Two weeks ago I posted about my excursion up to the Superior National Forest where I saw Red Crossbills and Spruce Grouse. Today in Sax-Zim Bog I saw the other Crossbill which visits our region when a bumper pine cone crop exists, the White Winged Crossbill. These birds with the hooked beaks are uniquely adapted to breaking open pine cones. Other birds need not apply! The White-Winged Crossbill is my favorite of the two (Cornell eBird link). Here are a few images I took this morning while this gorgeous male was “gritting up”. Notice how it has to turn its head sideways to pick up grit sand. While its beak works well for pine cones, gritting up is a bit more difficult.

White-Winged Crossbills (I found one lone male and he allowed me to get real close! When you have an opportunity like this, get very low to the ground. First, you are less likely to scare the bird. Second, an image at the same level is better than one looking down from on high)

Canada / Gray Jays are always a favorite when I visit the Bog.

Up in Sax-Zim Bog there is a female Snowy Owl which rarely hunts near any road. Most views of this bird are from 3/4 of mile away.  This morning a bit after sunrise I decided today was the perfect day to snowshoe the 3/4 mile from Hwy #7 to said Snowy Owl (1.5 miles round trip). The weather was perfect … starting at 3F and ending at 28F with light winds.

If you know where this Snowy hangs out, there is no sneaking up on the bird, and any wind would make the snowshoe trip very, very cold. However, Madam Snowy decided said human (i.e. me) was harmless and waited for me to make my long approach.