5/25/14 – An alert camper spotted a Baltimore Oriole nest in the Sawbill Lake campground. I’ve never seen a Baltimore Oriole at Sawbill before and now they are nesting here. – Bill

5/21/14 – A wide variety of songbird sitings around Sawbill have provided excitement lately for all of us bird nerds. In addition to the more common species, we’ve spotted some beautiful rarities including the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak, and Baltimore Oriole (the first of which Bill has ever seen at Sawbill!).
If the sitings weren’t enough, the sounds of nighttime activity have been exceptionally entertaining as of late. We’ve enjoyed listening to Common Loon and Barred Owl calls, as well as the loud chorus of Spring Peeper frogs. – Nils
soundcloud.com/nils-anderson-1/loon-calls

Male Oriole sporting a bright new jacket.

A Purple Finch couple joins the Orioles for a double date at the feeder.

5/20/14 – Now presenting… Carla, Emma and Peter! Our first three recruits have arrived and are quickly becoming acclimated to life here at Sawbill.
Carla comes to us from Ypsilanti, Michigan. She has a master’s degree in social work and enjoys cooking extravagant meals. Carla arrived almost three weeks ago, catching the tail end of our prolonged winter here in northern Minnesota. You have probably seen her drilling holes in previous entries.
Emma’s hiring means another generation of Sawbillians for the Nelson family. Her father, Scott, worked here during the ’80s. She just completed her first year at Xavier University and is fluent in aquatic sign language. We wasted no time getting her acquainted with life at the outfitter, embarking on a night paddle just moments after her arrival.
Peter has just received a degree in Physics from the University of Minnesota. He grew up in Markville, MN (a free pop in the store to the first customer who has been there!), but spent his first four years living in Kenya. Peter is proficient in juggling and Mandarin Chinese. He will gladly provide a demonstration of either if asked kindly.

Carla demonstrating her canoe stacking skills.

Emma & Scott in the classic Sawbill pose.

Peter casually juggling canoe paddles.

5/19/14 – The warm weather has encouraged many bird species to become more active lately, especially the local Ruffed Grouse population. They live here year round but are most noticeable throughout mating season, which typically occurs from late April through May. – Nils

Here a male was spotted on display. His impressive showing lasted several hours.

A female perched on her branch of judgment.

5/17/14 – Long time Sawbill canoeist, April Knight, from North Carolina, paddled away from the Sawbill Lake canoe landing a few minutes ago bound for Hudson Bay. She’s retracing the route taken by Andy Keith and Herb Wills in 1987. She expects the trip to take three months.

April Knight, prepared to paddle.

Here is what gear and a month’s food looks like.

April consults the map with her mentor, former Sawbill crew member Andy Keith. Andy paddled out for the day to see April safely on the trail.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.

5/16/14 – Here is a story from the Duluth News Tribune about the latest adventure of Sawbill’s own Dave Freeman. Dave was a Sawbill crew member for many years and now provides expert guiding service for us along with his wife, Amy.
Dave will be back from the River of Doubt in July and ready to start guiding for both day trips and overnight trips in the BWCA Wilderness. He should have a few stories to tell! – Bill

Dave Freeman and Paul Schurke are flying to Brazil today to paddle the River of Doubt which is one of the wildest rivers on earth.

5/15/14 – Its official, the ice is finally gone on Sawbill lake!
Last night the crew went for a celebratory ice out paddle and discovered Alton lake still has a substantial amount of ice covering it. We all took a vote and determined that ice conditions looked similar to Sawbill’s three or four days ago. If the weather cooperates Alton should be ice free in a few days. Progress slowly but surely. – Jessica

View of Sawbill from the landing. A few stubborn chunks of ice remain along shore.

5/14/14 – Looking for a durable 4-person dome-style tent for your upcoming camping trips? The manufacturer changed the pole design, so to eliminate any confusion we are taking several out of service early. They have lots of life left in them and can provide you many nights under the stars. If interested visit our used equipment section of our online store.

Other used equipment for sale include; life jackets, sleeping bags, and packs.

5/14/14 – Sawbill Lake will be out today. This morning it was substantially out, but didn’t quite meet the “official” standard of ice out. There is no doubt that it will be out by this afternoon. Two canoe parties headed out this morning to work their way around the remaining ice. – Bill

Leif, Jessica, Carla, and Laura surprised at the amount of ice still remaining.

5/13/14 – Sawbill Lake is very close to losing its ice cover. Many of the smaller, nearby lakes have gone out in the last few days. Baker Lake, Lichen Lake, Touhey Lake are out. We don’t have confirmation of Kawishiwi Lake being out, but suspect that it is.
As we get confirmation for each lake, we will post it here asap.

Here is Leif attempting to coax the ice out with stern looks.

Good old Site #5 at the Sawbill Lake Campground is looking good.