Boreal Forest Birding at 5F

Year 3,

Deer hunting season ended yesterday! With the hunters out of the woods I drive north into the Pagami Creek Forest Fire Region. I had wanted to visit this wilderness area before snow made the 18 mile logging road impassable. Upon arriving at Tomahawk Road I was pleased to discover the hunters had driven the road post blizzard and packed down enough snow that my Subaru Outback could venture into the deep forest. Arriving at sunrise I was presented with a Winter Wonderland. The storm from a few days ago had plastered the pines with ice and snow. Even though it was cold this morning (5F), there was not an ounce of wind. The scene a beautiful. Thus began a few hours of exploring this remote wilderness.

On the way home as the temperature climbed into the 20’s I discovered hundreds of Pine Grosbeaks alighting on Lake County Hwy #2 to find gravel for their gizzards. Thankfully, this road receives very little traffic and I was able to take a few photographs. One of my favorite birding locations is the abandoned railroad a few miles south of Greenwood Lake. This location did not disappoint with many birds including Canada’s new nation bird, the Grey Jay … also known as the Canada Jay. It beat out the Common Loon and Canada Goose. The jay was considered the underdog, or should I say underbird.

Here are a few of the Pine Grosbeak images from this morning

A Failure to Communicate!
y3-m11-sand-river-pine-grosbeak-01-disagreement y3-m11-sand-river-pine-grosbeak-02-disagreement y3-m11-sand-river-pine-grosbeak-03-disagreement

Gravel Getting
y3-m11-sand-river-pine-grosbeak-06-roadside y3-m11-sand-river-pine-grosbeak-07-roadside-trio

Airborne!
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My Subaru and another view off Tomahawk Road (10 years older than me!)
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Dawn Reflections
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Canada’s New National Bird … the Grey Jay!
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Northern Magic 2017 Calendar

Year 3

Would you like the perfect Christmas stocking stuffer? Warning, the Northern Magic 2017 does NOT come with any ginsu knives, but only costs $12.50 per calendar. This price includes shipping, and essentially covers my cost.

The cover is a photograph I took of Crisp Point Lighthouse during October of this year while Molly and I were serving as lighthouse keepers. Crisp Point is located on the eastern end of Lake Superior approximately 14 miles before Whitefish Point. The Edmund Fitzgerald sunk seven miles off this light.

Post Update: People have asked to see the 12 monthly images. Follow this link and all 12 months will be display. On the actual calendar there are captions for each image.

northern-magic-2017

Purchase and provide your shipping address via PayPal.

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Stay tuned. There may be another shipment depending upon interest.

 

Post Blizzard Birding

Year 3

As planned I drove north to Sax-Zim Bog this morning. My plan was to leave home an hour before sunrise which would allow me to arrive in the Bog area right around sunup. Hopefully I would catch a Great Grey Owl still hunting for an hour after dawn. I knew that it had been impossible hunting conditions for the last 48 hours. In fact, the local paper stated the waves out on Lake Superior reached 35 feet, and all the freighters hid in harbors to avoid the weather.

On the drive up to Sax-Zim I was the only car on the road. The highway conditions were solid ice, but I just slowed down and took it easy. Without any other traffic on the roads, and by going slowly it was actually an easy drive. Upon reaching the Bog, the winds were howling with gusts up to 25 mph. Over the course of a few hours I saw 14 Bald Eagles, 2 Rough-Legged Hawks and finally 2 Sharp-Tailed Grouse, but no owls. I think the combination of the high winds and all the eagles (their enemies), I struck out on finding any owls. However, with the blue skies and fresh snow, it was a fun time. Here are a few images I took of one Bald Eagle taken just minutes after sunrise. It was having a hard time hanging on to its perch in the high winds. I have also included a photo of the entrance to the Welcome Center. We should be open in about two weeks.
y3-m11-sax-zim-bog-bald-eagle-5 y3-m11-sax-zim-bog-bald-eagle-1 y3-m11-sax-zim-bog-bald-eagle-welcome-center