Friends of Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge

05/26/2026

The Wild Rice Salad recipe as promised:

Whether you call it a salad, a dressing, or a stuffing, this wild rice side dish studded with plump cranberries and tart pickled apples is a perfect addition to the Thanksgiving table.

05/24/2026

We celebrated the 90th anniversary of our wildlife refuge yesterday, and what a celebration it was! Lots of folks came to help us celebrate with birding group tours, a nature walk on the Twin Lakes trail for wildflowers, birds, and peeks at a pair of Trumpeter swans and Loon. Brats, hotdogs, chips, baked beans, cake, cookies, and a special wild rice salad made from rice harvested on the Refuge by our local East Lake Band of Anishinaabe was served. The recipe for the salad will be shared in another separate post later today as promised. Speakers included Mishaa Aubid from East Lake and Walt Ford, current manager. A huge thanks to all who attended, and a special thanks to Sherburne Refuge staff and friends who helped so much!

05/15/2026

05/11/2026

Finally found the fox kits outside on Saturday evening.

05/03/2026

Awesome Sunday morning! The deer photo is not as sharp as I would like it to be, but I included it for the surprise I found. On the surface it appears to be a very large doe. However zoom in and look the the head. You can make out the very large base of two antlers about to erupt! The Barred Owl, was very chill, just watching for a vole or two. Other than these two photos, the morning drive was filled with blooming Bloodroot, Wild Ginger emerging, Yellow-rumped Warblers, an Eagle really up close, Trumpeter Swans, Canada Geese, lots and lots of ducks, a couple of chipmunks appearing along the side of the road, then diving back into their burrow, a pair of Mourning Doves, Sandhill Cranes and 2 porcupines in trees Though not seen by me, another visitor said he saw three of the fox kits before I arrived at 6:15, and a quick glance at what might have been a bear near Mandy Lake.

04/20/2026

Refuge wildlife drive is open, and porta potties are delivered! Welcome spring!

04/10/2026

Spring Update, April 10, 2026. As of noon the wildlife drive still remains closed. There is considerable snow yet beyond the gate, and slushy conditions on the circle drive at Mandy Lake. That doesn't mean there is nothing to see!

Today: Red-Winged Blackbirds, Male Harrier Hawk, Mallards, Ringneck Ducks, Kestrel, Wood Ducks, p***y willows, deer tracks, Robins, Juncos, Hooded Mergansers, Fresh Beaver sign, Raccoon tracks, Northern Flicker, Turkey Vulture, heard Canada Geese, heard Tundra Swans, Sandhill Cranes, Trumpeter Swans, Pied bill Grebe, Fox p**p in the middle of the road a few times, 3 pair of Trumpeter Swans on the far north bank of Mandy Lake. Most of the lake is still iced in,. The river is open at the bridge, and all the Bullhead slushies have been washed away, so no Eagles today.

I missed what appeared to be a drama that played out on the road between Mandy Lake and the parking lot when I was looking at the swans on Mandy Lake. It appeared 2 canines, one really large from the tracks, and another smaller had the zoomies, running from the ditch on the north side of the road to the ditch on the south side, leaving lots of tracks, and kicked up gravel on the tight turns, running off the north side, and then appearing 10 yards further, running from the north side to the south and repeating 4 times before the tracks disappeared back into the woods to the north. It could have been neighborhood dogs, but in my cabin-fever imagination, I'm seeing wolves chasing each other. What do you think?