In my 14 years as a volunteer naturalist at Sax-Zim Bog, I had never seen “fledgling” Canada / Gray Jays till this morning. I had always heard that for a very short time after the young birds leave the nests they are “gray fluff balls”. This morning was super special for me. I almost drove by the mature Canada Jay I saw foraging on the side of the road, but I decided to stop and oh my … how lucky. I spent almost one hour with the jay family.
Just to give some perspective, in the same 14 years I have seen Great Gray Owlets on three occasions (and multiple times per nesting season). Thus, at least for me this is a much rarer birding event!
Canada Jay / Gray Jay Fledglings (two youngsters in third image)
I decided two days ago that today’s advanced forecast dictated that this morning was when to visit once more the owl family. Starting right at sunrise (5:45 am), the Great Horned Owls put on a show for me! The combination of an active owl family and perfectly clear skies (35F at sunrise) made for an amazing hour. When sleepy time arrived it was time for me to leave (see final image) I hope you enjoy your visual visit!
Great Horned Owlet … Rabbit for Breakfast!
Breakfast Time (the movie)(video link for blog subscribers)
My Rabbit, Not Yours!
Food Fight! (click to maximize … look at the feathers beneath the tree branch … owlet #2)
Leftovers on the Ground (the food fight resulted in rabbit on the ground)
Momma Great Horned Owl (Guarding the Youngsters)
Hunting (including the talons)
Hunting (the movie)(video link for blog subscribers)
Family Portrait … all is good in the Northland … Sleepy Time for Owls!
Note: If you visit owl nests, this should be your ultimate goal … not disturbing the owls. Birds will tell you in many ways that your presence is not desired or feared. In this case, sleep shows I was maintaining a respectful distance.
I have spent the last two mornings starting at sunrise on Stony River Forest Road (or real near by). Please review the Google Maps satellite image shown below. By using “satellite view” it became obvious that I needed to focus more upon this area because of both the stream and bog. (GPS link to the steam crossing on the side road).
The pin is exactly 2.5 miles distant from where Stony River Forest Road begins at its southern end, and the stream crossing on the side road is exactly 1/2 mile from Stony River Forest Road. Take another look at the Google Maps Satellite View. This habitat screams wildlife including birds. It doesn’t hurt that when I collected Trailcam video’s yesterday morning after only a few days in place I already had evidence of Moose and Canada Lynx. In fact this morning I doubled down via my technology. I increased trailcams from 1 to 3, and birdsong listening stations from 1 to 2. Yes, my techie background comes through!
As a final fyi before the regular blog post content … the weather varied dramatically between the two days … yesterday 28F (-2.2 C), new snow on the ground, dark clouds, high winds and snow flurries … today 25F (-3.88 C), sunny and calm winds. Reminder … the dates were May 6th and 7th. Our normal high is around 59F (+15.0C).
Photographs are bellow the videos …
Hello from Stony River Forest Road (video link for blog subscribers)
Hello from Forest Road #811 (video link for blog subscribers)
Canada Lynx Trailcam Video (video link for blog subscribers)
Moose Trailcam Video (video link for blog subscribers)
And some images from this morning when the sun was brilliant. All the photographs were taken within two hours of sunrise … often within a few minutes of the golden orb appearing.
Wood Duck Reflections (unnamed stream)
The wood duck photographs would have been impossible at any other time of the day but sunrise. Wood ducks spook very easily, but with me between the “low sun” and the birds, even though I was only 30 yards away the ducks could not see me.
