Sax-Zim Bog: A Winter Wonderland

The next big adventure would take me to Northern Minnesota, home to the famous Sax-Zim Bog, a managed Black Spruce and Tamarack and Birch wilderness where Great Gray Owl can be reliably found throughout the year.  In winter, these majestic owls are sometimes joined by Northern Hawk-Owl and Boreal Owl and several other northern species like Pine Grosbeak, Common Redpoll and Boreal Chickadee. I would be joined by Joe Kipper and Kathy Kay on a week-long road trip to see these species and others. 

I started the trip with 377 Biggest Year Birds after adding a Northern Goshawk with Greg Osland in Fort Collins on February 17. Kathy picked up Joe and me at 4 AM on Saturday, February 18 driving her Mazda SUV. In the darkness we headed east on Colorado Highway 14 through the Pawnee Grasslands before the sun appeared on the horizon. Our first destination was the sandhills of Logan County in northeast Colorado where Joe had seen several Short-eared Owls in January. We arrived before dawn at a wetland area north of Highway 138 but the "Shorties" failed to appear. Instead, we found Ring-necked Pheasant (#378) and Rough-legged Hawk (#379) to be plentiful. I led the group to a mature shelter belt along a county road where I had seen a roosting Barn Owl several years earlier hoping for a similar experience. As we rolled slowly along the mile-long juniper and Russian olive shelter, Joe spotted an owl at eye-level. Using the vehicle as a blind, we got excellent views and photos of a Long-eared Owl (#380).

Back on the road, we sailed eastward across Nebraska on Interstate 80, and then turned north on Interstate 35 at Des Moines, Iowa. We made a birding stop from 4-6 PM at a park on the outskirts of Ames, IA, hoping to find a resident pair of Eurasian Tree Sparrow, an exotic species originally introduced in St. Louis, Missouri. Unable to find this target, we did add Red-bellied Woodpecker (#381) in a section of deciduous forest. Continuing north after dark, we arrived at our destination - the Quality Inn in Virginia, Minnesota - after midnight. About 50 miles from the Canadian border, we were in the Northwoods of Minnesota above Duluth and Lake Superior. About a foot of snow blanketed the ground.

Sunday morning, February 19, we started birding early, arriving at the Sax-Zim Bog area by 7 AM. The bog is situated in a square of managed lands about 15 miles on each side and serviced by the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog for the enjoyment of birders. Numerous seed and suet feeders are situated throughout the eastern half of the bog to facilitate good views of the resident birds for birders and photographers. A Welcome Center at the south end provides shelter, bathrooms and free coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Staff members keep tabs on recent sightings of rarities, especially the two stars of the show: the Great Gray Owl and, when present, the Northern Hawk-Owl. Chatter on a local text chain informed us that both stars were present this winter, but the Hawk Owl hadn't been reported for several days. A local guide we met at the Welcome Center suspected that the one wintering Hawk Owl had probably been killed by a Goshawk. We traversed the bog en route to the Welcome Center and added several Year Birds along the way: White-winged Crossbill (#381), Canada Jay (#382), Ruffed Grouse (#383), Pine Grosbeak (#384), Pileated Woodpecker (#385) and Boreal Chickadee (#386).

On Monday morning, we waited for a staked-out Great Gray Owl to appear at the east edge of the bog, but it never did. A lone Common Redpoll was #387. Since the owls were unlikely to be found in the middle of the day, we headed to the Duluth area where we chased a reported Boreal Owl (unsuccessfully), as well as a pair of Eurasian Tree Sparrow (#388) in Superior, Wisconsin, and a Snowy Owl (#389) at the Duluth Airport. We returned to the bog at dusk but still no Great Gray.

Tuesday morning, we decided to look for another target, the Spruce Grouse, the only potential life bird for me on this trip. Looking on eBird, there were recent sightings about a half hour north of Virginia near Cook, MN. If we did not find them there, we might find them an hour further east along Route 2 in the Superior National Forest, in Lake County. Near Cook we found more Boreal Chickadees and had great views of a very cooperative Ruffed Grouse, but no Spruce Grouse. We headed east to Route 2. Along Route 2, at a burn scar from a past forest fire, we encountered another target species, the Black-backed Woodpecker (#390). Then, about 2 PM, we received some welcome news on the local text chain. A Northern Hawk-Owl had been sighted back at the bog, about 90 minutes away. We charged off, hoping that it was a legitimate sighting. Fortunately, it was legit. The hawk-owl had moved a considerable distance but was still alive after all, or this was a newly discovered hawk-owl. We joined about a dozen other birders lined up in four or five vehicles, happily clicking our cameras as the owl perched atop a pine tree watching for prey items in the gloom of the late afternoon. A storm was brewing. Low clouds were moving in. The owl presumably sensed the onset of stormy weather and had begun hunting earlier in the day than usual. This Northern Hawk-Owl (#391) was a life-bird for most of the observers that day. I had seen two others in my lifetime. After an hour or so, more good news came through the text line. Another Great Gray Owl had been discovered 30 minutes away at the opposite end of the bog area. Off we went. It flew before we arrived, but we persisted. The massive Great Gray Owl (#392) reappeared just before dark. I had seen just four others in my lifetime.

Wednesday morning, we checked out of the hotel at 5 AM and returned to Lake County before dawn. Playing a Barred Owl tape was uneventful, so we began driving Rt. 2 headed north slowly, intently watching for grouse along the road. Bingo, at 6:45 AM a small dark grouse perched at the roadside. By 7 AM it was light enough to see details and the beautiful plumage of a male Spruce Grouse (#393). We also added another woodpecker species, the American Three-toed Woodpecker (#394), based on its unique drumming which starts slow but ends fast. After the morning in the Superior National Forest, we headed to Duluth hoping to find some new trip species along the shore of Lake Superior. We did find Glaucous Gull (#395) at the Superior Landfill on the Wisconsin side of the lake. The snowstorm began in earnest around 4 PM so we delayed our departure towards Colorado by 24 hrs.

Thursday was a snow-day. We searched for birds around Duluth but found nothing new for my Biggest Year effort. When the storm subsided, we headed towards Fargo, North Dakota, a 5-hr drive.

Friday morning, we successfully chased a recent report of Gray Partridge (#396) just north of Fargo. Then just south of Fargo, after hiking through Gooseberry Park on the Minnesota side of the Red River, Kathy spotted a perched Barred Owl (#397) from the back seat of the Mazda as Joe was driving away from the park. Snow Bunting (#398) made a good showing in farmland near Strasbourg, ND. We pulled into North Platte, NE, about 2 AM for our last night.

We started the final day on Saturday, February 25, around North Platte. Here we found a flock of 120 early migrant Sandhill Cranes. In the same wheat field, we spied a half dozen Greater Prairie-Chicken (#399). After a few more stops en route to the Front Range of Colorado, we saw an eBird report of Short-eared Owl at Lower Latham Reservoir from earlier in the day. Arriving at dusk, we found two Short-eared Owl (#400) hunting the marshes and meadows of Beebe Draw. Thanks to Chris Wood, founder of eBird, for reporting his sighting in a timely fashion!

Special thanks to Joe and Kathy for their partnership in my Biggest Year endeavor and their good company and long hours of birding during this 8-day road trip to Sax-Zim Bog. To view photos of birds from this trip, please see the eBird trip report here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/108290.