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WACOUTA NATURE NOTES
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Spring in Wacouta? Not Yet.
Weeping Willow One of the first signs of spring color change was the greenish-yellow hue of this weeping willow in the wetlands of the...
Bruce Ause
Apr 2, 2018


Winter Transitions into Spring
Three Among Many In my previous post, I mentioned that deer tend to yard up in sizable groups near a reliable source of food in the...
Bruce Ause
Mar 14, 2018


Winter Challenges and Survival Tactics
Deer Trails on Rattlesnake Bluff As we have experienced a more typical winter with below zero temperatures overnight these past few...
Bruce Ause
Feb 19, 2018


Interesting Winter Bird Activity
Upper Bay at Colvill Park During two recent stretches of very cold weather; one the end of December and one in early January, I observed...
Bruce Ause
Jan 23, 2018


Cold Enough For Ya?
Sea Smoke The cold weather we have experienced the past ten days is a welcomed change reminding me of what a typical Minnesota winter...
Bruce Ause
Jan 4, 2018


Celestial Wonders
Sunrise over Rattlesnake Bluff At sunrise the earth is rotating towards the sun. As we approach the winter solstice, the northern...
Bruce Ause
Dec 10, 2017


Fall Weather Continues
Lone White Pelican After spending time deer hunting and visiting our daughter and granddaughter in North Carolina these past couple...
Bruce Ause
Nov 25, 2017


Fall Colors and Pelican Surprises
Wacouta Fall Colors According to the Minnesota DNR website on October 20th, leaf color changes in Goodhue County were at about 50%. This...
Bruce Ause
Oct 23, 2017


Nature's Edibles
Raspberries Despite the fact that earlier in the summer iridescent copper and green colored Japanese beetles nearly defoliated my...
Bruce Ause
Oct 7, 2017


Sliding into Fall
New England Asters As we encountered the fall equinox this past Friday, There is further evidence along the Rattlesnake Bluff Trail that...
Bruce Ause
Sep 23, 2017


Butterflies and Blooms
Monarch and Blazing Star During the past couple weeks, I have observed more monarchs butterflies than in quite sometime. On Sunday...
Bruce Ause
Sep 10, 2017


Late Summer Bird Activity
Ruby- Throated Hummingbird For most of the summer, we have had very few hummingbirds at our nectar feeders. That all changed about two...
Bruce Ause
Aug 27, 2017


Summer Colors and Excitement
White Pelicans With the more normal summer river levels of the past couple weeks, I have received numerous local reports of large flocks...
Bruce Ause
Aug 11, 2017


Neighborhood Wildlife
Turkey Vultures In my most recent post, I reported that we were in the midst of the peak of the annual mayfly hatch. Many adult mayflies...
Bruce Ause
Jul 31, 2017


It's That Time Again - Mayflies
Mayflies The annual arrival of mayflies is now upon us. It started shortly after the 4th of July. This phenomenon is a positive...
Bruce Ause
Jul 15, 2017


Rattlesnake Bluff Trail Comes To Life
Butterfly Weed For those of you fortunate enough to hike, bike or take other forms of transportation along the Rattlesnake Bluff trail in...
Bruce Ause
Jul 1, 2017


Nesting Success....Not So Much
Northern Flicker Hatchlings As I reported in my May 14th post, we discovered that a pair of northern flickers had excavated a cavity for...
Bruce Ause
Jun 21, 2017


A June Snowstorm
Cottonwood Seeds Those of us living in Wacouta and along the Mississippi River are well aware that early June is the time for seed...
Bruce Ause
Jun 7, 2017


Persistent Rains = High River Levels
Flooded Lowland Forest With the copious amount of rainfall in the past ten days, the Mississippi River has risen several feet to the...
Bruce Ause
May 27, 2017


Rare Find and Nesting Updates
Bluebird Nest We are in the midst of a very active period for the avian nesting season this spring. On April 27th, I opened one of my...
Bruce Ause
May 14, 2017
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