascott by Harley-Davidson motorcyclist Brian Baladez of Cloquet. The bird appeared injured, disoriented and was unable to fly.
Baladez captured the bird in his leather jacket and used a bungee cord to secure it to the saddle bags of his motorcycle and drove it 50 miles to Duluth. Harley eventually was taken to the Raptor Center, where he was treated for lead poisoning and malnutrition. Veterinarians later had to do surgery on the wing from an old break that hadn’t healed properly.
Harley was nursed back to health, fitted with a GPS transmitter and set free —with Baladez called in to handle the release — in late January at a bald eagle wintering area along the Mississippi River south of the Twin Cities.
Harley hung out along the Mississippi much of the winter, and then headed north, moving from central Minnesota into western Wisconsin. He was in Douglas County or Carlton County along the Nemadji in April and May and in fact spent a couple of days within a mile or two of where he was found last summer.
The Raptor Center handles more than 800 birds of prey each year. Of the roughly 100 ailing eagles that come into the center each year, more than one-third die because of lead poisoning.
Harley’s travels can be followed at theraptorcenternews.blogspot.com.
The Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary is located about 25 miles north from Cook. It is operated by the American Bear Association and has been described as the best place to see wild black bears in their natural habitat. From their expanded viewing deck visitors can learn about black bears by observing their natural behavior.
This year the VSWS has added a new twist. They are offering several programs which will give people the opportunity to interact with bears in differents ways. Upcoming programs include:
More information on all of these can be found on our Calendare of Events (under ”Things to See and Do”) or on their website at American Bear Association Website.
Throughout the summer, both Tower and Cook have Farmer’s markets. Here is some information on both:
The Tower Farmer’s Market is located in the parking lot of the Train Depot/Civic Center at the west entrance to Tower. It is an easy walk from the public landing on the East Two River channel, so you can access it from the lake. Each Friday vendors offer fresh produce, locally produced meats, baked goods, jam and jellies, and maple syrup, with a few craft items available as well. Vendors must come from within a 50 mile radius of Tower, and all produce must be locally grown. The motto of the Tower Farmer’s Market is “Fresh, local, in-season”.
This year’s Tower Farmer’s Market will begin on Friday, May 21 and run each Friday from 1-4 PM through early fall.
The Cook Area Farmer’s Market is on Saturdays in the City Park in downtown Cook. Only items grown or produced within a 30 mile radius of Cook may be sold. Produce, baked goods, crafts, jams, jellies and more are available.
The start date for the Cook Area Farmer’s Market has not yet been set. Once it begins, it will run Saturdays from 8 AM - noon throughout the summer and into early fall.
You can always check the calendar of events on our website for dates and times for each market.
Bay View Lodge has been purchased. The restaurant and bar will be open by Memorial Day, and possibly by fishing opener. Cabins may or may not be rented this summer. If they will be available for rent this year, you will find them listed under “Lodging” on our website.
The Resort Association has received many inquiries regarding the future of Bay View Lodge. To help answer the questions, we are reprinting the following article which appeared in one of our local newspapers, “The Timberjay”, this week:
“The likelihood of Bay View Lodge reopening as a resort/restaurant is not very good. Jim Ertz, from Dennis Frandsen and Company (the same group that owns Queen City Federal) spoke at the Greenwood Town Board meeting, Tuesday, to discuss various options for the sale of the property, which is now owned by the bank. The property has been appraised at between $1.8 and $1.9 million, but Ertz said the bank is looking to get about $1.2 million in a sale.
‘It just doesn’t seem like it is financially feasible to operate the property as a resort,’ he told the board. He noted the resort had not been kept up over the past few years, and that the kitchen does not meet county code, and would require significant upgrades to reopen.
The property consists of about 14 acres on 650 feet of shoreline. Ertz said they have been showing the property, and will continue trying to sell it as-is for a couple of months. But at some point, he said, they might consider removing all the buildings from the site and dividing the land into lots.
Ertz said there is grant money available from Iron Range Resources to help pay half the costs of demolition, but such a grant would have to be applied for through the township. Ertz said another possibility would be having the fire department burn the structures as a training exercise.
Greenwood Planning Director John Ziegler noted that the property is currently zoned as a resort, and this would allow for renovation and even expansion of the current cabins. But if the buildings are torn down, he said, any new construction would have to meet the requirements of the Lake Vermilion Plan zoning. Zeigler estimated that the property could be divided into three lots under current zoning, and perhaps four or five if a cluster mound system was constructed. Ziegler also noted that if the dock portion of the shoreline was maintained as a joint access, the backlots could be sold with guaranteed lake access, thus adding to their value.
Frandsen Financial also owns land at Moccasin Point and on Oak Narrows.
‘We know this market will come back and stabilize,’ Ertz said, ‘We just don’t know when.’ “