Great Grey Owl

The great grey owl is a large owl that is found in the boreal forests of North America, Europe and Asia. They are the largest owl in the world, by length and wingspan. Their size is deceptive though, even compared to other owls. There are several other owl species that are not as tall but still out weigh the great grey, including the Eurasian eagle owl, Blackiston's fish owl, snowy owl and great horned owl. Great grey owls also have small feet compared to other large owls and because of this in general they hunt smaller prey. They mostly hunt field mice and voles. Great grey owls do sometimes breed in northeast Minnesota. More often we see them migrate down from Canada when there are shortages of prey species on their normal range. Each winter a few of these birds are spotted in the northern part of Minnesota. These are usually young birds that probably do not have an established territory. When there is a prey crash we can get an invasion and see many more of these owl. In the winter of 2004-2005 we had an unprecedented invasion where it was estimated that over 5000 great grey owls came down from Canada. During that winter it was easy to see great grey owls perched, like above, or even hunting in plain sight in the middle of the day. While it was exciting to see these exotic owls it was also sad because many died due to starvation or where hit by cars.    

Hey, Hey, It's our B-Earthday!

Four years ago today I began this blog with a post that said:

Welcome to my new Ecobirder Blog

In honor of Earth Day 2007 I have started my first blog. The purpose of this blog will be to share my love of the environment, wildlife, and birding with others who share these interests.

A couple days later I posted my second post which included 3 pictures of a great horned owl nest that I was photographing at Wood Lake Nature Center. I had hoped to put these pics into my first post but I was very new to blogging and was still trying to figure things out. I wanted to start the blog on Earth Day, since the blog has a lot to do with the earth, nature and environment, so I decided to make an announcement post on Earth Day to start the blog and begin posting the pictures when I was ready.

I figured that for this B-Earthday we would invite a bunch of owls back to help us celebrate. I photographed this little eastern screech owl near Minnehaha Creek in south Minneapolis in December of 2009. I heard about the owl of the MOU list serve but it took me several trips before I finally found it out sunning on New Years Eve. I guess that proves what a nerd that I am, celebrating New Years Eve out freezing my butt off taking pics while everyone else is out getting ready to party.
2009 was a pretty good year for taking owls pics. While I was participating in the Redwing Christmas Bird Count in December of 2009 we decided to quit and head back up to the Twin Cities early. We had heard about a long-eared owl that had been spotted in a park in St Paul during the Bloomington count the week before so we decided to see if we could locate it. It took us a while but we did find the owl. Unfortunately dark comes early in December so the picture is not as good as I would have liked but you don't often get to be picky when it comes to owls.

In 2009 we took a side trip to Idaho during our Yellowstone vacation to participate in the first ever Snake River Birds of Prey Festival. Since we did not have much time, Yellowstone was calling, we only signed up for a field trip on borrowing owls. The field trip was great we had owls out in the field to photograph and even got to open up some man made burrows to check out burrowing owl chicks. Definitely one of the highlights of that year.

I have been fortunate over the years to be able to observe several great horned owl nests. A hawks nest that was taken over in Lakeville, MN has been the most productive for getting pics. Great horned owls have produced young in this nest in 2008,2009 and again this year. In 2009 they raised three young that began to branch, walking out on the branches before they can fly, in April.

So far 2011 has been a pretty good year for photographing owls also. Although I have had the opportunity to photograph northern saw-whet owls during the owl programs at Hawk Ridge over the years, I have not had the opportunity to photograph one that was not trapped for banding until this year. Back in February a saw-whet decided to perch, for a couple of days in someones back yard in Bloomington, MN. Fortunately the home owner was a birder and he got the word out about the owl in his back yard. A lot of people showed up over the next couple of days, myself included, to get some great photos

This year I made a couple of trips up to the Sax Zim Bog during the winter, as I do most every year. The first trip was for the first ever Brrrdathon that was held in January. As often happens in January in Minnesota the first day of the Brrrrdathon was complicated by a snow storm that dropped about six inches of snow in the area. Fortunately the next day, Saturday, the weather turned sunny and it was a great day to be about taking pictures of wildlife. Since I was spending one more night in a hotel in Duluth I stayed out in the bog until it got dark. I was rewarded when a pair of great grey owls began to hunt along the road at dusk. Since great grey owls are crepuscular, active at dusk and dawn, they can be tough to photograph.

