Jim Gilbert

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Jim Gilbert

Columnist | Outdoors Journal

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Outdoors Journal: Orioles are back

A fantastic songster, the Baltimore oriole is most often heard before it is seen. The presence of this 7-inch bird's cheerful series of whistles and chattering is a sure sign the month of May is here. They are easily attracted to feeders offering grape jelly, orange halves or sugar water. Mix the jelly half-and-half with water using an eggbeater, then pour it into glass jars set out in feeders.

Updated: May 03, 2012, - 11:41 PM

Outdoor Journal: Mallards nesting

By now many mallard nests are underway. Some delay nesting until well into summer, but normally only one set of eggs is laid each year.

Updated: April 20, 2012, - 01:01 AM

Outdoors Journal: The sound of woodcocks

The ground is thawing and unlocking the food supply of earthworms and insects for the American woodcock, so they are returning from the southern states.

Updated: March 22, 2012, - 10:41 PM

Outdoors Journal: Wintering mourning doves

Usually, by this time, we hear the first hollow, mournful cooing of the mourning dove.

Updated: February 23, 2012, - 11:41 PM

Outdoors Journal: Cardinals sing loud, long

The northern cardinal is a permanent resident in most of southern Minnesota, and a few make their homes in the north. This year, a very few were heard singing the rich whistled "what-cheer, cheer, cheer" song in January, but now in mid-February this sound is commonly heard. There are many variations of the song. Both sexes sing, and sometimes together. These are territorial songs.

Updated: February 17, 2012, - 12:47 AM

Outdoors Journal: Pine thoughts

The scented air of tall pines are the symbols of the North Woods.

Updated: February 10, 2012, - 12:32 AM

Outdoors Journal: Woodchucks keep hibernating

Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are hibernating underground in their burrows, and their internal clocks will awaken them near the end of March, not on Groundhog Day (Feb. 2).

Updated: February 02, 2012, - 11:23 PM

Outdoors Journal: New life in bear dens

Now is the time when black bear cubs are born. Lily, the Internet-famous black bear hibernating in her den in a cedar swamp near Ely, gave birth to two cubs on Jan. 21 last year. The young arrive in late January or early February while mothers still are sleeping. At birth the young, usually two or three in number, are 6 to 8 inches long and only weigh 7 to 12 ounces, about 1/500th of the weight of their mother.

Updated: January 26, 2012, - 10:48 PM

Outdoors Journal: Great gray owls

The great gray is Minnesota's largest owl. It stands about 2 feet high, and has a 5-foot wingspread. The boreal coniferous forest is its home. In this state, great gray owls are most often seen within 100 miles of the Canadian border. However, during some winters, a few will visit the southern part of the state. Like other owls of the far north, this species hunts during the daytime, often watching for prey from a low perch. In winter it will plunge into snow to catch rodents detected by sounds.

Updated: January 19, 2012, - 09:49 PM