February 18 - 21, 2005

   

Several birders from the Atlanta area decided to make the trip up to Duluth to experience what has become the greatest owl invasion year in the history of MN birding.  The number of Great Gray, Northern Hawk Owl and Boreal Owls has surpassed any previous year.  We left Atlanta on Friday, February 18th and flew in to Minneapolis, MN.  We drove the 160 miles north to Duluth and awoke at 5:00AM Saturday morning to head out. The weather was as expected for this time  of the year and within 50 minutes we were in the Sax-Zim area and looking at out first Northern Hawk Owl. Over the next several hours we found another seven birds. The highlight was a close-up encounter with a Northern Hawk Owl hunting next to our vehicle while we sat and watched.  This series of images captures the moment.  

Of course, the main target of our trip was to view the Great Gray Owls that were being seen in huge numbers the year. We were not disappointed. By 10:00AM on Saturday morning we had already seen more Great Gray Owls than any of us had seen in our life time!  The highlights were a roosting bird that was just above our vehicle on one of the many back roads in the Sax-Zim  area.                                                           

After a morning of owl gazing, we made a short stop along McDavitt Road to look for the Three-toed Woodpecker that has been seen at this location.  It didn't take long to hear the tap-tap-tap of the woodpecker working some cedar trees about 30 yards off the road.     We decide to head to the Isabella area to look for the other winter species that have made this such an exciting birding year in northern Minnesota. Along the back roads we kept our eyes peeled for Spruce Grouse and Boreal Owls, unfortunately not finding either. Of course, each time we spotted a Ruffed Grouse, our hopes continued to climb.       The feeders at the restaurant in Isabella we alive with birds, which was amazing considering the number of snow mobiles and all the activity just 10 feet away!  Although we did not see the Hoary Redpoll or Boreal Chickadee, the feeders were covered with Common Redpolls and Pine Grosbeaks.

 

On our return trip we tried again for Spruce Grouse with no luck, but a very nice surprise was a Northern Goshawk perched in a tree along the highway that Deb spotted at 70 miles per hour!  We ended the first day at Two Harbors hoping to find the Boreal Owls along Hiway 61, but we we did not.  The harbor was frozen and the hoped for Harlequin Ducks were not present either.  Two of our party would return here on Sunday afternoon and see these beautiful ducks.  

The second day, February 20th, we awoke at 4:30AM to four inches of snow.  It had begun snowing over night and the forecast was for snow all day long.  Today, we were heading to Aitkin County, west of Duluth, to look for more owls.  There had been over 100 Great Grays reported from the area the previous day.  We left Dultuh and headed south-west toward Moose Lake.  Once we arrived it Aitkin County we started finding Great Gray Owls.  The combination of snowy weather and snow covered trees gave a post card like appearance to the day.

We spend the morning driving the back roads, enjoying the scenery and the birdlife. The new additions for the day were a flock of Evening Grosbeaks at a feeder in a rural yard.  We worked our way back to Duluth to try again for Boreal Owl and to hopefully fins the huge flocks of Bohemian Waxwings that had been reported just north of town.   We dipped on the owl (again!) but we found the reported waxwings, easily 1,000 birds as we drove north of town, with a few Cedar Waxwings mixed in.

The last stop of our combined group was at the Duluth Airport, where several Snowy Owls had been seen.  Once again, Deb's eagle eyes spotted one of the birds a half mile away on the edge of a plowed run way.   Although not a great look, a great way to end a fantastic weekend.  

                             

Deb and I had to head back down to Minneapolis on Sunday Afternoon. Along the way we found a field off of I-35 that had three Rough-legged Hawks and a Red-tailed Hawk working the area.   The next day Deb returned to Atlanta and after dropping her at the Airport, I headed to Dakota County where a Gyrfalcon was being seen.   I missed the bird by five minutes in the morning, but on a return trip in the afternoon, I managed to find the bird perched in a distant tree and atop a pole along the highway.  The fields down in this area were also active with Horned Larks and Snow Buntings (several hundred) working among the stubble. 

   

Another spot that I checked later in the week was Memorial Park in Wright County. The river here has a small area that remained open and it was covered up by Canada Geese, Mallards, American Black Duck and the object of my search ten Trumpeter Swans.  There were several other good duck species present; Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Lesser Scaup and an American Coot.  

     

                                  

The final tally for birds species seen by myself was 45, although the total seen combined by the group was probably about 52 species.