Tag Archives: MN North: Sax-Zim Bog

Spring Northern Migration in Progess

Year 11,

Even here in northern Minnesota, the Spring Migration has started. In the last two weeks I have seen many Trumpeter Swans, Snow Buntings, Rough-Legged Hawks and Bald Eagles working their way northward. All of these species of birds are first arrivals to breeding grounds, and many breed upon the Arctic tundra. While those of you who live south of Minnesota already have open lakes and rivers (assuming they ever froze), up here we pay attention to ice out. Some waterfowl will use open water in rivers during migration (ice free before lakes), but many birds prefer to wait for open water on regional lakes. Ice free lakes generally equate to the start of more available food. If a river tracks generally

The Minnesota DNR has an excellent resource for determining ice out dates … essentially in real time. Even if the lake in which you are most interested is not listed, there will always be a nearby lake that you may check for ice conditions. If you follow the march north of ice out, you will get an excellent idea about where to look for the leading edges of significant bird migration. Just remember, all birds will want to ride strong winds out of the south.

Here is the link to the Minnesota DNR Ice -Out Resource and two annotated screenshots to help you understand the tool. I prefer to use a device with a larger screen.

And of course, what would any post be w/o a few images. I saw this immature Bald Eagle and Ruffed Grouse 3 days ago during an earlier morning bird at Sax-Zim Bog.

Lazy Birder = Exploding Coca Cola! = Boreal Chickadees!

Year 11

Are you a lazy birder? I can cut corners on occasion and this morning I paid the price. Let me back up to yesterday evening … a violent snow squall with 40 mph winds had settled over the Head of the Lakes (Duluth / Superior). The temperature had already fallen to 10F (-12C) and would reach -6F (-21C) by 6 am this morning with continued high winds.

The energetic birder would have remarked “dang the weather” and after watching two episodes of Coach Ted Lasso at 9:15 pm (official YouTube trailer) with one’s wife and visiting son / daughter-in-law headed out into the fearful elements to put the car in the garage (remote stand alone garage which is down the hill). Please understand I had purchased a six-pack of Diet Coke earlier in the afternoon, and the cool overnight temperatures for a car parked outside overnight would not bode well for the “Real Thing“).

Fast forward to 8:15 am this morning while out birding. I wanted a Diet Coke, and it did not look frozen. However extremely cold drinks under pressure can be deceiving. Screwing off the top of my coke, I suddenly has exploding coke all over the car. Remember how I said it was -6F outside? As my Coca Cola hit the “inside” of my car’s windshield, it froze immediately in scattered random splash marks on the “inside” of the frozen windshield … right in my field of view. The coke was in many other places, including all over me.

Quickly searching the car, I found a long-sleeved t-shirt I keep in my Subaru in case the mosquitoes are bad. Thankfully at -6F I knew the pesky bugs would not be a problem, and started to use the shirt as a towel.

Hmmm … I discovered a shirt/towel rubbed on frozen Diet Coke ice makes a smeary mess of the windshield. It was time to move onto the next phase of my cleanup operation. During the car’s defrost as high as possible I managed to soften up the Coke ice such that I could flake it off the inside windshield with my fingernails. Success!

Finishing the cleanup of the car I drove for about another 10 minutes to the Admiral Road Feeders in Sax-Zim Bog (I was the only car … midweek … late in the winter season … super cold). Shortly thereafter a Boreal Chickadee lands next to the frozen peanut butter (this post has a frozen food theme!). I press the shutter … nothing happens. In the viewfinder a message appears … simm card not present! Uff Dah! Did I mention I was a lazy birder? Yes, not only did not put my car away the prior evening, but I did not return my SIMM card to the camera.

If you know anything about chickadees, they do not tend to stay in one place very long. However, as part of my camera kit I always carry an extra SIMM card (insert in camera and format). Thankfully the lure of peanut butter brought the Boreal Chickadees back, and my camera was finally ready.

Are you ever a lazy birder??!

Boreal Chickadee Photos!

Great Horned Owl Loves its Winter Perch

Year 11,

How do I know this fact? Every morning for the past 25 days I have checked in on my friend, and Poppa Great Horned Owl is always on its favorite perch. Thus, what defines a great perch?

  • Near where his “lady love” sometimes comes for a visit
  • Protected and hidden from above and those pesky crows.
  • Shielded both from fierce winds off Lake Superior, and out of the NW

I have tried to find where Momma Great Horned Owl likes to perch, but other than a general idea I have failed. However, the duo seems to be interested in a couple of nesting spots near where Poppa resides … we shall see. I took this image a few days ago shortly after sunrise.

I do know that the owls hunt my feeders. 3 nights ago around 4:00 am I heard a hooting duet outside my bedroom window (we keep a window open all winter long …). Anyhow I threw on a jacket and went out on the deck in my PJ’s. The stench of skunk was strong, and I knew Pepe Le Pew had met its demise. Great Horned Owls are one of the few animals or birds willing to prey on skunks. It was obvious what had happened. There were two skunks that visited our bird feeders every night … my trailcams now only show one. I suspect the duet during the early morning hours took place after Poppa fed Momma skunk (normal this time of year … she is developing eggs)

On a sad note, a friend let informed me that the Sax-Zim Bog Snowy Owl was struck by a train around noon yesterday. Unfortunately this owl obviously liked to hunt near the tracks. Yesterday it was actually sitting on the tracks, and did not move away fast enough. The owl most likely did not understand trains which do not exist in the Arctic.