Special Visitors

On September 4th the refuge had two special visitors, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Assistant Secretary of Interior Lyle Laverty. They were at the refuge to view plans for the Discovery Center and to meet with members of the Friends of Sherburne. What an exciting day. Thanks to Ron Cleveland for sharing these photos!

You can view all the photos from Ron here... http://ronc.zenfolio.com/p73744582/

Were you there for the visit? Post a comment and tell us all about it!

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

photos from Ron

Ron Cleveland visited the refuge this week and send me these beautiful photos. Thanks Ron!


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photos from DeeAnn

Thank you to DeeAnn Larson for sending in these great photos!

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

photos from Dean

These are seven signets that were seen at the refuge. They are sticking close to their parents and learning how to eat grass seed. Thanks to Dean Kleinhans for sharing the photos!

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

My flowers are alive!

We went to the wildlife drive today and I was sooo excited to see these flowers. They are called Showy Penstemon. Last summer my family volunteered to be wildflower gardeners for a plot of prairie flowers on the wildlife drive. We had a newborn in the house and it was a HOT summer (that meant it was quite a challenge to keep the new plants alive). They were looking pretty scraggly by the end of growing season and I wasn't sure they'd even come back up this year. Evidently they had been putting down some good roots that first year because look at them now. So fun!
Robin Delong did the planting (since we had just had our son) and gave them water the week we were gone on vacation so she gets kuddos as well. :)


I just love it when the lupine is in bloom...
We saw this snake slithering across the wildlife drive. This is the first time I have seen a snake at the refuge. I don't know my types of snakes, can someone help me out and tell me what kind it is? Click on comments at the end of this post, I'm sure others are curious as well. Thanks!

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Lupine

The lupine is in bloom at the refuge. A big thank you to David Berger for sharing this photo...

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Photos from Ron

Images of the refuge from this week courtesy of Ron Cleveland...

Great photos, Ron! Thanks so much for sharing!!

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Hoary Puccoon

Just got this update from Denise...

Common nighthawks were swooping at the entrance of the Wildlife Drive on 5/27. A killdeer and three chicks were hanging out at the kiosks. Prairie flowers in bloom include the hoary puccoon and prairie smoke. The lupines have just started. They should be in full bloom in a week. Make sure to drive the loop to see them!

Gets me excited to visit the refuge.

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

iGive.com

It doesn’t cost a cent to join and once you’re a member, every time you shop through the iGive.com Mall, our organization receives a percentage of each purchase.

Just think of it –– free money for the Friends of Sherburne, your choice of over 680 nationally known online merchants like Barnes & Noble, Staples, Lands’ End and PETsMART, your privacy guaranteed, plus money-saving deals and specials every day!

We hope you can’t resist!

Join http://www.iGive.com/exploresherburne today!

Bethany

Marsh Marigolds

It is warbler time on the Wildlife Drive!
Spotted 5/13: blackburnian,Wilson's, palm, yellow, yellowrumped, common yellowthroat, American redstartin numbers all around the loop.
The marsh marigolds are also in bloom.

Thanks Denise for the update and photo!

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Sunset on the refuge

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Volunteer Awards

C. Perry Schenk was named Volunteer of the Year at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. Schenk volunteered more than 785 hours at the Wildlife Refuge over the past nine years. He has been involved in a wide variety of volunteer activities, including environmental education programs, collecting native wildflower seeds, assisting with festivals, and building wildlife quiz boards and other educational items.


Other volunteers receiving awards were Robin DeLong, Chuck Connell, and Judith Hidde.

The refuge recognized 782 volunteers for 6,374 hours of service during the last year.

Are you interested in volunteering your time and talents for either the Friends or the refuge? Follow this link to learn more...

http://www.exploresherburne.org/getinvolved/volunteer.html

Bethany

Images of the Refuge

We finally made it to the wildlife drive yesterday for the first time this season. A great experience as always. A few images from the wildlife drive...






Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

New observation deck

We checked out the new observation deck on the wildlife drive yesterday...

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

More Warblers

A big thank you to Denise for this update!

The warblers are arriving:
Palm, nashville, yellow and yellow rumped, and warbling vireo are everywhere on the Wildlife Drive. Also saw the first eastern kingbirds of the season.

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Warblers

An update from Denise (wildlife drive rover) -
The warblers are starting to fly through the area. Palm, yellow-rumped and common yellow throat warblers were spotted on Tuesday evening.

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Have you been to the wildlife drive?

Click on "comments" and tell me (and everyone else) all about it!

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Pasque flowers

Thanks so much to Denise for this great update...

The pasque flowers are blooming. One of the first flowers of the spring! Awhole field is in bloom on the refuge on County Road 4 just west of County15. They can be seen easily from the road--they are a fleeting flower, so this week is the time to catch them in bloom.

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Rover Joe says, "Squirrels and frogs and bugs, oh my!"

Bethany Marie is my inspiration. In fact, her stories about her refuge trips with her boys prompted me to get out of my recliner and drive to the refuge this week. I saw some really cool swans on the way there--right along the county road and easy to see from the car.

