Lady put on a fantastic show yesterday afternoon, which I watched starting 30 minutes before sunset till after the golden orb had dropped below the horizon. As always, Lady is one classy woman! This Snowy Owl is “rad”! Unlike other local Snowy Owls which refuse to hunt till after sunset, I can count upon Lady to come out before dark and move around. It was fun to see her have an appetizer.
Down the Hatch! (lost the light within moments … the golden hour of photography)
Take-Off
Snowy Owl after Sundown (now that the sun is down, the owl is not basked in gold light)
Yesterday morning I met two birds which are extremely rare for my area … a Northern Hawk Owl and a Black-Billed Magpie. While most people would prefer to see the owl, I was extremely disappointed when the magpie exited quickly. Please understand I have NEVER seen a magpie in the Duluth area (this was not Sax-Zim Bog), whereas each winter I tend to find a few hawk owls. The magpie was giving the owl a piece of its mind. The two birds were in the same tree, about ten feet apart.
Upon getting home I discovered the northern / summer migration had begun. I saw three Bald Eagles hunting Amity Creek across from my house, and a friend who lives a bit further up the shore saw five eagles. While a certain number of Bald Eagles remain in the Northland over the winter, I am positive these birds road yesterday’s 30 mph winds out of the south, and now will follow the North Shore of Lake Superior. It is normal for eagles to return north as soon as open water may be found, and this winter has been extremely mild with only a few days well below zero at night.
Finally, everyone always compliments me on my great photography (thank you). Guess what … I screw up on occasion. Where’s Baldy’s head?!
I decided I needed to go over to Sax-Zim Bog and see the famous “Admiral Road Boreal Owl”. My hope was by visiting on a Tuesday afternoon the number of birders would be at an acceptable level. Thankfully it was only me and about 15 other folks. Apparently the weekend was crazy. The good news is everyone was being very quiet and allow the owl to hunt. This small owl shows up at the Admiral Road feeders about 2:00 pm in the afternoon when the spruce trees provide good shade, which allows the light sensitive owl to hunt. The feeders attract lots of mice and voles, and this owl is very much enjoying its visit to northern Minnesota … easy food.
On the way home, Greg G. and I enjoyed a private viewing experience with this beautiful Northern Hawk Owl.
Upon getting home, I dropped off Greg, and never even got out of my own car. It was off to Superior for evening Snowy Owls … my third owl species of the day.
Lady Showing Interest in a small dog.
I actually broke the “golden rule” of owling yesterday afternoon. Normally I am very, very quiet around owls, but when I while watching “Lady” in a quiet neighborhood, I realized she was quite interested in a small dog. While most owls are not capable of catching prey the size of a small dog, Snowies are not “most owls”. Anyhow I yelled over to the owner who was about to leave her dog out in the back yard and suggested that might not be a good idea.
Finally … the prior evening I had fun watching a different Snowy with Jeannette L.
