Winter arrived last night in our yard with three inches of snow. I told my wife I wanted to photograph a red bird with the new snow. All day I hoped to catch a Pileated Woodpecker or Cardinal in a snow flocked pine. Not! Just a deciduous tree.
In addition I finally slowed these Snow Buntings in a short video I took last week by a factor of two. They move so fast, that slow motion was necessary. The buntings are down here in northern Minnesota from the Arctic. (video link for email subscribers).
The weather has been poor up here in the Northland for the past two days, and really horrible over the past 24 hours. For someone like me who lives for being outside, that means Cabin Fever. Thus, this morning at 7 am I informed my wife I was heading to Sax-Zim Bog.
My answer to all of these questions was a resounding “No!”. Now logic dictates I should have stayed home, but as I approached the Bog, the weather moderated and what had been rain at my house was snow in the Bog. The trees were flocked with snow, and it was a winter wonderland. Here is a 20 second video of the Bog’s backroads this morning. (video link for email subscribers)
I tried to hide from the wind, but Old Man Winter laughed at me. Unfortunately, even though I knew the Great Gray Owls had to be hungry, not one came out to play. Just when I was about to return home, much to my surprise the sun tried to come out. Better yet, a Rough-Legged Hawk started hunting for voles and did not care about my presence (unusual). This particular bird hovered almost motionless directly over me. Cabin Fever cured!
As a fyi, the Rough-Legged Hawk is one of my favorite raptors. It breeds in the Arctic, and I get to see it twice per year … during the Spring and Fall migrations.
Snowy’s Search for Color, one of my children’s bird books is now sold out and out of print. I do not anticipate another printing prior to Christmas. If you live in Duluth, the Duluth Art Dock and the Duluth Studio Market may still have a few copies. My thanks to both of these businesses for supporting local artists and authors.
Remember, I give away full PDF downloads of Snowy and my other children’s books. The inventory on “Do You Hoot” is also getting low. 