One thing I like about visiting Sax-Zim Bog is immediately south of the bog are farms and meadows. This allow the visitor to enjoy both forest and grassland birds with minimal driving. Yesterday before I enjoyed watching the Great Gray Owl, I birded the grasslands just after sunrise. This year there is a special treat … Dickcissels. These pretty little birds are in an irruption year. Most years we do not see them in northern Minnesota. This year it seems like they are hanging out in any large meadow or farm field. Still, everyone has their favorite locations, including me. I spent an hour driving a very small stretch of Dart Road (just west of Cty 29), and Racek Road (leading east from Cty 29 … only a few hundred yards to the north). On these stretch of roads I see Bobolinks, an occasional Meadowlark, and not lots of Dickcissels. Later in the summer it is not unusual for me to find a Northern Harrier also hunting the fields (this raptor is a favorite of mine).

Finally, the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center is open this summer from 10 am to 3 pm. You’ll find the Welcome Center a bit north of where I was watching birds yesterday.

Dickcissel

Eastern Kingbird

Broad Winged Hawk

One final pic from my recent trip to Seattle. While Great Blue Herons are common in northern Minnesota, this individual let me get amazingly close.

In addition, this Pileated Woodpecker visits my yard most afternoons. I have been taking lots of hikes in an attempt to find its hole. The young should fledge soon. In addition to my bird feeders, my yard is woodpecker friendly. Unless a dead tree threatens my house, I never take down dead trees … woodpecker food and habitat.