I got to the parking lot by one of those trails just fine. I even got out of the car and felt pretty good standing in the parking lot--kinda reminded me of the old neighborhood in south Mpls. where I grew up. The air is nicer at the refuge though--you can take a good breath and not smell car exhaust.

I was a little uneasy walking on the trail because last time I was there, the ground was white and everything was real quiet. This time it was brown with some grass starting to turn green, and there was STUFF there--like, you know, ALIVE stuff. Stuff that hopped and slithered and crawled and buzzed and ran around in the trees. Whoa--kinda too much wildlife for somebody who was raised in the shadow of the IDS!

Well, after a few steps into the woods I was freaked so I headed back to the car and down the county road again. This time I stopped to look closer at the swans and even rolled down my window. But then all of a sudden one of the swans stood right up in the water and started squawking real loud. That was enough for me! Guess I gotta ease into this wildlife stuff. As I drove home, I decided that Bethany Marie is not just my inspiration, she's also my hero and so are her little kids. If they can go out into the woods, I can probably do it too. Maybe next week.

Rover Joe

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Wildlife drive

Mark your calendar...
The wildlife drives opens on Saturday April 26th.

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Prescribed Burn

I was on an adventure with my little boys this afternoon and happened to come across a prescribed burn on the refuge. Probably the first of the year. Here is a picture...

Want to learn more about prescribed burning?

Visit http://www.fws.gov/midwest/sherburne/burning.htm for some great information.

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Bald Eagle

Today was a beautiful spring day here in Minnesota. I enjoyed a hike with my family this evening and it was so nice not to have to worry about boots and winter coats. We even packed a picnic supper, the first one of the year.
On the way home, we spotted a bald eagle perched in a tree right next to the road. Such an impressive bird! What a comeback that species has made. It is a testiment to the importance of protecting wildlife habitat. I love that the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge (30,000 acres!!) provides a safe haven for so many creatures.
Seeing the bald eagle made me think of the wildlife drive. As soon as the eaglets have hatched and have had a few days to acclimate to their surrounding the drive will be open for the season. I have heard a tentative date of Sunday April 27th. I'll let you know a for sure date as soon as I find out.

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Rover Joe Waiting for Spring

Well, I've gotta say that Bethany Marie is more ambitious than I am. I thought about going for a hike yesterday too, but I figured I'd get my feet wet. Plus then it wasn't all that warm, and I woulda gotten cold feet because wet equals cold this time of year. So it was pretty nice in my recliner in the sun in front of the TV and I decided to stay put. I did see some some interesting birds out the window though, and I heard some cranes one time when I stuck my head out the door to yell at the squirrels for eating the birdseed. I really did think about the refuge yesterday. Does that count?
Rover Joe
http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Hiking the Blue Hill Trail

What a beautiful sunny day today. The perfect day for hiking at the refuge with my son. As we started off we spotted a bird sitting on a sign along the trail. Seemed like the bird was there to greet us and welcome us to his world. What type of bird? I opted to take my camera with instead of my binoculars on the hike, so a small brown bird is the best I can do. Throughout the hike we could hear the happy sounds of birds darting among the trees as we approached, heard the rustling of the remaining oak leaves in the breeze, and the sloshing of the wet snow under our feet as we walked. As we hiked I was reminded how beautiful the refuge is and how it is constantly changing. Whenever I go for an adventure there I come away feeling more at peace. Today was no different. I'm looking forward to my next visit already.
One more thought from today...
When hiking with a 5 year old, quite a bit of the sound comes from all the interesting thoughts going through his head. As soon as we started hiking he saw the sign that reads "Please have your pet on a leash". He suggested that since we have leashes for our cats that we should bring them out hiking next time. Hmmm. No thanks.

Bethany

here are a few photos from today...

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Snowy visitors

Our neighborhood is right next to the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. Here's what is going on in our neck of the woods. It has been snowing since Thursday afternoon. Everything is now covered under a blanket of snow. We have spent the first part of the day watching the birds dine on the sunflower seeds in the feeder on our deck. My husband thought the birds looked hungry so he so proceeded to spread handfuls of seed all over the yard. The next time we looked out the windows, the yard was full of birds. There were probably 300 birds out there! In addition to mostly dark eyed juncos, we spotted chipping sparrows and fox sparrows. I had never seen a fox sparrow before and enjoyed watching them scratch like chickens at the food.

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Have you been to the refuge?

I spotted these two swans while I was at the refuge headquarters this evening at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR).
What is the SNWR you ask?
It is a place set aside forever as a refuge for not only wildlife, but for me and my family and you and everyone. It is an island of peace and tranquility in the middle of the craziness of everyday life. It is a place for me to take the boys to slow down and teach them about the important things in life. Have you ever been to the SNWR? You should, it will change you forever.

Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/

Our new blog

Welcome to our new blog. I am one of the board members for the Friends of Sherburne NWR. This blog will be a great way for us to share news, stories, and others things of interest. Be sure to come back often.
Bethany

http://www.exploresherburne.org/