Tag Archives: MN Central

Migration Meanderings … Owl Therapy

Year 12,

Pay attention to the wind and weather! During the spring south winds rule, and after a night’s winds from the south you may find many new species of birds have arrived outside your home. Learn more about migrations … read up on BirdCast (my post). In addition if you live near a North / South river, it may be a migration highway. Pay attention.

I drove over to the Mississippi River and the Willowsippi Wildlife Management Area earlier this week. While the Father of Waters is still mainly iced over in northern Minnesota, where there are breaks in the ice waterfowl are resting on their northern migration. Twice I found Trumpeter Swans at this open spot on the Mississippi River.

When I reached the Willowsippi Wildlife Management Area (learn more about Willowsippi), I found a pair of Trumpeter Swans had already claimed prime habitat … even though the wetlands pond was still ice over.

Yesterday I spend time over at Sax-Zim Bog. After my local nest failure, I think a local Great Gray Owl took pity on me and wanted to give me some quality “owl time”. I watched this owl for over 1.5 hours. For the first 30 minutes the owl hooted and calmly looked around for a mate. This was followed by an hour of hunting, when I had to leave … the owl was not finished. Oh yes … the crowds are gone from Sax-Zim. I saw only one other birder / car during the three hours I was at the Bog.

The treat over at the Bog was finding a lone Snow Bunting. These small finches are impossible to approach when in flocks, but when they are by themselves one may approach within yards.

Willowsippi WMA Northern Hawk Owl

Year 12

Two days ago when the temperature soared and the winds calmed, I drove over to the Willowsippi Wildlife Management Area which is SW of Floodwood, Minnesota. I knew the unseasonably warm weather and mild winds would make for a great day of exploring out in the open, and I was rewarded! These wetlands and Boreal Forests are worth birding at any time of the year, and are included in my list / descriptions of areas I like to bird (free PDF download).

After an extensive I search I found this Northern Hawk Owl when it essentially came to me and started hunting next to the dirt road. One nice item about the dirt roads in this WMA is there is no active logging. Thus,  if the dirt roads are plowed, you need not fear a logging truck speeding down upon you.

Another treat of the morning was actually hearing the Hawk Owl sound off. I had heard there are multiple NHO’s in Aitkin County, and we are now reaching the time of year when owls, which breed earlier than other birds are beginning to think of love. I suspect the calm warm conditions made the owl decide to call out in the hopes another Northern Hawk Owl might hear its calls and visit! Remember, hawk owls tend to hunt by sight during the day. Thus, hearing a “hoot” during the daytime is not as strange. However, I had never heard one call. In addition I even managed to capture this owl in flight (they are very fast). Fun!

Northern Hawk Owl Winter’s Hunt

Hunting & Preening …

The Movies! (video links for email subscribers: video1 | video2)

Hunting …

Hooting …

Later this same day, I would see Amy my local Great Horned Owl as she sang shortly after sunset. That post is coming soon!

Housebound Birding

Year 11, ,

50 mph wind gusts and strong rain considers even the most persistent birder like myself to hang out in the house. I didn’t even get out of bed till 6:30 am! My only social item today is to meet friends at the Pickwick Restaurant (Wikipedia Link) at 5:30 pm. This venue has been open since 1888, and my parents first took me to the Pickwick at the age of around 4 or 5 around 1960. Thus, I have been frequenting this restaurant for over 65 years. Uff Dah! If you are visiting Sax-Zim Bog or the North Shore for birding, I recommend the Pickwick.

Image from Open Table … not my own

Now some birding information. This winter is setting up to look excellent for both winter birding and owls. While the Winter Finch forecast was actually not real good, the results are indicating otherwise. 1000’s of Redpolls have been reported flying past Duluth’s Hawk Ridge over the past two days. In addition lots of Crossbills have been reported. I know all three species (Red and White-Winged Crossbills plus Redpolls) have been in my yard.

On the owl front this year is predicted to be an irruption year of birds from north of the border. The number of Boreal Owls banded at Hawk Ridge, Wolf Ridge and Whitefish Point exceeds all past counts. Expect to see some of these little guys in January. In addition, unlike last year, there are already a decent number of Snowy Owl reports. One big difference is there is snow on the ground west and north of Winnipeg to drive raptors south. Last year the extended region was snow free on the ground. I found myself hiking into the Greenwood Bog in February. There was only a dusting of white stuff on the ground when normally the snow cover should be measured in feet.

My available time this morning allowed me to catch up on bird images. First on the docket is this photo of a Woodhouse Scrub Jay which I saw at the Oracle, Arizona town park. If you are vacationing or live in Tucson, the small town of Oracle a bit north of Oro Valley is worth birding.

Woodhouse Scrub Jay (Although this jay is nor rare, it is only my second even lifetime sighting. I just don’t hang out often in the right SW dry highland habitat.)

And a few more images of last weekend’s migrating Bonaparte Gulls.