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Wildlife biologists use the term irruption to describe an animal that leaves its home territory in search of food. In this case, a snowy owl has left its home in the distant Arctic and traveled as far south as Duluth, MN in desperate search for food.Snowy owls find that the rodent population of the waterfront area fills that void just fine. This irruption, however, is different than most other irruptions when the snowies leave the Arctic because there is a shortage of lemmings, a large part of their diet. This year the owls have left because there were an abundance of lemmings, so many that the owls had a tremendous hatch, forcing the first year males to flee their territories. It is late December 2011 as the 826 foot long M/V Lee A. Tregurtha makes a late season run with nearly 30,000 tons of iron ore pellets loaded at the CN Dock in west Duluth, now destined for Indiana Harbor, IL. A mere hum emits from the passing Tregurtha's diesel engines in St. Louis Bay of St. Louis River as the undisturbed snowy continues hunting from its perch on the Duluth Interstate Fishing Pier, site of the old Interstate Highway Bridge.

Watercolorist

http://GreatLakesArt.org 

"Reserve Christmas"
"Jackpine for Breakfast"
"November Night Skies"
"Calm Entry"
"May Morning"
"Home For Christmas"
"Mirror, Mirror....."
"Spring Romance"
"Wintering Goldeneyes"
"C'mon, Follow Me"
"Breakfast"
"The Buckeye Faces a Menacing Lake Superior"
"The Presque Isle - Loaded With Stone"
"The Last Voyage, the Last Goodbyes"
"The Survivor"
"The Maiden Voyage, a Promising Future"
"St.Clair Leaves Missabe With Bluebill Escort"
"The Edwin H. Gott Loads in Two Harbors"
"Point Cabin, Knife Lake - 1973
"The Edward L. Ryerson Under the Blatnik Bridge"
"November 10th"
"Minnesota Assists the Barker"
"Sunset Departure"
"Downbound Run"
"The Inbound Munson"
"Summer Evening"
"The Bull's Harem - Maniwaki Lake"
"Summer Lightning"
"Winter Ice"
"Ely Airfleet"
"Waiting for Weather"
"Adams Lake"
"October Run"
"July Afternoon"
"Daddy's Home"
"Canal Park Sunset"
"Birdbath"
"Otter Landing"
"Misty Sunrise"
"Duluth Sunrise"
"Mythical Beasts"
"First Ice"
"Nicholson Creek"
"Twilight in Duluth"
"Into the Storm"
"Timber Jay, Lumberjack and Canadian Jay"
"Inbound Duluth"
"Tourist Attraction"
"Early Swim" and "Early Departure"
"Ma and Pa"
"Passing Storm"
"Chickadee-dee-dee" and "Chickadee-dee-dee, two"
"Around Rice's Point"
"Thief"
"Unloading Limestone"
"Approaching Storm"
"Outbound Duluth"
"Sunset Departure"
"Bull of Superstition"
"Miner's Lake"
"Loading the Indy"
"Eagle's Nest Loons"
"Starry Night"
"Enter the Callaway"
"Woodies at Rest"
"Across Lake Michigan"
"Three's a Crowd"
"Into the Storm"
"Greenwings Scrutinize the Stinson"
"Refueling Stop"
"Tough Trip"
"The Doe"
"Spring Departure"
"Winter's Here"
"Out of the Fog"
"Loading the Speer"
"Spring's Arrival"
"Moonlight Loading"
"October Morning"
"White on White"
"Mom's Brood"
"Early Morning Fog"
"Perfect Pair"
"Snowy Whitetail"
"Late November"
"Cool Spring Day"
"Enter the Callaway"
"Spooked Goldeneyes"
"Guarding Tomahawk Creek"
"Early October Snow"
"Flight of Bluebills"
"Peek-a-boo"
"Albino Couple"
"Owl vs. Hare"
"Readying for Winter"
"Rascal of Fourtown"
"Winter Fleet"
"Chipmunk Creek Ruffs"
"Cute Couple"
"Missabe Morning"
"Follow the Leader"
"Spring Training"
"Turning to Port"
"Guarding the Nest"
"Ely Ore Train, 1952"
"Beavers, Ahmoo Creek"
"Merganser Moment"
"South Pier Fishermen"
"White Pine Hill"
"Christmas Limestone"
"Family of Four"
"Recuperation"
"Straits of Mackinac"
"Two Harbors Arrival"
"Hissing Contest"
"Iron Ore Run"
"Duluth Light Show"
"The Bull of Burntside"
"Bachelor Party"
"A Minnesota October"
"The Boss"
"Security,Security,Security..."
"Welcome Back Juncos!"
"Spring Sunset"
"Acrobat"
"Fallen Arch Stopover"
"Irruption"
"Aiding the Mack"
"At Periscope Depth"
"Dramatic Entry"
"Off Thunder Point"
"Limestone for Duluth"