Houston, We Have Achieved Pelicans: Wisconsin photographer Bob Jauch noted the arrival of pelicans this week along the St. Louis River. The American White Pelicans traditionally breed west of us in prairie lands, according to a story by Eric Freedman for Great Lakes Echo, as well as Lake of the Woods on the Ontario-Minnesota border and at Lake Nipigon and Lac Seul in Ontario. But Eric wrote last year that the birds had established more eastern nesting grounds, too, as far as western Lake Erie. Pelicans are familiar large migrators (4 to 6 feet in length) around our neck of the woods as they return from their Gulf of Mexico winter grounds. Other signs of spring also have been popping up in our woods, yards and – as always these days – on Facebook. If you'd share your sightings on our page's visitor posts that would be springtime Thawsome! Oh, and check out the Salmon Run video further along in this newsletter.
Buoy-Ya!: The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alder spent the week hanging out in Michigan's Upper Peninsula at Isle Royale, the Keweenaw Peninsula, Munising and Marquette getting out the buoys of summer. We love seeing what Lake Superior-based Alder – "our" cutter – is doing, but we did get a smile at the exchange posted in comments under this photo from the U.P. “Thank you for the info and pictures every day or so! We Moms appreciated it!” posted Karen Krause. “Yes, we do!” echoed Terry Coles Martin, followed by Mandy Fall’s note: “I am a new CG mom … I love this page and being able to see what my son and the crew are up to.” So keep up the good work, children of Karen, Terry and Mandy. We appreciate you – and the other Coasties on board, too.
A Tern of Events: It’s the battle of the birds, as the Star Tribune’s Greg Stanley describes it. “For years now the birds have been fighting it out, two old rivals trapped together on a tiny island slowly sinking into a busy harbor of Lake Superior. The prize: nesting space on a sandy mound free from people and predators.” As the rising waters of Lake Superior have swallowed more than half of Interstate Island – a “dredge spoil” island created in the 1930s, as described by the Minnesota DNR – the competition has gotten stiffer for nesting sites between the populous ring-billed gulls and the threatened (and hence misleadingly named) common terns. The Minnesota tern population has dropped from about 4,000 in the early 1900s to fewer than 1,800 now. For decades, wildlife experts from both Minnesota and Wisconsin have been working to provide a balance, sometimes destroying gull nests when Interstate Island was larger and now working to add space so the gulls will leave alone the smaller terns, which incubate their eggs later in the season. A new $1.4 million project just under way would double the size of the island and create responsible social distancing space for gulls and terns. The terns travel annually from our Lake Superior region to Peru, one of the longest migrations in this hemisphere, Greg writes. “They’re really such a special bird,” Gini Breidenbach, restoration program manager for the Minnesota Land Trust, told Greg. “If you grew up in Duluth, like I did, you’ve been seeing them come back every spring for your whole life. The thought of them being extirpated from this area just isn’t acceptable to me.” The Minnesota Land Trust has posted a video about the restoration project.
Dream Big … Big Lake, Of Course: We've been very heartened about the future of visitation to our Big Lake shores once travel restrictions are lifted. Here at our Lake Superior Gift Shop – online only for now – the second top seller after jigsaw puzzles has been copies of the fresh-from-the-printer-oven 2020 Lake Superior Travel Guide. We've been chatting with folks in the hospitality industry around the Lake, and everyone is planning ways to make your post-restrictions experiences both wonderful and comfortable. Some restaurants are reconfiguring seating to respect new norms of social distancing, and lodgings have upped even more their usual high standards of cleaning and sanitizing. We'll be ready to welcome you into our new onsite gift shop at 109 E. Superior St., Skywalk level, in Duluth. Naturally, Lake Superior and the north woods offer plenty of space to wander. You might visit a plucky red pine along Minnesota's North Shore, like this one seen in the image by Gary Alan Nelson used on this year's Travel Guide cover. All of that said, we sincerely hope we'll have noodled safe ways to interact – because meeting friendly Big Lake people remains one of the most memorable parts of any shore travel. Plan your full Lake Superior Circle Tour getaway for this summer when we can travel again (fingers crossed); you deserve a true get away from your stay at home!
Zoom Duluth: If you're like us, you try to hide that background of your cluttered home office or living space whenever you get invited to an online meeting. Visit Duluth posted some lovely alternatives to download and post behind you that will make your Zoom-mates envious of your stay-at-home location. If the eight images of the city make you nostalgic for a visit, check out the baker's dozen of 360° tours at locations and attractions. Or catch the relaxing sound of waves shoreside at Glensheen. If you're at home in Duluth, remember to join tomorrow's Keep Duluth Clean initiative as part of Earth Week. Grab a bag and pick up trash in your yards for 30 minutes, sign up, post pics and be eligible for some sweet prizes.
Zoom Marquette: Missing the Upper Peninsula or a local wanting to impress your Zoom meeting cohorts with some stunning background scenes? Travel Marquette offers five gorgeous alternatives to download for use. Heck, you may be in enough Zoom gatherings to use them all. And if you are already making plans to zoom – and we're not talking virtually – to the city this summer, you can whet your travel whistle with a Midwest Living story by Andrew Stark just posted about "A Wild and Watery Getaway to Marquette, Michigan."
Something Fishy: Photographer Dennis O'Hara captured on video the Salmon Run beginning in the rivers along Minnesota's North Shore. Dennis often puts together nifty videos of maritime activity from the various webcams he babysits around the waterfronts in Duluth, Two Harbors and Superior. He's masterful at blending images and music. This one has a lovely sound track, soothing for most of us, though we suspect this video might make anglers who watch it run anxiously around the house like Labrador retrievers getting ready for hunting season. All our states and province allow fishing now – for the species in season – but keep an eye on the changing regulations and be aware that some public parks and recreation areas are closed. Also, for now, choose to fish near your own home; many small towns have been made nervous by long-distance visitors since the rural regions have limited resources to deal with virus outbreaks and necessity shortages. Please be mindful of our communities. According to the Michigan DNR: You can go fishing, but must get a license (probably online), practice social distancing (go alone or with your household members) and no motorized boating. According to the Minnesota DNR: You can fish if you have a license, keep that social distancing and motorized boats are OK. Minnesota did forgo its usual stocking this spring of some species because of the shutdown. According to the Wisconsin DNR: Fishing, distanced socially, is allowed for the in-season species with a license and you can use a motorized boat. According to Ontario's MNRF: The usual regulations – plus social distancing – applies, so get a proper license, cast for the species in season and enjoy.
The True Measure: Our friends at Tourism Thunder Bay posted a graphic to help us envision the proper social distancing. Persians, for those of you who have yet to encounter the beloved Thunder Bay pastry, are pink-topped sweet rolls with gooey goodness craved by TBay expats, who often order them from afar. When you visit Thunder Bay this year once the border opens – and you will because it's the city's 50th anniversary and for U.S. folk, a great bargain with the exchange rate – make sure you sample one. How much do TBay people love their Persians? When The Persian Man posted it closed on-site seating for now, but you could order out, questions popped up about delivery to Winnipeg in Manitoba, Whitehorse, in the Yukon and to the country of Finland. If the Persians call you, but it's the Thunder Bay region that you really crave, you can revisit this spectacular 2016 video by Epica Pictures showing scenes from the city and surrounding areas, like this climbable Dorion Tower (there are climber tours – for experts, we assume). Gives new heights to "Be Safe, Keep Well."
Photo & graphic credits: Bob Jauch; U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alder; Hansi Johnson/Minnesota Land Trust; Gary Alan Nelson; Visit Duluth; Visit Marquette; Dennis O'Hara; Tourism Thunder Bay