Our cold weather continues. It was -16F (-27F) when I got up this morning. The long range temperature forecast shows overnight lows in the “double digits” below zero for the next seven days. We are now five days into the current cold weather. If the forecasts hold true, that makes for a 12 day polar vortex.
Given lower winds this morning, I decided I needed to get out birding … even if it meant staying close to the car for warmth reasons. I visited Sax-Zim Bog which is 45 minutes from my home. My two target birds were Pine Grosbeaks and a Northern Hawk Owl. The grosbeaks were easy to find. The owl eluded me.
Tonight I need to convince myself to take a hike as the temperature plummets long after sundown. My local Great Horned Owls nested on February 8th last year (two days ago if on the same timeline as last year). My female has stopped singing as she may be on whatever nest the couple has selected. The male still sings nightly. It’s hard to convince oneself to go hiking in the dark even with full thermal wear keeping me somewhat warm. Waiting at home for the “nightly sing” and then heading out has not worked real well. By the time I hike over to the “owling grounds” the happy couple goes silent making nest triangulation difficult. I have hiked over a number of nights in advance hoping for “hoot song” at a given time of night. Those efforts have been failures. When it is -10F or colder with a decent wind, hanging around in the middle of the forest doing nothing while awaiting the evening sing (i.e. motionless … thus no body heat being generated) is a cool experience.
