Minnesota: Owls and Finches of the Bog (2 Viewers)

[lgonz1008]

If someone asked what the ultimate winter birding destination within the US would be, then the Sax-Zim Bog in Northern Minnesota is the holder of the title. The Bog is the winter residence for a variety of species that are found all around the northern hemisphere in the boreal/taiga biomes, but rarely do we get to enjoy their presence.

This trip was 3 years in the making with a few delays that turned into lucky breaks as the trip coincided with the best winter season within the Bog in the last decade. A total of 52 bird species were seen in a span of 5 days, with some being considered Holy Grail birds by birders around the world. The trip was completed by three birders with the help of local guide Judd Brink in parts of the trip. While exploring the bog is pretty straightforward, the local knowledge of the different spots, ease of driving and the feeding station Judd personally set up helped us feel comfortable during the 2 days we counted on his help.

Detailed Itinerary:​

• February 6 (Arrival and first day in Minnesota)​

After an early morning flight, we all arrived at Minneapolis airport around 10:30AM, some quick luggage pickup and car rental confirmation had us in the field hoping to find some of the first birds of the trip, with a quick stop in Nicols Road Marsh giving us our only Green-winged (American) Teal among a raft of Mallard and an active feeder in a nearby home had enough Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco to make sure we didn’t miss them for the rest of the trip. Our drive took us west to Babcock Park, where we finally connected with a big target of the trip, the Trumpeter Swan, as we enjoyed 14 of these birds foraging in the river alongside a large raft of Common Goldeneye.​

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We decided to warm up with a slightly late lunch and from there continued our drive to a spot where a Townsend’s Solitaire was reported this season, along the way we noticed a field with over 100 Trumpeter Swan on it, while a juvenile Bald Eagle betrayed our hopes of seeing the uncommon Golden Eagle. When we arrived at the Solitaire site, we noticed that it was on the opposite side of a snowy field and that only parking area was in a public school around the time that parents come pick-up their kids, we decided that it wasn’t worth it and moved north on our goal to reach our accommodations late night, but on the way out we noticed a female Pileated Woodpecker having a field day on a suet feeder in someone’s front yard and a pair of Snow Bunting briefly flew in front of our car.​

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Passing through many empty fields, we began to notice and eventually got great photos of the introduced Ring-necked Pheasant, alongside a flock of Horned Lark, and a single American Tree Sparrow, before we noticed that we still had 2 hours to go, and the sun was setting. After a long drive and enjoying the winter landscape, we arrived at our base for the next four nights, Alesches' Accommodations, where we were greeted by the hosts and relaxed by the fire for a bit before calling it a night.​

 

[lgonz1008]

• February 7 (Sharp-tailed Grouse Lek and Duluth Area)

An early 6AM departure had us driving south for about 2 hours in hopes of seeing an active lek of the iconic Sharp-tailed Grouse, but not without having our first views of a Great Gray Owl on the side of the highway! Spending little more than 5 minutes in bad lighting gave us no photos to show for it, but at least we knew we came at the right year as some winters, these birds are barely seen within the bog, let alone hundreds of miles from it. When we arrived at the Sharp-tailed Grouse site, we noticed two unusual things about these interesting grassland-loving chickens, 1. They were lekking on the road due to the large amount of snow on the field and 2. They were surprisingly confiding as we walked slowly towards them, and they mostly ignored us. While we are unsure if the birds were too focused on their mating displays to care about us or figured that the cold morning was too much for the group, it wasn’t until a local drove past the lek that the birds scattered, never to be seen again by us.​

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With such a good start to the morning, we drove north and east this time, to the town of the Duluth, along the way we noticed our first Red-tailed Hawk, Wild Turkey and Blue Jay of the trip, before a flyover flock of White-winged Crossbill had us stop on the side of the road to enjoy them in morning light. A little way down the road, the situation repeated itself, but this time with a flock of (Common) Redpoll instead. A pit stop at the Culkin Rest Area had us staring at some feeders where we had our only White-breasted (Eastern) Nuthatch of the trip, alongside our first Common Raven, Hairy (Eastern) Woodpecker, and a brown ball in the bushes turned out to be the first mammal of the trip, an Eastern Cottontail.​

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After a delicious brunch break at the Duluth Grill, we managed to pick out a single Glaucous Gull in a flock American Herring Gull, sadly, the wintering Iceland Gull could not be found, but seeing a tree full of Bald Eagle was a neat change of pace before we made our first attempt to find a Snowy Owl in the nearby state of Wisconsin. While the owl was a no-show due to time of day and overall sunny conditions, a stop at the harbor of Park Point had us enjoying a raft of over 300 Common Goldeneye, with a surprise drake Hooded Merganser through in the mix.​

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A coffee break had us leaving Duluth, but not without seeing a small traffic accident on the way out. By the time we reached the empty fields around Meadowlands, we made a beeline for the female Snowy Owl that had been reported. Thankfully, we quickly found the bird, even if the distant views left a bit to be desired. After about an hour with it, we decided to fill the tank for tomorrow and this became a blessing in disguise as we managed to see the only American Goshawk of the trip as a bird flew across the road in front of us. After an early dinner, we spoke a bit with Judd about our plans for the following day and called it an early night.​

 

[lgonz1008]

• February 8 (First day at Sax-Zim Bog)

With a 7AM departure, we began driving through the bog on our way to connect with other birders that were joining us today. Our only Ruffed Grouse of the day was seen foraging in a tree close to the accommodations, while the feeders at the visitor center showed the common finches of the season with Pine Siskin, Purple Finch and (Common) Redpoll all being present.​

