Winter Owl Search in Northern Minnesota
19-24 February
2025
I read that this winter was producing an irruption of northern owls southward from Canada into northern Minnesota. The last big irruption was in 2005. Over lunch, my colleague Christian Caryl expressed an interest in experiencing the owl flight, and that inspired me to make a trip with him to Duluth, to see what we could see.
Seamless flights from DC to Chicago to Duluth got us to northern MN before noon on the 28th. We rented an AWD Chevy Equinox from Avis and packed the car and headed northwestward to Sax-Zim Bog, the birding epicenter for the irruption this year (mainly because of the concentration of birders and birding facilities rather than the concentration of owls). We pulled onto the highway in blowing snow, the temperature 2 F.
We had almost
six days to hunt for owls and other boreal birds and mammals and we devoted our
search to St. Louis, Aitkin, and Lake Counties, which offered the very best
birding in the state.
Sax-Zim Bog, a spruce boglands about 45 minutes’ drive from Duluth, offers the best birding in Minnesota either at the height of warbler song in late June or for the owls in February. In winter, the real advantage of Sax-Zim is the ability to share knowledge of the locations of rare birds through various means: email, phone, apps, and through the analog method of searching the gravel roads for stopped cars disgorging birders weighed down with long lenses and binoculars.
Given the
blowing wind and snow and cold, we decided to stop for lunch in Cotton, MN,
right on the eastern verge of the bog. There we feasted on comfort food at Wilbert
Café (founded in 1922!), an establishment we frequented twice-daily for lunch
and breakfast. They provided the kind of food that kept us warm when out
birding in the brutal Minnesota cold.
Sax-Zim
Bog has its own “Friends” group that promotes birding and nature conservation
in the bog. They manage an array of roadside feeders through the bog as well as
a well-staffed Welcome Center on Owl
Avenue. There is also an array of bog boardwalks good for birding and for
enjoying the gorgeous boreal conifer forests in the snow.
After the fortifying lunch, we jumped in the car and at that moment the Sax-Zim birding chat app on Telegram alerted us that a Boreal Owl had been located moments earlier. We drove the snow-covered gravels roads for 20 minutes (Sax-Zim is big!) and turning a corner, we came upon a line of 20+ cars and some 30 people with cameras, tripods, and binoculars, all looking towards a sleeping Boreal Owl sheltered low in a roadside White Spruce. The owl was frosted with the snow that was rapidly falling.
This was a life bird for Christian and myself, so high fives were exchanged and we then started photographing the little bird, perhaps 75 feet distant. After 5 minutes I retreated to the car to warm up. We carried out this routine several times, as the conditions were brutal.
The Sax-Zim
chat app then announced the presence of a Great Gray Owl at the Admiral Road
Feeders, which required another 20 minute drive in the snow. The gravel roads took
us through extensive Black Spruce boglands and White Spruce uplands, everything
snow-covered. We were experiencing real winter conditions here. Wind chill was
well below zero.
The roads
through the boglands are straight. From a distance, we could see cars parked on
the side of the road ahead, and we knew that was our destination. Here was a smaller
collection of cars (we were quick on the mark). A few people were at the
roadside, admiring a Great Gray Owl perch on a stump right beside the feeder
setup. The owl was not interested in what was being offered in the feeders, but
was presumably attracted to the small rodents that were drawn in to the waste
grain shed by the feeders. Clever owl!
We
returned to the original Boreal Owl to see if we could see the bird with its
bright yellow eyes opened (it was sleeping when we first visited). Success! Then
home to Duluth to thaw out…
We started
Day 2 at the Wilbert Café with a scrumptious breakfast and then hit the road,
stopping at the Russell Bog on Arkola Road to walk the bog boardwalk through
the snow-covered spruces and spend time at the nice feeder set by the parking
lot. A small flock of Pine Grosbeaks and large flocks of Redpolls and Pine Siskins
entertained us.
We heard
of a second Boreal Owl farther down Arkola Road and were among the very first to
see it. It was another roadside bird, perched at the edge of the spruces to
catch some of the morning sun.
We next
visited the Sax-Zim Welcome Center which was crowded with exuberant birders
excited by Sax-Zim. A large plate-glass window gave us a perfect view of the
feeders in the back, which featured a pair of Canada Jays and several birds feeding
on a big hunk of deer carcass (including Hairy Woodpecker and Black-capped
Chickadee). The (roadkilled?) carcass is put out for birds as well as visiting mammals
such as American Martin and Ermine.
Word went
out that a third Boreal Owl was roosting on the main walking trail behind the
Welcome Center. We hiked out the snowy trail and there was another one of these
adorable little owls—one of the most elusive birds in all North America. I had
been hoping for this bird for 50 years (I missed the one in Central Park) and
now had three in 24 hours…
Things
slowed down in the PM, so after a sweet lunch at the Wilbert Café we decided to
take a major detour to Aitkin County in search of the ever-elusive Northern
Hawk Owl. We were able to get coordinates for a “stakeout” for this species from
a fellow birder who had seen it the preceding day. Apparently there was only a
single reported American Hawk Owl in northern Minnesota at this time…
Driving
westward, we encountered our second Great Gray Owl on a tall transmission pole
by the roadside, and we also glimpsed a sleeping Porcupine up in an aspen.
