I did not start out yesterday morning to find yellow while birding, but heck … yellow found me. At this time of year, I very frequently start looking for grassland birds, if Boreal Birds up in Sax-Zim Bog are not performing for me, and they were not! Make certain you see my map at the end of the post. It defines the small area in which I was birding, and what I normally see / hear in the region.

A Sandhill Crane Couple seen in a sea of (??) wild mustard.

An Eastern Meadowlark Singing to find a Mate

Map of my Birding Region (descriptions of 3 regions beneath map)

• Region 1 – Wild Mustard Field: The Sandhill Cranes like this field, and I often see various hawks perched on the edge of the field hunting.
• Region 2 – Racek Road: Bobolinks and Dickcissels are my favorite finds. You will find other grassland birds. In the morning I drive from the east with the sun behind me.
• Region 3 – Dart Road: Eastern Meadowlarks and Bobolinks. Sometimes I see Northern Harriers hunting the fields … mainly after their young have hatched.

There are obviously other Sax-Zim areas where one might see these birds , but these regions are very close together and easily birded. From Owl Avenue to the Mustard Field, look for warblers on the north side of the road. If the bugs are not to0 bad, I hike the trail next to the drainage ditch leading to the west at the southern most point (90 degree turn) of Owl Avenue (land owned by the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog)

The back country is wet, which does not encourage one to go off trail. Twice in the past three days I have visited Sax-Zim Bog and the water next to the dirt roads is amazingly deep. The reason for my visits is we are now entering the time period when both Great Gray Owls and Barred Owls have their owlets hatch, which means both species often hunt well after sunrise. While I have not seen any Great Grays (bummer) I have found the same exact Barred Owl twice. At this point I do not know if it is a younger owl that did not mate this year, or whether a nest is in the vicinity. Regardless here are a few pics from Sunday morning when the yellow globe came out briefly.

Barred Owl at Sax-Zim Bog

In the sun …

The clouds returned …

Who Cooks for You (the video … link for email subscribers)

I also watched this Chestnut-Sided Warbler (and a whole bunch others) near my home

Here is a timeline for Great Gray Owls which I put together. It assumes a nesting date of May 1st (adjust earlier or later based upon your own sightings). Shortly after hatching the views of Poppa GGO with the need to hunt increase.

Nesting Date: May 1

• Incubation Time: 30 days (End on June 1st)
• Time in Nest: 28 days (End on June 28th)
• Exploring on Ground or Snags near nest: 7 to 14 days (End on July 4th to 11th)
• Flight (Start July 4th to 11th … mid July)
• Independent by late Summer

My daughter’s plan was to visit us today … arriving up from the Twin Cities around 9:45 am. Thus, naturally I thought that meant there was time to go birding at Sax-Zim Bog before she arrived. I left home at 5:25 am, and the Bog did not disappoint. Predators like to nest or have their young early in the year to make their youngster’s huge appetites correspond to when other animals and birds have their young.

I found another Great Gray Owl hunting well past sunrise. I suspect it is now hunting for two adult owls … itself and its mate which is back on the nest. Thus, the two Great Grays I have found in dramatically different parts of Sax-Zim now gives me a good idea where of the vicinity of two owl nests.

With respect to Red Fox, their young were born some time ago, and the fox kits are starting to come out and play. Apparently foxes like the same forest region as one of the owls. The Red Fox and Great Gray were seen and photographed quite near one another! Wherever you live it is time to invest in searches which will pay dividends in 6 to 8 weeks. Days following stormy weather (like yesterday) are always a smart time to head into the outdoors. Predators are likely to be hungry after a forced day of fasting.