Category Archives: Year 8

Minnesota Logging in Days of Yore!

Another off topic post (like my recent post about Canal Park and the Alpena). While I don’t want to turn this blog into a northern Minnesota tourist guide, I know many of you have family members who couldn’t care the least about our fine feathered friends. Thus, I like to add an occasional post about things one might do to keep the entire clan happy when visiting / birding northern Minnesota. Today’s topic is “Logging in Days of Yore!”

It is definitely worth a stop at the Minnesota Historical Society’s Forest History Center in Grand Rapids. The “center” is an old logging camp built on the shores of the Mississippi River. Most of the folks you find at the Forest History Center are volunteers who believe passionately in helping you learn the history of the region. Northern Minnesota was essentially clear cut in the early part of the 1900’s.

Take the time to watch this short video about the last log drive on the Little Fork River (a bit north of Grand Rapids). Make sure you click “play”. Don’t skip the first few static minutes, but by about minute #3 you will be treated to watching the last log drive every to occur in Minnesota … year 1938: Last Log Drive on the Little Fork River

Also a bit north of Grand Rapids is the only remaining Civilian Conservation Corp Camp in the Lower 48 which is in remotely good shape: Camp Rabideau. All the hiking trails I use near my own house were built by the CCC in the 1930’s. If you would like to read about the logging industry in northern Minnesota, here is a great overview from the Minnesota Historical Society. The picture is theirs, not mine.


I will never post about “tourist / historical sites” unless I have personally visited the spot in question, and found the experience extremely interesting.

More Bog Fog Magic

Two afternoons ago I risked a bad rain forecast and drove over to Sax-Zim Bog. The probability for rain was over 75%. However, being the weatherman I am, I looked at radar, evaluated the dry conditions as my home and took the risk. A bit of cabin fever also drove me out of the house.

Well … it sort of stayed dry. The drizzle never got to bad and I enjoyed watching this recent arrival from Hudson Bay Way hunt. Yup, my favorite hawks, Rough-Legged Hawks have migrated back into the Northland from waaaayyy up north. Only this bird and Golden Eagles have feathers down all the way to their talons to keep them warm in Arctic environments.

Rough-Legged Hawk … a Bog Hunting!


From this morning, my other Bog birds.

Gray Jay (now known as a Canada Jay)

Great Gray Owl #3 (see the other two)

Bog Fog Magic: Great Gray Owl times 2!

The Great Gray Owls outnumbered the humans shortly after sunrise this morning in Sax-Zim Bog Fog!

For twenty minutes … all by myself …  I watched two Great Gray Owl juveniles hunt, and occasionally take a dive at one another. This magical time in the fog ended when a darn crow invaded our domain. The crow scared both owls into the woods, and then there was one lone human on a remote road. Darn!

Two Owls in the Same Photograph!

Juvenile Great Gray Owl #1

Juvenile Great Gray Owl #2 (on the other side of the dirt road … 25 yards away)

It was actually a three Great Gray Owl morning, but pics of that bird and other Bog favorites will get their own post. Oh yes, my own juvenile Great Horned Owls were calling to me as I left home in the pre-dawn inky black darkness. I suspect they were begging for a handout from Mom or Dad, but I like to think they were saying hello to me. I saw two of the juveniles during a pre-dawn hike yesterday morning. I just followed my ear and used a flashlight to insure I would not trip on deadfall.