The drive
took us to the Mississippi River which we crossed and then followed for a dozen
miles. This was through open agricultural country, not the closed-in boreal spruce
forest of Sax-Zim. As the sun was setting, we arrived at a lonely gravel
tertiary road next to the Willowsippi Wildlife Management Area. No sign of any
birds but some passing crows.
A
beautiful sunset was beginning—we were running out of time. I then recalled I
had spoken with Butch Ukara, an Aitkin County super-birder a few days before. I
rung him up and he instructed us to drive southward through a patch of woods to
another clearing. There atop of telephone line perched the owl. The sun was
just dropping below the horizon as we photographed the bird in the pinky light.
Day 3, of
course, started at Wilbert Café. Then Sax-Zim, which was singularly unproductive,
in spite of visits to Admiral Road Feeders, Arkola Feeders, and the Welcome
Center. No Black-backed Woodpecker or Boreal Chickadee, which topped our want
list...
A long
drive to Mary Lou’s feeders, in the northwest corner of Sax-Zim, was paydirt,
though: Evening Grosbeaks, Purple Finches, Redpolls, siskins, Turkeys, and more.
The feeders were buzzing! We headed back to Duluth to hunt for a Snowy Owl that
was being reported near our motel in Hermantown (no luck) and waterbirds along
the Superior shore (Park Point, the Duluth Canal). Highlight was a big flock of
American Goldeneyes in the Canal and the experience of crossing the Aerial Lift
Bridge.
On Day
Four we departed the Econolodge in Duluth and headed north to Two Harbors, 25
minutes’ drive up the North Shore of Lake Superior. This base would give us
access to the deep Northeast of Minnesota, wild northwoods country. We
discovered Judy’s Café—another comfort food emporium and there we had a nice lunch
(I enjoyed the Walleye sandwich).
A female Red-breastd Nuthatch at the feeders at Greenwook Creek.
We would
spend the remainder of our time in MN traipsing up and down Route 2 and Route 1
between Two Harbors and Ely, gateway to the Boundary Waters.
The
epicenter of our birding interest was Greenwood Lake, where in late June 2001 I
had experienced one of the best birding days of my life with David Wilcove,
John Lamoreux, and John Morrison that featured Great Gray, Northern Hawk Owl,
and Spruce Grouse.
Christian
and I were hoping to work some of that same magic, though the season was a
different one.
We walked
snowmobile trails that cut though the thick spruce and fir woods. We stopped
along Route 2 and did playback to the silent conifer woodlands. We worked hard
with little return… For three days we plied back and forth through the boreal
wilderness, where the snow stood 15” deep.
We were
joined by other birders in search of the same elusive birds—Mary Clausen from
Omaha, and two Coloradans—Dick Filby, a high-octane British birder, and Al Levinson. Mary pointed out to us that Al was the
super-birder played by Steve Martin in the movie “The Big Year.” We chatted
with Al about the making of the movie, which he had found amusing.
Hard work
produced a pair of Black-backed Woodpeckers, but the American Three-toed
Woodpecker resisted our charms. And where was the Spruce Grouse?
Finally we
called in a flock of 6 Boreal Chickadees. Adorable creatures!
On Day
Five we started the morning at Judy’s Café in Two Harbors and then drove back
up Route 2 in search of grouse and woodpeckers. Lots of hard work produced several
Black-backed Woodpeckers, more Boreal Chickadees, and, finally, at the end of
the day, a single female American Three-toed Woodpecker.
We
actually had both woodpecker species along the snowmobile trail just north of
the feeders at Greenwood Creek (where we had previously searched unsuccesfully).
We walked up to a lovely male Black-backed working on a tilted spruce that hung
over the snowy trail. The bird was producing lots of dark bark chips that marked
the snow and caused us to look up and detect the bird. We madly waved to call
up the several birders down at the feeders and they shared the woodpecker,
which they needed for their life lists—fun! Then Christian and I hiked another
200 meters up the trail and heard the drumming of an American Three-toed. A
chubby female was there for us to admire.
At the end
of the day, in Two Harboers, we went down to commune with a Great Gray Owl that
had established a winter territory in an urban park near the water. Perhaps
forty cars were parked nearby and clots of people (most with long lenses) were
surrounding the owl, which was perched on someone’s tripod. We watched the owl
capture a vole from this perch, and we were told by a German photographer that
he has seen the owl take five voles in two hours. This bird was clearly working
the system in spite of the crowds of gawkers.
Day Six
began with a 5:20AM departure for Ely, in search of some Bohemian Waxwings that
had been reported in the town by one of our birding friends (Dick Filby). We
drove 90 minutes to Ely and arrived at the neighborhood post-dawn and saw some
exotic fruiting trees that we guessed were the target of the waxwings. After a ten-minute
wait, in came the flock, and we watched them hang out in a tall tree, the low
sun making the handsome birds glow. Life bird!
We still had hopes for a Spruce Grouse. These birds in early morning come to gather gravel at rural roadsides, and both Route 1 and Route 2 were well-known sites to see this bird. The species had been seen the day before on Route 1, so we held out hope… Nope… nothing on Route 1 that day for us… Heading south on Route 2, our hope dwindled… until a dark bird showed itself on the right side of the road—male Spruce Grouse! We then saw a second male about ten miles south of Greenwood Lake, making our day and ending our birding adventure. We were back on the East Coast that night, with some treasured memories of winter in northern MN.
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