"Minnesota" a Minnesota Travel Page by traveldave

In January 2005, I traveled to Duluth, Minnesota with a group of birdwatchers to see and experience an unprecedented irruption of owls from northern Canada. An irruption occurs every several years and is caused by a cyclical reduction in the vole population in the owls' natural range. During these years, the owls migrate to more southerly areas where food sources are more plentiful. On my trip, I saw four species of owls in one day: northern hawk-owl, great gray owl, boreal owl, and snowy owl.

Since this was a birdwatching trip, and because I was traveling with a group which was focused mainly on seeing birds, I was not able to visit or photograph many of the sights in the area, but I did take some pictures of the muskeg and forests I visited.

Later in 2005, I went to Minneapolis for a five-day business trip. Of course, I took some time to visit and photograph some of the sights and attractions in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul to round out my page about the North Star State.

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