Warblers and the longest sand bar

Posted at 10:52 AM on May 11, 2012 by Dan Olson

Jan and John Green, pictured above in a photo taken by your intrepid Minnesota Sounds and Voices reporter, have been birding for more than 50 years, and a good share of that time has been here on Park Point.

I encountered them on a recent jaunt to the Twin Ports where it is nearly impossible to resist the urge to drive over the lift bridge and onto the continent's longest freshwater sand bar.

Yes, that is apparently true; Duluth's Park Point neighborhood is a very long spit of piled up sand that runs out from the city toward Wisconsin.

The Greens were out enjoying the warbler surge. The little winged things are headed north and are stopping along the way for snacks of gnats and other critters in the bushes and trees that help anchor the Park Point sand bar.

How did Park Point form? Check out this splendid history starting on page 168.