Venture to Northern Minnesota

Owls & Winter Finches

Kevin Burke

February 2020

The weather from the Twin Cities to Sax-Zim Bog was mild, for Minnesota in the winter, and very pleasant.  It was an interesting year in the bog with the booming cone crop keeping some of the regular winter finches too far north for us to see.  There were no Redpolls, Pine Grosbeaks, and very few Evening Grosbeaks.  The bog however did provide some other birds that on more “normal” years are very challenging to observe.

There were six participants this year on the trip and right away our personalities meshed extremely well.  I was thrilled to lead this group of folks around the frozen white North for the better part of a week. 

Our first stop was the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge area of the Minnesota River National Wildlife Refuge.  This area has a good mix of open land, marsh, and frozen river habitats. 

As we walked the trails and bridge area, we had a few good birds come into view.  TRUMPTER SWANS were a nice start.  BALD EAGLES patrolled the small areas of open water.  Our main target was AMERICAN TREE SPARROW and we were rewarded with great views of at least four individuals.

We arrived in SAX-ZIM BOG early afternoon and had a couple hours to check a few of the hot spots. 

One of the first birds that we encountered was a RUFFED GROUSE feeding on the buds of a birch tree.  It was a boom year for these grouse, so we had several good encounters.  The next bird we encountered was a NORTHERN SHRIKE.  They tend to be easy to pick out sitting on top of trees and limbs in the open. 

Finally, we pulled onto Admiral Road in the bog.  A BOREAL OWL had been very reliable at the feeding station for over a week and we had it right away. 

It was an incredible sighting given this secretive owl usually makes it roost in a new spot every day.  This is always one of the most sought-after species in the bog and we got it straight away! 

As we were enjoying the owl a large dark raptor flew over the road to the North.  A NORTHERN GOSHAWK gave us fleeting views.  If that was not enough a fleeting view of a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL was the icing on the cake. 

We wanted to nab the other specialty that was being seen in the bog, so we went to the Winterberry Bog and were rewarded with an exciting AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER.  This is another bird that is notoriously hard to see on most years.  We hit a few more spots and headed to Duluth to check into our hotel, our home for the next few days. 

Day two was a full day in Sax Zim Bog. A cooperative NORTHERN HAWK OWL was the first bird of the morning. 

These diurnal owls are fun to watch.  They rarely flush from their perch at the top of trees allowing for great looks. 

A few NORTHERN SHRIKES were perched on trees as we slow drove the back roads of the bog.  A visit to Mary Lou’s Feeders came up with multiple HAIRY WOODPECKERS.  They are huge up North.  The size comparison between DOWNY and HAIRY WOODPECKERS seems a lot easier to distinguish up in Minnesota.  We made another visit to the Admiral Road feeders to check on our BOREAL OWL that was still there.  Several COMMON RAVENS were observed throughout the bog.

After lunch we headed back to the Winterberry Bog and got great looks at BROWN CREEPER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, and the AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 

Driving onward we got our first glimpse of a SNOWY OWL way off in a field, but we had decent scope views.  We spent the rest of the day searching the bog and several spots had the charismatic CANADA JAYS. 

Day three of our Northern Minnesota tour took us up the Lakeshore of Superior, into the Northern forests, and into Wisconsin.  We drove about an hour and a half before we saw a car on the side of the road and several birders out of the car.  We decided to turn around and see what they were looking at.  It was a male SPRUCE GROUSE, our target for the morning! 

We had great views of this bird gritting on the road.  We drove a little further North and found four SPRUCE GROUSE feeding on the Jack Pines.  One of the males even started displaying on the tree. 

PINE SISKINS were all around our stops, and we had a flyby RED CROSSBILL.  After a coffee break we went to Agate Bay in Two Harbors and found COMMON GOLDNEYE feeding in the water, HERRING GULLS flying around the pilings and several BALD EAGLES patrolling the air. 

We headed down the lakeshore and stopped off at Brighton Beach and Canal Park in Duluth.  On a quick restroom break we had a large flock of gulls fly over our heads.  Mostly HERRING GULLS, but a larger white one was in the mix.  A GLAUCOUS GULL flew over at one hundred feet giving good views. 

We still needed one more gull, so we went to the Superior Wisconsin Landfill.  No good birding trip is complete without a trip to the landfill!  Soon after arriving at the landfill a smaller all white gull flew over: an ICELAND GULL.  Our target for the area! We also had brief views of a GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL among the hundreds of HERRING GULLS. 

The last stop of the day was at the Richard Bong Airport in Superior to try for the SNOWY OWL that had been reported. 

After waiting it out for about an hour we finally found it on the adjacent fairgrounds perched on a light post.  An awesome encounter with this iconic owl. It was a great way to wrap up the day.

Day four was the day to find all the birds we had missed on the previous three.  We had a brief look at a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE first thing in the morning.  The first scheduled stop was at Mary Lou’s Feeding Station.  We were rewarded with a half dozen or so EVENING GROSBEAKS. 

These large finches were surprisingly hard this year, but we managed to catch them with this visit.  We drove South after a visit to Mary Lou’s and encountered another NORTHERN HAWK OWL. 

On our way we encountered a very cooperative RUFFED GROUSE that allowed many good photos.  With our fill of the RUFFED GROUSE we quickly encountered a single SHARP-TAILED GROUSE at a reliable feeding station.  This was our second grouse species in five minutes!

Still on our mission to go for more birds we drove a few farm fields to try for SNOW BUNTINGS.  No luck on the Buntings, but we did come across a hunting NORTHERN GOSHAWK. 

It was a great encounter watching the GOSHAWK swoop down on a flock of ROCK PIGEONS.  We had great views of the bird in flight.  It stuck around and everyone had a nice look. 

We pulled up at Winterberry Bog and a BARRED OWL was out in the open directly above the feeders.  It allowed for fantastic photos and views. 

Our main target at Winterberry Bog was the BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER. We walked the loop in the bog and finally found it near the back drumming quietly.  This was our third try for this bird and we were all happy to get it.  A short walk on Admiral Road produced a stellar look at a single WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 

This was by far our best look and it even perched for a few photos. 

On the way out of the Bog we spotted two NORTHERN GOSHAWKS on a nearby tree line.  They were perched and stayed for us to get scope views. 

They eventually flew right across the front of our van and we got some great photos of this elusive species.  This round up day was a success with adding seven new birds to the trip!

The final day was a travel day down to the Twin Cities.  We took a quick spin through SAX-ZIM BOG, but it was snowing, overcast, and chilly.  We decided to head down to the Twin Cities and have one final meal together.  We had many stories of great encounters. 

Each year in Northern Minnesota is different.  This year was the year of the NORTHERN GOSHAWK, BOREAL OWL, and AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER! Our group got a combined total of forty-two life birds!  I am really looking forward to going back next year to see what the area has in store.  Please think about joining me on this northern adventure!

Kevin Burke