Wounded Birder Birding Starts Year #4

Year 4

This post leads off Year #4 of 365 Days of Birds. While the local birds are just fine, this birder, your host, can not say the same. Early New Year’s Eve I pinched a nerve in my back while reaching for some potato chips, and now five days later I still am having trouble walking. I wish I had a better, more interesting story for how this injury occurred, but while I love long birding hikes, month long bike tours and racing in Nordic ski races, a simple potato chip did me in.

Having to lie down for days in order to keep the pressure off my back is not my idea of fun, but at least my own yard and feeders continue to attract birds and give me something to watch out the living room window. Yesterday, I managed to hobble outside into the -8F weather and do my first birding on 2017, in my own yard. Here are some of images from that “trip”!  🙂

Pileated Woodpecker

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

White-Breasted Nuthatch

Great Gray Owl … Final Bird of the Year!

Year 3

I spent yesterday up at Sax-Zim Bog … birding, cross-country skiing, hiking, and working as a volunteer naturalist at the Welcome Center. In the near future I will post either a map or descriptions of where some of the birds are hanging out in the Bog, but for right now I’m skipping that task … (pinched a nerve in a leg yesterday evening and am not able to sit at my desk/computer very long due to pain … injury was NOT done partying).

Post Update: Sax-Zim Bog bird sightings for early January provided after the photos.

Great Gray Owl … Final Bird of the Year … just before sunset

Northern Shrike … Second to Last Bird of the year … a bird with an attitude

Pine Grosbeak in the early morning sun

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Here is a current bird sightings report as filed by Sparky Stensaas, the Director of the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog.

Date:    Thu, 5 Jan 2017 19:20:21 +0000
Subject: Sax-Zim Bog Field Trips this weekend and bird updates

RECENT BIRD SIGHTINGS IN SAX-ZIM (downloadable map at www.saxzim.org)

  • Great Gray Owl: Seen in 7 different locations during the brief warm up of last week; Check McDavitt Road, Admiral Road (the half mile from the feeders south), Nichols Lake Road, CR133 (stretch just west of CR7), Stone Lake Road (first mile east of CR7). Best to get out at dawn and dusk…”warmer” calm snowy days are best.
  • Northern Hawk Owl: No recent confirmed sightings
  • Rough-legged Hawk: Very few this winter. Best bet is Aitkin County.
  • Sharp-tailed Grouse: Very regular at the bird feeders (!) at the first farm south of Correction Line Road on CR29 (east side). Birder friendly farm.
  • Boreal Chickadee: Has been seen at Admiral Road feeders but not as regular as in year’s past. Also pisshhh along the bog stretch on Arkola just east of Owl Avenue (…and any other larger Black Spruce stands)
  • Black-backed Woodpecker: Most recent sightings have been along McDavitt Road. The female seen regularly along the ditch going north from the Welcome Center has not been reported recently but is still probably in the area.
  • White-winged Crossbills: Many locations throughout the bog. Watch the spruce tops, and look for small flocks overhead. Get out and pisshh in boggy areas as they will come right in if they are nearby.
  • Pine Grosbeak: Many locations throughout the Bog. Most often seen picking salt on the roads.
  • Common Redpolls: A few around. Some at Welcome Center feeders and Mary Lou’s. Watch for flocks in roadside alders and Tamaracks.
  • Hoary Redpoll: None reported. Probably some around somewhere.
  • Evening Grosbeaks: Mary Lou’s! (morning is best)
  • Welcome Center on Owl Avenue is open daily (7-days per week) from 10am to 3pm.

 

Catching Up at Year’s End

Year 3,

Time to clean up photographs from the past two months as I sit here on the first day of 2017. There are two birding trips I never reported upon, and have some good images. Back in mid November I took a drive up Lake County #3 which leaves the Northshore of Lake Superior at the mouth of the Stewart River.  This is an occasional birding route of mine, and 13 miles inland I catch the logging road, East Alger Grade to connect to Lake County #2 which comes back down into Two Harbors.

The second trip was a few days prior to New Year’s when I drove down to Canal Park. In addition to hundreds of bouncing goldeneyes, there is one beautiful male long-tailed duck.

Rough-Legged Hawk on Lake County #3

Canal Park Goldeneyes and Long-Tailed Duck

Bouncing Bobbleheads!  🙂