Category Archives: Year 11

Greg Garmer … a Friend and Much More.

Year 11

Greg Garmer, who is a dear friend of mine, died in a tragic accident Sunday afternoon, but while enjoying the outdoors which he truly loved. Greg went ice skating on St. Louis Bay backwater ice, broke through the ice and drowned.

Greg was a a long time member of the Duluth Audubon / Northeastern Minnesota Birding Alliance and frequently went on sponsored outings such as the warbler walks. Greg rarely missed a chapter meeting. In addition, Greg is a retired Lutheran pastor and many Duluth churches are in a state of shock.

He was first my pastor, and but then so much more after he retired … including my birding buddy. We often spent hours in the car together as we drove to remote spots in northern Minnesota. Here Greg is looking for late migrating ducks out over a lake in the BWCA to which we had hiked.
The last time I saw Greg was a bit over one week ago. He had excitedly stopped by my home to let me know a Northern Shrike was near by. Of course I dropped everything I was doing and went to find the bird.
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Greg and I even skied the 54k American Birkebeiner together. Mary (his wife) had asked Molly and me to take him to his first and only Birkie. Mary told us Greg would be impossible to live with if he never skied a Birkie!
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Greg … these birds I saw yesterday morning are for you. Before hearing the news about Greg, I had been up at Sax-Zim Bog before sunrise. It is very appropriate that the last bird I saw in the Bog was a Northern Shrike.

Northwoods Birding Notes

Year 11

It is time for some “Northwoods Birding Notes”. Many of these notes apply for anyone who travels the Northland’s roads.

  1. Winter Emergency Kit: When the unexpected happens, it is unexpected. Be prepared! My parents always required me to carry emergency supplies in the car. Although my parents are no longer around to enforce this rule, I still listen to them. My kit has very warm clothes, a blanket, a car towing cable, and a battery charger plus jumper cables. On my person I carry an extra set of car keys (even folks with AutoStart / Push-button tell me this is a good idea). Remember, the temperature in northern Minnesota will drop well below zero. These items can be life saving.
  2. Keep your car or truck’s gas tank above 1/2 full
  3. Dress warmly even in the car: When birding in the winter, I often cruise slowly with the windows down. If your car gets to warm given your heavy clothes, just turn the heat down! When outside, wool socks and long underwear are your friends!

Now some actual bird notes …

  1. I saw my first Pine Grosbeaks of the winter season yesterday morning at the Greenwood Bird Feeders! It was only three birds. There are huge flocks of Redpolls, but not at the feeders.
  2. Crossbills are everywhere this winter. I am seeing a much larger number of white-winged rather than red. Once again, the crossbills are not visiting feeders.
  3. Great Gray Owl numbers appear to be very good. In the last week I have seen six unique Great Gray Owls, and only one was located in Sax-Zim Bog. In addition, the Sax-Zim owl was no where near the popular Bog roads. Another neat feature is my owl sightings have been scattered across NE Minnesota
  4. I saw a Snowy Owl last Sunday … in November! Given how horrible last year was for Snowy Owls, I am hopeful for this winter’s birding season.
  5. Super Cool … let me repeat … Super Cool!!! The Friends of Sax-Zim Bog’s Welcome Center now have a live bird feeder cam! (daily hours). I will be volunteering all day at the Welcome Center on Friday the 13th of December. Stop by to say hello. I will make the 13th your lucky day!
    • Sax-Zim Bog Bird Feeder Cam (cam link for email subscribers)

And a few pics …

Playing Peek-a-Boo with the Sax-Zim Bog Great Gray Owl

White-Winged Crossbills enjoying some pine cones near my home … female and male.

Owl Time … a ThreeFer!

Year 11,

After what had been a cold snap for finding owls, the last three days have been fantastic … an owl a day for a ThreeFer! Yesterday I found a second Great Gray Owl … once again north of Duluth no where near Sax-Zim Bog.

Today shows how stupid birders can be when a rare bird appears. Last year, essentially no Snowy Owls were seen in the Duluth Superior area. A normal year has several Snowy Owls spending their time on the Arctic Riviera (Duluth!). Regardless, when I returned home from church and I heard a Snowy Owl had been spotted at the Superior Entry to the harbor, I immediately started Snowy Search ‘2024!

Why do I call myself stupid? I immediately saw the Snowy Owl upon reaching the Superior Entry. However Lake Superior was getting nasty as a winter storm bore down on the area. Spending time outside to watch a white bird hundreds of yards distant in 30F, damp weather with 30 mph winds blowing in off the big lake might not be considered fun, let alone intelligent.

Flight Time Snowy

Just Hanging

Oh well … Snowy Owl sitting across the channel on the Minnesota breakwater. My ThreeFer! As a fyi, I was using my Canon SX-70 for these pics … Super Zoom Camera … 130x magnification. I am a loooonnng ways away from this bird.