Birding in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area

Eagle in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area

Bald Eagles are often seen in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

If you are an avid birder or a casual enthusiast, you’ve come to the right place. Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area is a birder’s paradise, providing a wide range of habitat for more than 155 species. With a mix of deciduous, conifer and boreal forests, and lakes, streams, and bogs, there are a variety of nesting areas. Spring and fall migrations are a great time to work on your checklist, with October being prime time for seeing rare birds passing through on this world-class migration route.

Springtime is owl nesting time and you’ll hear (and see) Saw-Whet Owls, Barred Owls, and Great Horned Owls. It’s a rare treat to fall asleep at night listening to the owls calling. There are more than 20 species of warblers in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and in the spring you’ll hear them singing all along the streams and trails. If you look carefully, you’ll see them still wearing their bright cool-weather plumage.

The Bald Eagle, always exciting to see in the wild, is very common in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Minnesota and is often seen overhead or diving for fish in one of the many lakes, as is the Osprey. These raptors build very large nests, usually along the shoreline — an osprey nest can be as large as 6 feet across!

Bring along a good field guide, a pair of binoculars, and don’t forget your camera!

An Informal History of Gunflint Lodge...

Part 5

Bruce married Sue in 1968. During the first years of their marriage, Justine ran a branch of the canoe outfitters, Grand Marais Northwoods Outfitters, in Grand Marais and lived there from May to October. When she moved back to Gunflint, it was to run the canoe outfitters. That lasted only a couple of years before Bruce bought her out. Although Justine always retained a very active interest in the business, the next generation was now truly in place. Once again an ambitious young couple were running Gunflint Lodge.

Bruce and Sue worked to expand the summer business. About 1975 a friend named Ernie Schmidt suggested that they add a naturalist to the staff and he had already picked out the person for the job. Rather than offering golf, tennis and swimming pools, Ernie felt that Gunflint should specialize in introducing guests to the Northwoods. The naturalist’s job was to show guest the Northwoods surrounding the resort. Hikes, breakfast paddles, berry-picking trips and sunset canoe trips were some of the activities that were offered.

Meanwhile the business at the resort continued to grow, especially the winter business. By the start of the 1990’s, Bruce and Sue made the decision to winterize the main lodge and keep it open for the cross-country ski season. The resort closed in mid-October the year of the changeover. In six weeks, the main building was fully winterized and ready to go. Hand-in-hand with the new building was an upgrade of the restaurant menu. Since that time winter business has grown to be a vital part of the resort.

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Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota

Birding in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area

An Informal History of Gunflint Lodge...