Tag Archives: MN North: Sax-Zim Bog

Deep Freeze Birding

Year 4,

Since Christmas a warm morning has been -5F, with many days ranging down to -20F. In short, these mornings have demanded I get outside! I will admit my hikes away from the car are short, rarely exceeding 20 minutes, and I pay strict attention to the wind velocity and direction.

Yesterday morning was relatively warm, -8F plus wind for a chill factor of -22F. In short, it was perfect weather to stand on a wind swept Lake Superior beach for 20 minutes in search of the “perfect photo” . My goal was to catch the local USCG Cutter Alder as it entered the harbor through the Sea Smoke at the Superior Entry!

Later in the day I drove over to Two Harbors, Minnesota and took a hike out Lighthouse Point. Upon returning this scene presented itself to me … “ice fishing”!

Two mornings ago I had a blast taking a mom and her eleven year old son over to Sax-Zim Bog. The young man loves birding, owls, and my blog. Great kid, huh?!

When I picked them up at 6:30 I asked the young lad what he wanted to see. Owls is the response! I think … no guarantee, but I am reasonably confident … then the boy continues … a Boreal Owl! Uff dah! No way, politely says I! We succeeded by most accounts … five Great Gray Owls and a Northern Hawk Owl, but no Boreal! Here are two images from that outing. (I had driven over the afternoon before to scout and insure the birding expedition would be a success)

Christmas Birds! (owls and more)

Year 4

Sometimes … you just have to go birding!

When things went surprisingly well at Target yesterday and I finished up stocking stuffer purchases by 7:45 am, I said to myself: “Self … you are only 35 miles from the Bog. Given the 3+ inches of new snow flocked on the trees and the weather radar shows clearing skies … get thee to a Boggery!”

And I did … Sax-Zim Bog bound was I! It was a fantastic morning. I only spent two hours birding, but what a great two hours it was.

Merry Christmas!

Pine Grosbeak (male)

Great Gray Owl on the Hunt … Voles watch out!
… The 4th image in this series was taken upon returning to a favorite hunting perch!

Back at home … not a Partridge in a Pear Tree, but a …
… Mourning Dove in a Pine Tree!

Northern Hawk Owls are so Yesterday!

Year 4

A friend wanted to go up to Sax-Zim Bog. He had heard about all the Northern Hawk Owls which normally is a rare bird. Looking at the advanced weather forecast I said Thursday! Although I knew today would be cold, it also was forecasted to have decent light and low winds. While sunny skies mean Great Gray Owls retreat into the heavy forest shortly after sunrise, Northern Hawk Owls do not care about light.

Thus, our plan was to arrive 20 minutes before sunup and look for owls, and ignore any hawk owls we saw. This plan worked perfectly and within a few minutes we have found two great grays, one of which was very cooperative in terms of hunting for us … catching two voles in the waning moments of the night. As expected, 20 minutes after sunrise the Great Gray said good-bye to us and retreated into the deep Bog.

We then shifted our efforts over to the hawk owls (we saw three unique individuals) and enjoyed their hunting efforts. However, one thing cool about Hawk Owls is they often perch on the highest tree in the vicinity. Without exception this always means the owl will get attacked by some local birds. Just set up shot and wait. Here are some of my efforts from today.

A Pileated Woodpecker … taking a break between attacking the owl

Pileated and Northern Hawk Owl

Great Gray before Sunrise

A few more Northern Hawk Owl Images