Yesterday was a reunion of sorts, and for a while I did not believe the event would take place. Let me back up. Most people have favorite birds. For some folks it is a Cardinal or Baltimore Oriole due their flashes of color. There are some individuals who love owls, but normally their favorite seems to be the Great Gray or Snowy Owl. For me, it is the Northern Hawk Owl.

Having a Northern Hawk Owl (NHO) as a favorite bird can present difficulties, even when one lives in northern Minnesota. My region is at the southern edge of the Boreal Forest, which means although the NHO could live in my area year round, these owls normally live a touch north in Canada and wait for winter to fly south a few hundred miles and visit the Duluth area. Some years only one or two of these owls are seen across the entire continental United States. Such was the case during the winter of 2015/16, and thus my reunion was put on hold. During the winter of 2016/17 I had to drive 400 miles round trip from my home to the Big Bog for the reunion. I was thrilled when the two NHO’s I was watching decided to nest in northern Minnesota, but unfortunately by June their nesting attempts had failed. Regardless, it was fun to visit my owls during the warmer Spring and Summer months. 

Last winter two Northern Hawk Owls’ decided to take up their winter residence only 6 miles from my home. I was in seventh heaven, and visited them many times per week. Thus, you can imagine I was thrilled when I heard reports for this winter that NHO’s had returned to Minnesota for the winter, and were only up in Sax-Zim Bog … 45 miles away by car. I actually serve as a volunteer naturalist in the Bog each winter. Tomorrow is our grand opening day for the winter!

Thus, yesterday along with my friend Jeff, we arrived at Sax-Zim before sunrise. After all, we had an owl to find. However, even though we heard the owl was definitely around, it eluded our efforts to find said bird. After four hikes back into the frozen bog over a half day’s search, it appeared my reunion with the Northern Hawk Owl was not slated to happen that day. However, after dropping Jeff off at his car so he could drive home to the Twin Cities, I decided to turn around and give it one more try. Eureka! I found my Northern Hawk Owl. For most of the next 45 minutes except for a short time, I had this owl to myself. My friend was actively hunting, and required me to make frequent trips into the Boreal Forest’s frozen bog to keep watching the hunt. I loved every minute of the reunion. 

Here are a few family reunion photographs

And two other images from yesterday … Red-Breasted Nuthatch and Gray Jay

Finally, I finished up processing some photographs from last week when I hung out with Snowy at Sunset. They are cool owls, just not my favorite!

The Friends of Sax-Zim Bog staff and volunteers had our annual training day yesterday. Many of us birded the Bog starting at sunrise and then arrived at the Welcome Center mid morning. All the feeders are now filled at the Center, and the deer carcasses are out. There are a good number of Pine Grosbeaks (including the one pictured), and lots of Gray Jays at the Welcome Center. However, the Redpolls count is very low.

Yesterday was a great day to visit Sax-Zim Bog. I had been studying the weather forecast and had picked my visit based upon the weather. At sunrise I was due to have light clouds and wind (perfect for owling), but later in the morning the golden orb was due to make an appearance. Quite frankly if you are planning a winter trip to the Bog and have the option of delaying for perfect weather, follow my example. While I did not find any Great Gray Owls yesterday, the subdued light and wind optimizes the opportunity of finding this majestic bird. Remember,GGO’s hunt using their hearing. If its too windy, they can not hear mice and voles running beneath the snow (yes … the ground is already snow covered with a few inches of the white stuff).

Once the sun came out I turned my efforts to “daytime birds”, which is when I found Baldy. This eagle let me get fairly close, and then I waited. Eventually my Bald Eagle decided to take flight, and I was ready. These three images represent about 1/3 of a second. Houston, we have lift-off!

After my photo session with the Bald Eagle it was time to hike the Warren Nelson Bog. This piece of land has a boardwalk which first allowed me to get deeper into the woods with less effort. Stopping every 50 yards I listened for the tap – tap – tapping, and soon found not one but two Black-Backed Woodpeckers. From over 200 yards away, their telltale tapping as they flaked bark off trees was a giveaway to their location. Once again, calm winds were key. If the wind speed is much above 5 mph, the creaking of the spruce and tamaracks make it impossible to wind these woodpeckers by listening. Here are both the male (yellow on head) and female Black-Backed Woodpeckers.

If you are going to visit Sax-Zim Bog, remember to use my Google Maps add-in (free, no account or software install required). My map will help you know where to find birds, and the bathroom (outhouse)! The other thing that impressed me with my visit yesterday to the Warren Nelson Bog (part of Sax-Zim) were all the rabbit tracks … a HUGE number. I know that two Great Horned Owls have been seen at this locale, and I now understand the reason … lots of prey. I will be back within the month at sunset.

Right now it is 5:50 am. Time to get ready and go look for some sunrise Snowy Owls. Wish me luck.