Yup, I like to hang out at Cemeteries and Septic Ponds (Sewage Treatment Ponds). Yesterday afternoon I struck paydirt at the LakeView Cemetery in Two Harbors when I saw a rare northeastern Minnesota migrant, a Ross’s Goose.

This Ross’s Goose was hanging out with about 1,000+ of its Canadian buddies yesterday afternoon at the cemetery. While Ross’s and Snow Geese might be a common sight in the western Minnesota border region with the Dakotas, it is rare in NE Minnesota. If you wondered how I was able to get close to the goose with so many birds around, the answer is to NEVER walk directly towards a bird. I spent ten minutes walking in oblique, non direct lines towards the geese. They would look at me, but decide I was not a threat. I made sure to stop every few feet.

Later this morning I plan on driving up to the Castle Danger Sewage Treatment Ponds. I generally hike / bird the area outside the fenced in ponds. It is at Castle Dangle four years ago when I found / rescued Silver the Snowy Owl while hiking.

Even with my propensity to hang out at these aforementioned unusual locations, I was “bog bound” two mornings ago. The combination of heavy ground fog overnight, plus light winds in the first two hours after dawn led me to believe my favorite Great Gray Owl would be out hunting after sunrise as the fog cleared. I was not disappointed. It was beautiful to watch the owl hunt with all the fall colors around.