We came, we saw, we froze, and then we left!!! It's time for another great birding adventure with gang out into the great cold & white open. In order for me to see new life birds, I have to travel to different places, different times of the year . . . so the chase was on to Minnesota.
With schedules getting booked, the best time we could visit was late January 2019. We flew from Covington, KY to MSP direct on Delta, landing at 8am CST on a Friday. It was cold, but sunny. After getting the rental and breakfast, we had a 2 hour drive to Duluth.
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From Duluth, it's only a 30-40 min drive to the BOG, too bad it's negative 20 degrees this early in the morning. We used the map and driving tour guide to follow. It's a great resource for any birders first time at the BOG. Here is the link: https://saxzim.org/plan-your-visit/
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| Dawn at BOG |
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| Its COLD |
Starting at the Warren Nelson bog, we missed the Black Backed Woodpecker, she was there, seen by others, but I just never got to see her. So we left and visited some feeder stations. From there we headed up Rt 29 to the next feeder stations . . . . and finally . . . . much needed
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| Pine Grosbeak, #613 |
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| Female & Male PIGR |
LIFE BIRDS!!! Both several Pine Grosbeaks and Sharp-tailed Grouse where patiently feeding at the stations. Hey this map thing works.
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| Sharp-tailed Grouse, #612 |
The grayish bodies of Pine Grosbeaks are decked out in pinkish reds on males and yellows on females. They easily crush seeds and nip off tree buds and needles with their thick and stubby bill. Pine Grosbeaks inhabit open spruce, fir, and pine forests as well as subalpine forests. In winter they tend to use mountain ash, maple, and ash forests with abundant seeds.
OK, got the pressure off now, two life birds, with more to come!! Off to the visitor center now. It was not open yet, but the feeders had several more PIGR, Common Redpoll, Pine Siskins to photo.
By now we had traveled up to ZIM rd., and where coming back south down McDavitt Rd., in hopes of hawk owl spot. We spotted 6 cars parked on the road. Again it was COLD. Only two cars had people in them, the other where empty. So we loaded up the gear, and started walking on this winter path east. We finally passed some birders, who said "yea--it's there just keep walking". OK, it's COLD but we keep walking this narrow snow path. Once we made the turn, there up in a tree . . .
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| Northern Hawk Owl, #614 |
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| Hey, looky here |
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| Lifer for ALL birders who brave |
A bird of boreal forests, the Northern Hawk Owl behaves like a raptor, but looks like an owl. Its oval body, yellow eyes, and round face enclosed by dark parentheses are distinctly owl. Its long tail and habit of perching atop solitary trees and hunting by daylight, though, are reminiscent of a raptor. It is a solitary bird that tends to stick to the boreal forest, but some winters it moves south into the northern United States delighting birders near and far.
OK, WOW. What a journey, such fun to share the experience with friends and birders, but now its back to the car, because it's COLD.
Now we head down to Sax Rd., then back north on Admiral Rd. to the world famous "Admiral Feeders". A spot that has been know of for years and most reliable for Boreal Chickadee. We pull up, and there's about 10 cars, about 30 birders, all real close to the feeding station. I walk up and ask a guy about our two target birds . . . and he points and says "yeah, they are right there" . . . .
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| Canada Jay, #615 |
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| Boreal Chickadee. #616 |
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| Admiral rd. feeders |
The deceptively cute Canada Jay is one of the most intrepid birds in North America, living in northern forests year-round and rearing chicks in the dark of winter. Highly curious and always on the lookout for food, Canada Jays eat just about anything, from berries to small animals.
A brown-capped chickadee of the northern boreal forest, the Boreal Chickadee is one of the few birds living completely within that biome in Canada and bits of the United States. Brownish gray overall with a brown crown, small white cheek patch, and cinnamon flanks.
And with that, the life bird train came to a close. We missed several other lifers for me, but that only give me a reason to travel the county and come back to the BOG in the future.
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| Evening Grosbeak |
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| Northern Shrike |
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| Squirrel and Rib cage meat |
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| Mary Lou's feeding station |
31 species
5 life birds
-40 degrees w wind chill
740 miles driving
Never about 0 degrees
Lifers Missed:
Black-backed Woodpecker
Bohemian Waxwing
Northern Goshawk
Hoary Redpoll
Boreal Owl
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