The Pine Grosbeaks of Pine Island State Forest (and more)

Year 10

With this post I will finally catch up on photographs. Over the past week seeing all the Owls and Northern Lights had really put me behind in more than just sleep. Thus do to an unexpected gap in our schedule, I am considering a return to Big Falls tomorrow including a one night stay. One might ask, what motivates me to drive three hours when Sax-Zim Bog is only 50 minutes from my doorstep??

  • Birds! (winter finches are staying up near the border)
  • Minimal snow on the ground. Often by this time of year the back country is impossible to access
  • Good weather … no snow, moderate winds and a day each of sun and clouds (I like both as it leads to different birding outings)

Here is the final report from last week’s trip to the Pine Island State Forest (previous post: When Great Gray Owls Outnumber Humans)

Pine Grosbeaks (very few of these birds down by Duluth)

Bald Eagle (they’re everywhere)

Rough-Legged Hawk (the numbers this fall are amazing)

Canada / Gray Jay

Smokey and Barry the Owls Welcome Me to Sax-Zim Bog!

Year 10

This past Saturday the Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center opened for the winter. Just before opening time I donated & dropped off a significant numbers of my three owl children’s books. Now if you buy any of my books at the Welcome Center, 100% of your purchase price goes to support the Friend’s of Sax-Zim Bog. I also donated the “print ready proofs” with production rights to the Friends organization. It makes me feel good to know my owl children’s books will live on … You may still purchase a printed copy or download a free PDF from my website.

Now the fun starts … we all know Great Gray Owls normally do not hunt late in the morning on a bright day. However, Smokey must have wanted to thank me for the donation of his book. Saturday as I drove home on Owl Avenue, just before 10 am Smokey appeared! I watched the owl hunt for over 10 minutes. Actually, the idea of this owl being Smokey is not far fetched. This is the time of year juvenile owls now have to hunt 100% of the time for themselves. Given they are not yet accomplished hunters, it is often the juvenile, first of year birds, one sees hunting during the daylight hours. Hunger is a great motivator.

Saturday’s Smokey the Great Gray Owl Photographs

Well … Barry the Barred Owl was not about to be outdone by Smokey. Yesterday, long before sunset, Barry who makes a cameo appearance in Smokey’s book hunted and posed me in the late afternoon sun. My owls are cool!

Sunday’s Barry the Barred Owl Images

One final note … many people have asked me if I have another owl picture book planned. The answer is “yes and no”. I have written / photographed 3 children’s owl picture books about Great Gray Owls, Great Horned Owls, and Snowy Owls. Similar to my book, Do You Hoot? which is factually correct and documents my local Great Horned Owlets growing up through their first year, I would like to take the same approach for Barred Owls. However, that means I have to find a Barred Owl nest near Amity Creek. Oh well, life is never easy!

 

Lady Aurora Dances to the Ice Symphony!

Year 10

When the ice groans and Lady Aurora dances! Two nights ago it was quite cold while I was out watching the Northern Lights (around 10F), and ice upon the lake I was standing would suddenly groan, crack and make other noises. Given you go from total silence to the ice symphony, it was eerie. The noise is normal early in the winter as the ice thickens on cold nights. Listen at 10 seconds and 25 seconds of the video for the musical performance.

My camera is a Sony A6300, with a Rokinon 12 mm wide angle manual lens … thus a nice camera but not super expensive. I add this information just to give perspective on capturing a video in real time … not time lapse. The best performances for the Northern Lights were around 6:50 pm, but unfortunately I did not take any videos at that time. This was around 7:30 pm when things had died down a bit, but still really good.

Ice Dance … The Movie (video link for email subscribers)

And one more pic from the best performance time!