Canoe Country Wildlife

A Field Guide to the North Woods and Boundary Waters

2004
Author:

Mark Stensaas
Illustrations by Rick Kollath

Canoe Country Wildlife, a friendly field guide, introduces the wildlife most seen travel in the North Woods. It describes these creatures and their habits.

Canoe Country Wildlife, a friendly field guide, introduces the wildlife most seen travel in the North Woods. It describes these creatures and their habits.

Written for the curious naturalist in each of us, Canoe Country Wildlife takes readers a giant step beyond field guides. It’s good reading before, during, and after a trip through canoe country.

Bunter Knowles, naturalist

Warblers, wolves, and whirligig beetles—the creatures of the canoe country wilderness come alive in Canoe Country Wildlife. In this read-aloud treasure, “Sparky” Stensaas, naturalist and storyteller, intrigues you with his tales of encounters with the forest inhabitants—from tiny toads to majestic moose.

Canoe Country Wildlife, a friendly field guide, introduces you to the wildlife you are most likely to see as you travel in the North Woods. It describes these creatures and their habits accurately so you’ll know where and when to look for them. Detailed line drawings illustrate each animal clearly so you’ll recognize what you’re seeing.

The book is filled with fascinating little-known facts: Did you know that wood frogs can freeze solid, only to live again? That loons can fly a hundred miles an hour? That chipmunks can carry seventy sunflower seeds in their cheeks?

Canoe Country Wildlife includes handy checklists to help you keep track of the critters you encounter, a calendar for you to record the natural events you witness, and activities—one for each animal—that will help both adults and children learn by discovery.

Carry Canoe Country Wildlife in your pack. Your trip will be more enjoyable and your memories will last forever. It’s a great gift for anyone who loves the outdoors.


Mark “Sparky” Stensaas is a ranger with the National Park Service. He has served as resident naturalist at Gooseberry Falls and Jay Cooke State Parks and at Wilderness Canoe Base on the edge of the Boundary Waters. He was chief hawk counter at Duluth’s Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve.

Sparky is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Duluth, where he majored in biology and minored in American Indian Studies. He lives in Duluth, Minnesota.

Written for the curious naturalist in each of us, Canoe Country Wildlife takes readers a giant step beyond field guides. It’s good reading before, during, and after a trip through canoe country.

Bunter Knowles, naturalist

C O N T E N T S

Mammals
Bats
Black Bear
River Otter
Pine Marten
Mink
Timber Wolf
Red Squirrel
Northern Flying Squirrel
Eastern/Least Chipmunk
Beaver
Red-backed Vole
White-tailed Deer
Moose
Birds
Common Loon
Common Merganser
Mallard/Black Duck
Great Blue Heron
Spotted Sandpiper
Herring Gull
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Osprey
Broad-winged Hawk
Barred Owl
Spruce Grouse
Ruffed Grouse
Common Nighthawk
Belted Kingfisher
Black-backed
Three-toed Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Gray Jay
Common Raven
Black-capped
Boreal Chickadee
Winter Wren
Swainson's Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Red-eyed Vu-eo
Warblers
White-throated Sparrow
Fish
Walleye
Northern Pike
Lake Trout
Smallmouth Bass
Reptiles and Amphibians
Eastern Garter Snake
Snapping Turtle
Western Painted Turtle
Wood Frog
Green Frog
American Toad
Insects and Other
Invertebrates
Mayfly
White-tailed Dragonfly
Black-winged Damselfly
Spittlebug (Froghopper)
Water Strider
Sawyer Beetle
Whirligig Beede
Firefly
Luna Moth
Tiger Swallowtail
Mosquito
Blackfly
Deerfly/Horsefly
Bald-faced Hornet/Yellowjacket
Fisher Spider
Wood Tick/Deer Tick
Leech
Crayfish

Appendix

North Woods Primer
Table of Measurements
Keeping Track of Nature
Observation Checklist
Phenology Calendar
Daily Timetable
Sources