In comparison northern hawk owls are diurnal so they are active during the day which makes them much easier to photograph. I saw northern hawk owls on both my trips up to the bog, as I have in most every year. I took this pic on my second trip at the beginning of March. This hawk owl seemed to be very used to people so it was not very nervous about my presence. As such I was able to get some really nice pics.

So another year of blogging has come to an end and a new one begins. This is the 1502 post that I have done in the four year. I have managed to post every day for most of the past three years. I really hope that you have enjoyed coming here and have taken something away from my pictures and writings. If I manage to make it another year I will have to do something really special for my 5th B-Earthday. I have updated the slide show on my side bar, the old one was getting a bit tattered and frayed, and I hope that you enjoy it. I hope to see you all here over the next year and invite you to join in the big party one year from today.

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1st Annual Brrrrdathon

Last weekend I headed up north for the first annual Brrrrdathon. This event was sponsored by the newly created organization The Friends of Sax Zim, formerly Bird Nation, to raise money for an eventual visitors center in the Sax Zim Bog. Like any outdoor event held in Minnesota in January weather played a major role. Shortly after I arrived in Duluth on Friday the snow began to fall, which made photographing wildlife, not to mention driving, very difficult.

As I sat in my hotel room Friday night I was worried that the trip would be a waste of time due to the weather but when I woke up Saturday morning the skies where clear and blue. After digging my car out of the snow I headed out slowly to the bog. The city plows were already out working but the road conditions were still not very good, especially when I got to the back roads in the bog.

Despite my concern over the roads I was excited about the number of birds that I spotted as I travelled to the bog. The end of the storm seemed to bring the birds to life and many of them fluttered from tree to tree looking for food. As I entered the bog area a bald eagle soared from his perch to greet me.

The first place in the bog that I headed to was a feeding station that had been set up on Admiral Ave. Admiral had not been plowed at all but I was able to make it through travelling down the tracks of others who had already made their way down the road. A feeding station has been set up in this location for years and it has always been good for attracting northern species including boreal chickadees. When I arrived at the feeder there was already a pair of boreal chickadees there as well as black-capped chickadees, pine grosbeaks, red-breasted nuthatch, and downy and hairy woodpeckers.

After shooting at the Admiral feeder for about an hour I headed over to McDavitt RD, which is another location that many of the northern species have been seen. About half way down McDavitt I found a path in the snow that went back to a small feeding station that was located in the woods. I decided that I could use a little exercise so I through on my winter gear and headed out down the path. It did not take long before I located a pair of black-backed woodpeckers. I was excited because black-back and three-toed woodpecker sightings have not been as common this year as they have in the past. Unfortunately to get the angle I needed to get decent shots of the bird I did have to wade through waist deep snow. It was worth it though, don't you think?

The main attraction at Sax Zim are the northern owls. The Sax Zim Bog is a mix of state, county and private lands, which includes the Cloquet Valley State Forest, Whiteface River State Forest and the Sax and Zim Wildlife Management Areas. The habitat consists mainly of conifer bog, spruce, tamarack and white cedar. This particular habitat is very attractive to northern owls that come down from Canada in the winter in search of food. The most common type of owl seen during the winter is the northern hawk owl. I found this northern hawk owl perched in a tree not far off of Mcdavitt. Since northern hawk owls are mostly diurnal, active during the day, they are one of the easiest owl to photograph.

As the sun went down on Saturday night many birders began their search for the most prized bird in the bog, the great grey owl. Great grey owls have not been seen with any regularity in the bog since 2005, when there was an irruption of thousands of birds which came down from Canada. This season there have been more sightings then in the past few years but it still seems to be hit and miss. The fact that they are crepuscular, hunt at dusk and dawn, also does not help, especially if you are looking for pictures. Fortunately around 4:30pm I found some people who had spotted a pair of these owls on McDavitt Road. I got a few pictures in the low light and then just watched them hunt until the sun went down.