Tag Archives: MN North: Upper Red Lake – Big Bog

Hawk Owl Love!

Year 4

Somehow it would be difficult to imagine the two Northern Hawk Owls having a song written about their love in a manner similar to the Captain and Tennille’s hit, Muskrat Love! However, make no mistake about it; these two birds which I found in The Big Bog are an item. The female had a rather nice day. She just perched in the tops of various trees, enjoying the unseasonably warm February sun while the male hunted and caught voles which were then presented to her as evidence of his affection! While I was never able to record one of these exchanges on camera as it would occur 1/4 mile plus away from my location, it was fun to watch. I do have one image of the two owls sharing a tree at the end of this post. Given all the hunting the male was doing, both for himself and his lady friend, I was able to capture a few flight shots.

Flight Shots!

The Hunter!

Singing Out! (i.e. The male is singing / hooting to his love in this image. The owl does not open its mouth, but you can see the ruffling neck feathers)

Do not block my favorite hunting perch! (i.e. this is what you see just before a hawk owl zooms by your head at a distance of less than two feet! It landed on a snag eight yards behind me.)

Northern Hawk Owl Love … the female is on the upper left.

Owl Drink to That! Trifecta!

Year 4, ,

Over the past three days I’ve gotten close and personal to three different species of owls: a Northern Hawk Owl, a Snowy Owl, and a Great Gray Owl. I was actually quite happy with seeing the very rare Northern Hawk Owl over the weekend, but when I discovered a Great Gray Owl hunting along the North Shore of Lake Superior a few minutes after sunrise this morning, it ended the perfect owling adventure. I believe I now know each owl’s winter hunting habits, which means it should be possible to revisit each bird during February.

Great Gray Owl Hunts at Dawn near Lake Superior

A Snowy Owl Hunts at Sunset

A Northern Hawk Owl in the Evening Light

Gray Jays Attack Northern Hawk Owl (video!)

Year 4,

Okay, what does Canada’s new nation bird, the Gray Jay, have against Northern Hawk Owls? Apparently, a lot. To make it worse, given our present political climate, these dastardly jays, sometimes called the Canada Jay, flew down south 60 miles in the United States and carried out their attack in northern Minnesota near Upper Red Lake. Perhaps we need a very tall wall to keep the Gray Jays above our northern borders?!

Seriously, I had great fun today as I watched not 1, 2, or even 3, but 4 Northern Hawk Owls. Three of four birds had a pretty good day hunting peat bogs for tasty moles, but #3 had a rough time. In between attacks from nasty Common Redpolls, a pair of Gray Jays got in on the action. You may also wish to see yesterday’s post when I watched two Northern Hawk Owls for a combined total of over five hours … great sun, pics and video. While the light was not as good today, the experience of four hawk owls with all the attacks made for a memorable day. Once again, my total contact time with the Hawk Owls exceeded five hours.

Underneath today’s photographs are two videos … a real time video and a version of the Gray Jays attacking the Northern Hawk Owl, but slowed down by a factor of 4.

Canada Jay Attacks & Slide Past!

Slow Motion 4x: Attacking the Northern Hawk Owl

Real Time: Attacking the Northern Hawk Owl