Post by NorthShore-Rocks on Jan 14, 2009 12:42:43 GMT -5
The cold is getting to me and has me thinking of warmer times! I decided to go back through my photos and reflect on Summer trips to ease the Winter doldrums. I ran across a special event on a special trip in a special place that I’d like to share with you.
Great glaciers carved the physical features of what is today known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) by scraping and gouging rock. The glaciers left behind rugged cliffs and crags, canyons, gentle hills, towering rock formations, rocky shores, sandy beaches and several thousand lakes and streams, surrounded by forest. The BWCA is a unique area located in the northern third of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. Approximately 1.3 million acres in size, it extends nearly 150 miles along the International Boundary adjacent to Canada's Quetico Provincial Park, bordered on the west by Voyageurs National Park and the Superior National Forest to the South. The BWCA contains over 1200 miles of canoe routes, 15 hiking trails and approximately 2000 designated campsites. Wilderness offers freedom to those who wish to pursue an experience of great solitude, challenge and interaction with nature. Because this area was set aside in 1926 to preserve its primitive character and made a part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1964, it allows visitors to canoe, portage and camp in the spirit of the French Voyageurs of 200 years ago. No motorized vehicles. You carry what you need on your back!
I think my Dad and his two buddies had this trip on their bucket list, and I was happy to guide them through it. We fished, camped, paddled and hiked for a week in the bush. This is one of the places we stayed at for a couple of days.
The campsite had a small rocky island in front of it with a few scraggly White Pines and Cedars trying to make a living. The morning dawned calm.
Fish is always on the menu on these trips. That morning we caught enough for lunch and dinner and paddled back to camp to clean them.
Black bears are a real concern in these parts. You don't want to leave any fish remains in your camp. We decided the island would be a good place to stash the remains. Birds, turtles and other critters usually make short work of the leftovers. It wasn't long before this guy showed up!
He swooped down and landed, strolled over, picked out a piece and then took off with breakfast! He switched the fish mid-flight from beak to talon and flew off out of sight.
Switched the fish to his talons!
He was back within 5 minutes and began calling often and loudly.
Soon there was another mature Baldy flying in and then a 3rd eagle who had yet to get his mature plumage (I'm not positive it was an eagle, but it was young nonetheless). To our surprise, the 2nd mature bird perched right next to the original bird in the tree (obviously a pair). The young one came down to the rock and fish.
What happened next really caught us off gaurd. The mature pair started screaming at the young bird.
The young bird ignored the calls of the mature couple and started chowing down!
The original mature eagle then swooped down, talons flared, and slammed into the young bird, knocking his @ss into the water!
The young bird flopped around in the water for a second or two, flew just a few short yards to the other end of the island and puffed out his feathers to dry. He stayed there a good half hour, even after the mature pair had cleaned up the fish.
Looks like he's telling his loon buddy below, "Don't mess with the old bull today....you'll get the horn!" LOL!
We sat there in amazement. One of the guys said, "Did we just see what I thought we saw?!"
Thanks for lookin...
Steve
Great glaciers carved the physical features of what is today known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) by scraping and gouging rock. The glaciers left behind rugged cliffs and crags, canyons, gentle hills, towering rock formations, rocky shores, sandy beaches and several thousand lakes and streams, surrounded by forest. The BWCA is a unique area located in the northern third of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. Approximately 1.3 million acres in size, it extends nearly 150 miles along the International Boundary adjacent to Canada's Quetico Provincial Park, bordered on the west by Voyageurs National Park and the Superior National Forest to the South. The BWCA contains over 1200 miles of canoe routes, 15 hiking trails and approximately 2000 designated campsites. Wilderness offers freedom to those who wish to pursue an experience of great solitude, challenge and interaction with nature. Because this area was set aside in 1926 to preserve its primitive character and made a part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1964, it allows visitors to canoe, portage and camp in the spirit of the French Voyageurs of 200 years ago. No motorized vehicles. You carry what you need on your back!
I think my Dad and his two buddies had this trip on their bucket list, and I was happy to guide them through it. We fished, camped, paddled and hiked for a week in the bush. This is one of the places we stayed at for a couple of days.
The campsite had a small rocky island in front of it with a few scraggly White Pines and Cedars trying to make a living. The morning dawned calm.
Fish is always on the menu on these trips. That morning we caught enough for lunch and dinner and paddled back to camp to clean them.
Black bears are a real concern in these parts. You don't want to leave any fish remains in your camp. We decided the island would be a good place to stash the remains. Birds, turtles and other critters usually make short work of the leftovers. It wasn't long before this guy showed up!
He swooped down and landed, strolled over, picked out a piece and then took off with breakfast! He switched the fish mid-flight from beak to talon and flew off out of sight.
Switched the fish to his talons!
He was back within 5 minutes and began calling often and loudly.
Soon there was another mature Baldy flying in and then a 3rd eagle who had yet to get his mature plumage (I'm not positive it was an eagle, but it was young nonetheless). To our surprise, the 2nd mature bird perched right next to the original bird in the tree (obviously a pair). The young one came down to the rock and fish.
What happened next really caught us off gaurd. The mature pair started screaming at the young bird.
The young bird ignored the calls of the mature couple and started chowing down!
The original mature eagle then swooped down, talons flared, and slammed into the young bird, knocking his @ss into the water!
The young bird flopped around in the water for a second or two, flew just a few short yards to the other end of the island and puffed out his feathers to dry. He stayed there a good half hour, even after the mature pair had cleaned up the fish.
Looks like he's telling his loon buddy below, "Don't mess with the old bull today....you'll get the horn!" LOL!
We sat there in amazement. One of the guys said, "Did we just see what I thought we saw?!"
Thanks for lookin...
Steve