Tag Archives: MN North: Sax-Zim Bog

Cyborg Birding

Year 8,

My adult children say better a Cyborg, than a Borg! Events over the past three days have been interesting:

  • 3 mornings ago: Watch Great Gray Owl hunt just after sunrise (bike ride in afternoon)
  • 2 days ago: Rest day prior to surgery when it was moved up by almost 7 weeks
  • Yesterday: Surgery

Without going into all the details, I am doing fine this morning (post surgery). My planned Ablation (blocks extra electronic signals in the heart) turned into a Pacemaker Replacement to get a new model implanted which 100% controls your heart. Some pacemakers assist the heart, but the more complex “3 lead” versions totally control the heart. Shut my pacemaker down now, and you shut me down.

I am beginning to feel like the “6 Million Dollar Man” for those of you that remember the TV show from the early 1970’s (TV video trailer link for email subscribers). You would need to be a “sci-fi freak” (which I am) to understand my Cyborg / Borg opening sentence. The statement was sent by one of my kids after I texted them this video clip last night. Towards the end of the video, the narrator talks about all the operations and devices installed in “Colonel Steve Austin”. (Wikipedia link)

Over the next 7 to 14 days after recovery from surgery I will learn my new normal. Prior to this point, I got tired very easily but was still pushing my myself to hike, bike and bird. Birding and blogging will be part of the new equation.

Now on to some birding. As noted three mornings back I had the good fortune to watch a Great Gray Owl hunt just after sunrise. Given the combination of ground fog and forest fire smoke, the light was a bit subdued which kept my friend out past sunrise. The owl’s feathers were quite wet from diving into sopping wet grasses. Here are a few of the images I took …

How many of you have Guard Dogs? or at least does Fido let you know when strangers appear? While I don’t have a dog anymore, I do have a “Guard Hummingbird”. Apparently my Bee Balm is prime stuff and worth guarding from other hummingbirds. This female or immature male has set up shop in a small dead tree ten yards from my flowers. Any other hummingbird which appears get quickly chased away! I like these photos because it gives a clear view of the hummer’s feathers.

Black-Billed Magpies at Sax-Zim Bog

Year 8

Magpies are common out west, and are definitely expanding their range into Minnesota, but would still be considered rare in NE Minnesota. I watched a family of seven Black-Billed Magpies up at Sax-Zim Bog this morning. The magpies were hanging around the intersection of Zim Road and Hwy #7. Use your ears, and you’ll likely find them. They were on both sides of the highway, and often foraging right next to the RR tracks (south of Zim Rd).

This is a repeat performance from my birding experience over on Northstar Lake two weeks back. It was delightful.

Sax-Zim Bog Summer Birding

Year 8

While people always think Great Gray Owls in the winter, and warblers in the summer at Sax-Zim Bog, I think grassland birds! Just south of the Boreal Forest (i.e. a couple of hundred yards), there are some excellent meadows and pastures which grassland birds love. A favorite birding summer drive of mine takes the route shown below …

This route yields (see birding map)

  • American Goldfinches
  • Black-Billed Magpies
  • Bob-o-links
  • Dickcissels (irruption years like 2021)
  • Eastern Kingbirds
  • Hawks (hunting for their young)
  • Killdeer
  • Meadowlarks
  • Sparrows (lots of them)
  • and more …

This past week I went in search of Dickcissels. While this bird may be seen at many grasslands this summer, an irruption year, the Bog truly yields numbers.

Dickcissels

Dickcissel Singing Out (video link for email subscribers)

Unexpectedly I also found a family of five Killdeer. While killdeer are not rare, the chicks were born late and could not be more than a day or two old.