Great news! Sparky Stensaas just announced the first HUGE purchase of land in the Bog is a done deal. This includes Admiral Rd. and Hwy 7! Parts of McDavitt Rd are included with hopefully more to come soon. Thanks to anyone who donated. I think everyone knows I am both a volunteer naturalist as well as donor to Bog projects. The area in yellow is the land purchase.
Sorry the owlets eating crow video link for email subscribers was not actually included in yesterday’s post. Here is that link.
The weather service said the winter storm warning and travel advisory was not going to expire till high noon, but my own inspection of weather radar seemed to indicate the storm was now to our east. In addition, did you know via Mn511.Org (official road conditions) one may view “snowplow cams” in essentially real time? Thus, when my inspection showed Hwy 53 was in decent shape I was quickly “bog bound” at 7 am. Once I arrived at Sax-Zim Bog I entered a Winter Wonderland on snow flocked pine trees. I could tell I was the ONLY car that had driven Admiral and Overton Roads, and was the first car on McDavitt (saw one car at the very north end).
Crowds in Sax-Zim Bog? What are those? While I did not see any owls, I had a great time watching a flock of evening grosbeaks. It was truly a relaxing morning. My own assessment of the weather had been correct … zero snow or rain, limited wind, and actually decently bright conditions for overcast skies!
I still have one birding hike yet to accomplish later today. March 23rd is the official yearly start of “fluff watch”!
Poppa Owl took one for the team yesterday morning just before sunrise. Shortly before sunup there was a major crow attack in my local forest, and I know from experience that Dad leads the crows away from the nest. A nice morning hike through the woods yielded this pic of Mom.
Meanwhile the prior morning was spent over at Sax-Zim Bog. The weather forecast called for moderate temperatures, overcast skies, and light wind … perfect owling conditions. I arrived in the Bog shortly before sunrise, and watched one owl hunt for over an hour. Here the Great Gray Owl is nailing a landing.