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As we drove around the bog, we noticed the first Great Gray Owl of the day, along with the only Northern Shrike of the trip, before a train scared both birds from their respective perches. A visit to the Sisu Feeders had us adding a flock of Evening Grosbeak to the trip list, alongside one of many White-tailed Deer seen in the area. From there, we spent close to an hour in the Admiral Road feeders, which is regularly visited by an American Marten, but the large mustelid was a no-show today, in its place, the feeders were full of flocks of finches that included species we had already seen, alongside our first proper views of Red-breasted Nuthatch and American Red Squirrel. The next hour was spent trying to find the best photo-ops for Great Gray Owl and thankfully the birds cooperated, along with a hungry North American Porcupine that was eating the bark off a pine. We moved to the Arkola Road feeders to get amazing views of Canada Jay and White-winged Crossbill, but the true standout was a bright male Pine Grosbeak that was a lifer for everyone in the group.​

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After a late lunch break and a minor mishap where a pair of binoculars were left in the restaurant, we arrive back at the bog with cryptic news of a Boreal Owl being seen. This species is an irruptive member of the bog with it being uncommon some years and completely gone in others, this year it just happened to be the prime year for them and in the weeks leading up to our trip, there had been up to 10 of these cute owls being reported between Sax-Zim Bog and the Duluth area. Unfortunately, the person who shared the tip did not provide a working GPS pin, so it became a game of deciphering their words to find the spot, but when we did, we managed to arrive to the owl site before the bulk of the visitors to the bog did. Seeing this adorable but difficult owl was a clear trip highlight and a clear pride for even a veteran of the area like Judd, as this Boreal Owl was perched out in the open at eye-level in perfect light, while nearly 100 birders managed to see it for the next hour it was there. During that time those of us that faced the cold enjoyed seeing it open the eyes, scratch their faces and huddle up a bit, by the time we left, the owl stuck around for another 10 minutes before moving further into the woods, much to the dismay of some delayed birders.​

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Due to the time spent with the owl, we lost our chance to connect with a Black-backed Woodpecker, but we didn’t really mind, and instead decided to return to the Snowy Owl to see if we could have better views and this time, the owl cooperated! Sort of? She was closer to the road but perched on the highest pine in the area, so it was great seeing it closer, even if the photo ops left something to be desired. From there, we encountered one more Great Gray Owl in fading light, before warming up at Alesches, planning our route for tomorrow and calling it an early night.​

 

[lgonz1008]

• February 9 (Second day at Sax-Zim Bog)

Our final day in the bog had us spending nearly 2 hours by to the Arkola Road feeders in hopes of seeing the Boreal Chickadee, but the species would remain on our heard only list for the trip as we looked around all the different Black-capped Chickadee that were enjoying the peanut butter that Judd spreads on the trees for the birds of the area. During the time spent here, we also saw two male Pine Grosbeak and a pair of Brown Creeper, among the more common species that call the bog home.​

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Driving to the CR213 road, we noticed our first Great Gray Owl of the day, while the hoped for pair of Black-billed Magpie were seen foraging on the backs of cows in a nearby field. A brief visit to the Admiral Road feeders turned into a highlight as the American Marten was happily eating frozen peanut butter for all the visitors to see. From there, we scanned the area around Admiral Road to eventually find a Snowshoe Hare in full winter coat and a cooperative trio of Ruffed Grouse, with both species posing for photos. By revisiting the Sisu and Arkola Road feeders, we encountered the flock of Evening Grosbeak of the previous day and other species we had seen that morning, but the Boreal Chickadee remained heard only for every visitor that day. Before leaving for lunch, we encountered a hunting Great Gray Owl out in the open in sunny weather, leaving us with the best photos we could have hoped of this resident of the north.​

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The plan for the late afternoon was simple but time-consuming as we would drive over 2 hours to reach the only reliable Northern Hawk-Owl in the area this year. Along the way, we attempted a report of a Hawk-Owl that was closer but no luck there; but on the drive we managed to connect with a Rough-legged Hawk perched on a power pole and seeing our last Great Gray Owl of the trip. When we finally reached our destination, we began scanning for the Hawk-Owl with no luck on the preferred poles and wires by the road. Eventually, an out of place ball on a distant tree proved to be our lifer Northern Hawk-Owl, the views left us a bit upset as birders had seen it right by the road that morning, but nothing to do, except accept how birding works sometimes and begin a long drive back to Alesches, but seeing a flock of Snow Bunting fly over a field was a nice ending point.​

• February 10 (Back to Minneapolis and departure)

After an early departure from Alesches, we aimed to explore a known spot for a wintering Long-eared Owl in the Minneapolis area. Due to driving conditions and overall time restrictions, we only had about an hour to look for the owl, but this sadly proved to not be enough time. The warmer weather did help us hit over 50 species for the trip as we had a couple of birds that wouldn’t go further north at this time of year like Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, Sharp-shinned Hawk, American Robin and two sparrow species, Swamp and Song Sparrow. In hindsight, more time was needed for this bird that can roost in any of the trees in that island, but we considered it a good walk and made it to the airport with time to spare to catch our flights home.​

 

[lgonz1008]

Photos from the trip:

• Canada Jay
• Purple Finch
• Sharp-tailed Grouse
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Pine Grosbeak
• Boreal Owl
• Snowy Owl
• Ruffed Grouse
• Great Gray Owl
• American Marten