Tundra Swans

Thanks to Troutbirder's post about his Thursday visit to the Mississippi to see Tundra Swans, I knew today would be a good day to call up my Sissy and take a drive down to see this event for ourselves. It was a nice day for a drive and we kept our eyes peeled for Snowy Owls along the interstate. No Snowy Owls were spotted, but we did see lots of Red-Tailed Hawks and even more Bald Eagles.

Once we got south of Brownsville, Minnesota, we started seeing the swans and other waterfowl where open water remained on the Mississippi. Many of them were just hanging out in the 38 degree water, but there were other groups constantly flying in and out of the area.

By late morning, the sun became hidden behind a heavy layer of clouds. It was windy and cold and the lighting for photos wasn't ideal, but I couldn't resist taking some pictures of this Tundra Swan family swimming close to the viewing platform.

You can see how windy it was -- messing up this swan's feathers as it swam around.

Here are the 3 kids swimming by themselves (yes, that's ice in the background!)

Near this group of swans was also a large group of mallards--some of them just sitting on the ice. Doesn't it just make you shiver looking at them?

There were Bald Eagles everywhere in this area too--soaring above the bluffs, sitting out on the ice, and just perched in the trees. I've never seen so many eagles in such a short amount of time. Here's a pair of juveniles sitting in a tree right along the highway. I was able to snap this picture quickly before they both flew away.

Also out on the river channel was this large flock of waterfowl. We saw Common Goldeneys and Redheads; other birders nearby also identified Canvasbacks and Scaup. As we hiked down to the river, something scared them and huge groups of the ducks started to fly away. It was really neat to hear the sound their wings made as huge numbers of ducks flew into the air and to see all these ducks circling around over the water. I've never seen anything like it before.

At one of our stops this morning, I recognized Ecobirder with a group of birders. I hope he does a post about his visit to the Mississippi today since his camera and photography skills are superior to mine. (If you're not familiar with his blog, you'll want to click on the link above and check out his wonderful photos.)

Being something of a train enthusiast, I was also happy for the opportunity to see this freight train traveling south on these tracks that run along the Mississippi.

Here's something else I saw today that I never thought I'd see again......

And my sissy shared some good news with me today too--she's working on quitting smoking with the help of Chantix. In 3 months, she's gone from a pack a day to less than a pack a week. I am sooooo happy about that. Way to go Sissy!

UP Challenger No. 3985

We interrupt this birding and nature blog to bring you............a train! But not just any old train, this is Union Pacific's Challenger No. 3985 Steam Locomotive, "the only operating engine of its class in the world today – the largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive."

This train was originally scheduled to be in Minnesota during the Republican National Convention, and I had been anticipating that event since I first heard about it in April. Then in late August, we heard the train had been cancelled. About 3 weeks ago, Mike (my train buddy at work) told me this train was re-scheduled to return to Minnesota at the end of September, and as luck would have it, I didn't have to work today and was able to see the train up close and personal!

(I had another really great video that I wanted to insert here but Blogger absolutely refuses to let me upload it. I tried at least 8 times, even tried resaving the video in Windows Movie Maker but nothing's working. UPDATE: I finally got this video uploaded, but in a separate post......please click on this link or just go down to the previous post and you can view the video there.)

There was a wide variety of people in Owatonna to see this train, but mostly older folks. I spotted this lady with curlers in her hair as I was making my way through the multitude of "train enthusiasts," but didn't realize till I got home and processed my photos that she appeared in my photo too. I'm always amazed when I see ladies who still wear curlers!

OK, back to the train.

I think these are tender cars that carry the fuel to run the train. Although the engine is still powered by steam, that power is now generated by diesel fuel and not coal like years ago.


Here are some of the other cars that make up the train. Each car has a name on it. I didn't notice that until I spoke to Brother Phil in California (who works for Union Pacific).

This is a huge engine. I think I read on the UP Website (link is above) that this engine and tender together weigh 1 Million Pounds!
This plaque was on the side of the engine. She looks pretty darn good for 65 years old, don't you think?
Here's another photo of me with the Challenger engine in the background.

And here's a similar photo of my Brother Phil and Nephew Charlie with the same Challenger engine in California.

This train is going to be in St. Paul, Minnesota for the rest of the weekend at the South St. Paul Union Pacific Station (a link to the schedule is here). If you're going to be in that area and don't have any other plans, take time to go over and see this magnificent steam engine. Or better yet, take the morning off Tuesday and go over and see the train leave the station. There's nothing quite as exciting as being able to see and hear a train like this in person!

Here's a video I shot of the train departing Owatonna on its way to St. Paul.

UP Challenger 3985 Steam Locomotive Video