As tempting as it is to dive headfirst into migration mania, which I’ve already gotten a taste of with the arrival of American Woodcocks this week, I think the many wonderful birds I met in Minnesota still deserve a shout out. So here’s my ode to them, in order of encounter.
The Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Bird Report confidently states of this species: “If you spend a day birding in Sax-Zim, you will see this bird.”
That confidence is not misplaced.
Within minutes of pulling into the Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center parking lot, a pair of these charming corvids descended upon the nearby feeders. I didn’t have my camera accessible at the time, but not to worry. We saw Canada Jays at almost every single stop during our 4 day birding adventure in Minnesota. My favorite experience was the jay that stopped by to see what all the fuss was about while we were admiring an American Three-toed Woodpeckerbut every encounter with them was honestly delightful.
After stopping in the Welcome Center to chat with the kind and helpful staff, we headed down the trail named Gray Jay Way. We’d walked no more than five minutes before a chunky pink bird zoomed overhead to land in a nearby tree—my first ever look at a Pine Grosbeak! Even though I’d been told they were larger than expected, they still surprised me with their size. Equally as surprising and delightful were their soft and varied songs. I’ve since learned they mimic other species, which explains why I kept hearing American Robin songs when the only birds in sight were Pine Grosbeaks. Thankfully these birds were prevalent around the bog, and we got to enjoy their presence on multiple occasions every day.
I saw this bird for approximately 2 seconds while scanning the trees around the feeders at the end of Gray Jay Way our first evening. This chickadee’s bright rufous flanks and paler brown cap marked them as different from the numerous nearby Black-capped Chickadees, but that 2 second look was a less than satisfying encounter.
Thankfully we saw not one but 2 Boreal Chickadees during our last full day of birding the bog. These two were hanging out at the lovely feeders along Admiral Road. They’d appear and disappear quickly, and seemed a bit more frenetic than the Black-capped. They called intermittently both while within and out-of-sight, so we had plenty of opportunities to compare their somewhat wheezy chicka-dee-dee to the more familiar Black-capped call.
That same bird report indicated that Sharp-tailed Grouse were almost gone from Sax-Zim, and Ruffed Grouse were more numerous within the bog itself. We saw grouse tracks everywhere in the snow, and on our first evening there we saw a Ruffed Grouse high up in the trees, munching away as the sun set.
The following morning we made a trek up north of the bog where Sharp-tailed Grouse were being seen reliably. I had expected to see them foraging on the ground, mainly because most of my grouse encounters involve getting the bejeebess scared out of me when a previously invisible grouse erupts suddenly from the brush.
But nope, not these grouse.
A trio were feeding high up in the trees, showing off their lovely chevron-patterned feathers and pointy tails to great effect.
There’s been one particular Northern Hawk Owl hanging out just south of the bog in a fairly visible location, and she has been entertaining birders throughout the winter.
Our first sight of this darling happened on our second day. She was perched far away on top of a tree in the distant treeline, and while we could confirm her ID, she appeared pretty tiny even in my spotting scope.
The following day, we decided to visit the same location again, hoping for a closer encounter. We were not disappointed, as she was hanging out in the trees right next to the road. Northern Hawk Owls hunt during the day, and she was actively hunting.
She constantly scanned the ground, making occasional forays from her many well used perches, and we even saw her catch a small rodent, which she dispatched quickly from the top of a light pole.
She seemed completely unbothered by the crowd of quite birders standing along the roadside and the constant stream of not-so-quite snowmobiles buzzing past.
The bird report indicated that morning is the most reliable time to see flocks, but we missed them on day 1 due to our quest for Sharp-tailed Grouse and Black-backed and American Three-toed Woodpeckers. We missed them on day 2 purely due to bad luck. We hit all the feeders where they’d been spotted, but missed them at every stop. It honestly got to the point that I was convinced I’d leave Minnesota without seeing an Evening Grosbeak.
Thankfully, I was wrong.
