Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from northern Minnesota.
I hope the holiday season keeps everyone safe and warm. We have a possible major winter snow barreling down upon our region (Yeah!). This beautiful male Snowy Owl is hanging out in Sax-Zim Bog this winter.
Today will more than likely be the last day I hike back into the frozen bog with my trusty Canon SX60. While this has been a great camera for me, its successor the Canon SX70 was waiting on my doorstep when I returned home from Sax-Zim Bog. Expect a review of my new camera shortly, but my final hike with an old friend was most pleasant.
I actually had not even planned to head to the Bog when I go up yesterday morning, but when I discovered the day would be totally clear with light winds I could not resist the “call of the bog”. I arrived in the Bog thirty minutes before sunrise, but even with light winds and perfect weather before sunrise, I did not find a Great Gray Owl. Without deep snow in the woods, there is little reason for these birds to hunt the roadsides.
However, given there is only 4 inches of white stuff on the ground, taking hikes deep into the bog is much easier than normal. A Northern Hawk Owl has been hanging out in the South Logging Road clearing 3/4 of a mile from the trail head. No snow shoes were necessary and when I first arrived two Gray Jays and the owl were having a major disagreement. It was like a World War I dogfight for over three minutes with the three birds diving and swirling at each other. It was a “hoot” to watch!
Next a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers took exception to the presence of the owl, but these two birds were not as agile and tended to scream from a distance. The two images given below were of the combatants taken on top of two dead tamarack pines approximately fifteen yards apart. The Northern Hawk Owl was not impressed with the presence of the Hairy, as its facial expression seems to express.
I did stop by the Welcome Center around 10 am. It has an amazing number of male pine grosbeaks including this one I caught foraging on the ground.
My final hike of the day was into the Warren Nelson Bog. Light winds meant it was extremely easy to hear Black Backed Woodpeckers in their search for food. Within minutes after arriving I heard and found this female. All an all it was a great day in the Bog … sunny, no wind, and 9F.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Sax-Zim Bog over the past few days. The weather has been sunny, and the temperatures moderate (OF at sunrise rising to 25F). Given I always wear choppers and thermal underwear, I have been toasty warm on my extensive hikes. While the snow is not very deep in the woods (4 to 8 inches) which means owls are not hunting the roadsides (lesser snow depths at roadsides make for easier hunting), the light snow cover has made it much easier for me to bushwhack through the back country. Better yet, my tracks in the snow mean it is impossible to get lost. Remember, bog country is very flat and the terrain does not give many landmarks.
Here are just a few of the birds I’ve enjoyed, none of which were birded from my car.
White-Winged Crossbills
Northern Shrike
Black-Backed Woodpecker
and of course … the Northern Hawk Owl! (I now know this birds morning routine and favorite perches from 8 to 11 am)
Finally … the “far off Snowy Owl”. I never got closer than 400 yards to this bird, but these photographs are included because I DID NOT hike on private land. I know some recent visitors to the Bog have violated this rule. If you do not have permission from a landowner, even if the property is not posted with “no trespassing signs”, stay off! Farm land like the property show is obviously private.
