Great Gray Owls at Sax-Zim Bog 2

1/3/2015

Great Grey Owl at Sax-Zim Bog

I started out the new year taking pictures of Pine Siskins and House Finches in the back yard, very distant photos of Snowy Owl near Ventura, IA, then headed up to Sax-Zim Bog northwest of Duluth, MN to try to get pictures of a Great Gray Owl. This was my second trip (see previous post from February of 2014). I was lucky this time and got pictures of two different Great Gray Owls on Admiral Road and McDavitt Road that were fairly cooperative in allowing several photographers and birders to get some pictures from a distance with telephoto lenses while the owls were searching for an easy meal. It was fun watching one owl swoop down and land on a mouse in the snow (wild mouse - not baited). It was a dark, cloudy, dreary day, with snow and sleet in the morning. Not my favorite kind of day for bird pictures - a little too dark, but I got a few photos. Others included Purple Finches, Common Redpolls, White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Gray Jays, Chickadees, a Barred Owl and many more. There were also several Red Squirrels. I did not get to see a Snowy Owl , nor a Northern Hawk-Owl which often frequent the area in the Winter, and apparently I just missed and Ermine. Maybe next time. There is no guarantee that you will see a Great Gray Owl if you go to the bog. It is a very larger area covering many square miles. Some people go to visit and never see an owl of any kind. Watch the Sax-Zim Bog Facebook page for recent reports. and drive around the likely areas many times. Early in the morning at sunrise and late in the afternoon at sunset are usually the better times, but it can vary day-to-day. Good luck if you decide to go. Be sure to stop at the visitor's center on Owl Avenue, where there are lots of opportunities to see and photograph smaller birds at the many feeders.
You can learn more about the bog and find maps here - http://sax-zimbog.com/
[Click the pictures below to see larger.] More Owl photos here...