We headed up to Mary Lou’s feeders bright and early on our last full day. There was no one else present, and no Grosbeaks in sight. However, once I stepped out of the car I heard an unfamiliar call mixed in with the call of European Starlings. I looked up to find not only starlings but birds with an unmistakable dash of highlighter yellow along their eyebrows and wings. Evening Grosbeaks!!! They were perched high in a tree and I guess not yet ready for their breakfast. We hung around for a while, and eventually the flock descended on the feeders, then returned to their high perch before heading off. I waited around forever hoping one would land on the ideal perch I’d picked out for a photo, but that moment never came. It was not time wasted however. The starling flock hung out with us that entire time, and amongst them were some starlings that did perfect impressions of Sora songs. It was quite incongruous to stand in the snow in the middle of the north woods and hear a song that was more suited to a marsh in the middle of the summer. I wish I’d gotten a recording of it, but it’ll just have to live on in my memory.
After we left Mary Lou’s, we decided to check out another set of feeders not far away where the Evening Grosbeaks were known to hang out. Boy, am I glad we did! When we pulled up, the air was filled with Evening Grosbeak calls. We saw a lot of bird activity around the feeders that were set back from the road, and a scan with our binoculars confirmed that 99% of the birds present were Evening Grosbeaks. They were on the feeders, below the feeders, in the trees next to the feeders, and in almost every tree surrounding the lot. We eventually estimated there must have been about 200.
To go from the despair of seeing 0 Evening Grosbeaks to being surrounded by hundreds of them was probably my favorite experience of the entire trip!
On the way home to Chicago, we stopped in Duluth for a quick birding pitstop. There had been a Harlequin Duck hanging out with a group of Common Goldeneyes at Canal Park, and intermittent reports of Glaucous Gulls. I’d never seen either, so why not take a chance that we might just be lucky enough to see both?
Our first scan of the water revealed one lone Common Goldeneye female swimming in a small patch of open water, and a River Otter rolling around in the ice. The otter was having a great time until a trio of young Bald Eagles noticed the activity and descended to investigate. Thankfully the otter was very agile, and easily escaped the interested eagles.
We meandered further along the lakefront and soon came across a raft of ducks. Sure enough, they were Common Goldeneyes, and there, just on the edge of the group was the Harlequin Duck! I watched them for a few minutes, and to my surprise the Harlequin Duck swam away from the Goldeneye flock and steadily made his way right to our spot. I was aghast and delighted and took about 1000 pictures of this duck as he got closer and closer.
After giving me and Dan a good long look, he dove under the water, resurfaced moments later, then swam back to the flock of Goldeneyes.
The entire group was soon flushed by the trio of Bald Eagles, and disappeared out of sight. How fortunate that we’d arrived when we had—that would have been such an easy bird to miss!
Further in the harbor was a flock of Canda Geese paddling about, and several Herring Gulls resting on the ice. I scanned that group, hoping to find a larger gull with white wing tips, but no such luck.
Or so I thought.
Once I got home I revisited that flock of gulls and there, right in the center, was a Glaucous Gull. Hopefully with more practice I’ll get better at pulling these differences out in the field, but for now I’m content to find this lifer in my photos.
I hope you enjoyed this recap of the new birds I met while visiting Northern Minnesota. I’d love to hear if you’ve had encounters with these species, or which are still on your dream birds list. Let me know in the comments!
Our monthly Love Letters to Birds Sketching Session will take place on Saturday, March 21 at 2 pm US Central Time.
This session is in celebration of Emo Bird Week, which kicks of on Instagram on March 22. For those of you unfamiliar with the best Instagram event of the year, Emo Bird Week is a celebration of all the under appreciated and overlooked birds, with a healthy dose of shoegazing vibes. The event is hosted by Matthew Dolkart thebirdherderan all around awesome human and phenomenal photographer. Check out Matt’s post on Instagram for details in how you can participate in Emo Bird Week.
In honor of the week, we’ll be sketching one of the most emo birds around, the Red-winged Blackbird. The session is open to all subscribers and suitable for all levels of sketching experience. I’ll send an email to subscribers next week with the link to register along with reference photos. I hope to see you there!
All media and writing by me, Kelly C. Ballantyne