Owl outing

Way way back at the beginning of this blog, we had a winter here in northern Minnesota that was full of great gray owls. I could not drive to work without seeing a dozen or more. It was amazing, and it was probably what got me to start blogging.

There has not been a northern owl irruption like that since, and there may never be. But recently I had heard of numerous sightings of boreal owls near Duluth, with a few great grays also reported. With the ever-present chance of seeing a snowy owl at the Superior airport, I decided it might be worth a day trip. I mentioned my tentative plans on Facebook, and I found a friend, Diana, whom I knew from the Christmas Bird Count, who was interested in accompanying me. When it comes to birding, two sets of eyes are much better than one.

The birding reports made it sound like we could just drive along Scenic Highway 61 along the Lake Superior shore until we encountered parked cars and spotting scopes, which would point the way to a boreal owl. Alas, the boreal owls, which would have been a life species for me, were evading even the most ardent birders that day. But we had one sighting and photo opportunity that made the day worthwhile:

During the great gray owl irruption of 2005, I did not yet own a digital camera, which was frustrating given the number of perfect photo opportunities I had. This shot more than makes up for it!

We may have a northern owl irruption here

The Hermit: Guess what I saw today?

Me: Umm, what?

The Hermit: I saw a flock of about twenty turkeys, about a mile from home. And guess what else?

Me: Oh please, don't tell me you saw a snowy owl. (I would have had homicidal thoughts)

The Hermit: No, I saw THREE great gray owls! They were being mobbed by crows.

Me: (trying to cover up for even more intense homicidal thoughts) No, really? Where?

The Hermit: Between Bruno and Willow River (on County Road 43 in Pine County).

Me: Grrr...(insanely jealous, but overjoyed)

I don't question his ID; he and I saw plenty of them together during the Great Irruption of '05, so he obviously knows his owls.

And, looking at the Minnesota Ornithologist's Union website, I am confused. I no longer know how to post sightings to the listserv. Help, anyone?

Of course this means the Pine County Christmas Bird Count, less than two weeks from today, could be interesting.

One more great gray sighting

Russ just called to tell me he saw another great gray owl this afternoon at about 1 pm. This was in an entirely different location, along the road between Kerrick and Sturgeon Lake. Something tells me there are more of them here than meets the eye.

Off topic: Just for fun, go to Google and type in "Persistent Timberdoodles", and look at the top result. Google is watching me!

Great gray in May!

Last night Russ took Joey and Nina for an impromptu pickup truck ride. It was so spur of the moment that Nina went wearing her nightgown, which she had put on early. I declined to come along because it was a little chilly for me to ride in the open back, and Vincent was off somewhere doing his own thing. I was surprised when not ten minutes later they were back, parked out front, and Nina came running up the trail. "Mom! Bring the camera! We saw a great gray owl!" So Vincent and I jumped in the back after all, and headed up the road. Just about a mile from our house, as the (owl) flies, there it was, perched quietly and very inconspicuously in a dead gray snag. I may have missed it had Russ not pointed it out. We stopped the truck and I was able to snap a couple pictures, although unfortunately I didn't have film in my good camera. The owl was very cooperative; it had not been disturbed by the truck driving by twice before, and it was still there when we drove by and stopped again on the way back.

I had not seen a great gray owl since late March, and was wondering if a few of them would stay around here for the summer. After seeing ten or twelve of them per day for weeks (see the archives, January-March 2005), I missed them even though I had the thrill of seeing new spring arrivals. I think a few of them did stay around, just during that time period they became more secretive in their habits, not perching out by open roads looking for food. And with the absence of snow they became more difficult to spot. I'm hoping to see this one again, or maybe even see some of its offspring. There are some large tracts of spruce and alder bog around here where a pair of owls could nest relatively undisturbed.

This sighting overshadows, but does not diminish, the joy I felt in finally seeing the first hummingbird of the season arrive at the feeder. I had filled the feeder Friday night, and Sunday morning a ruby-throated male came by several times. How does a hummingbird even survive these freezing temperatures we've had? The weather is supposed to turn milder this week, but I'm still shivering (30 degrees) this morning.

Thursday evening

Well, after the previous post, as I was on my way home not too far from where I had the owl encounter, I saw a dead great gray in the middle of the road. Damn! I pulled over to pick it up, and it was still warm, freshly hit. Probably one of the owls I've been seeing every day in that area. I brought it to the wildlife office, which was on my way home anyway, and luckily someone was still there so I could put it in the freezer.

As I drove up the driveway into our clearing, I became aware of a large bird sitting in an elm tree next to the swamp. This bird was definitely not a great gray owl. I got out my binoculars, and got my best view ever of a northern goshawk. It stayed, perched in the same spot, for at least 45 minutes after I got home. What a beautiful bird.

I had a wonderful visit with our neighbors, Dick and Patty, last night. I brought Nina over there after dinner to pick up a unique object for Show and Tell: the bones of an orangutan hand! They had gotten the hand, strung together with wire, from an anthropologist friend. I only meant to stay for a few minutes, but we ended up visiting for over an hour, discussing owls, neighbors, gardens, greenhouses, and Sally the turkey. Sally is a semi-wild turkey who divides her time between our houses.

Almost hit one today

A great gray owl, that is. I was on my way from work to Vincent and Nina's school music program. It had snowed this morning and there was still a bit of slush on the road, enough to make things a bit treacherous. I had seen five great gray owls in a short stretch of the same road earlier in the morning, so I wasn't surprised to see this one perched on a fence post on the right side of the road. But then suddenly it took off, heading straight across the road. With the snow and slush, there was no way I could have hit the brakes without ending up in the ditch. I didn't have time to think anyway. Luckily the owl had gained enough height, or it would have been hit by the bumper. Instead, although it came within six inches of the windshield the owl made it safely across by the width of a feather. I would have been devastated had I killed it. I've killed birds before with the car, and I remember just about every one.

A beautiful day

Yesterday (Sunday) the temperature got up to 50 degrees here, and it was clear and sunny all day. The first thing I heard when I went outside in the morning was a cardinal singing! Although bird feeders have helped them to expand their range further north, cardinals are still pretty rare at this latitude (just above 46 degrees N).

The great gray owls are still around. Even with the commotion of the kids playing outside about 150 feet away, our "house owl" as we call it was perched in an aspen at the edge of the shrub swamp. When we went for a drive, another owl was near the road on the other side of the creek. Biologists are beginning to speculate that some of them might stay around for the breeding season.

I'm getting the itch to start seeds indoors, although it's a bit early and I don't have any flats or seed starting mix yet. I've been reading Solviva by Anna Edey, and I'm not too far in it but this just might be a life-changing book for me. Three and four year old tomato plants growing indoors with little supplemental heat, producing fruit year round...I could live with that!

Signs of spring

We got about 6" of new snow overnight, the wet, sticky kind that clings to branches. I woke up and thought "how beautiful!" about the same time my husband said "Damn!" It was a beautiful, although somewhat treacherous, drive to work.

Now to the signs of spring. Pussy willow buds are getting big! They should be completely budded out in a couple weeks.

It was about 45 degrees and sunny on Saturday, wonderful weather to be outdoors with the kids. We went skating on the pond, but the surface was starting to get mushy. I don't know if we'll get any more skating days after this snow.

I went back twice, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, to try to see the northern hawk owl with no luck. I did see eight great grays on my way to work this morning; one was in a tree near our house.

Northern hawk owl

I saw it this morning! Had to drop a car off at the garage in Bruno, so when we were done I persuaded my husband to drive a few miles up to Kerrick where one has been seen regularly. East of town there's a fantastic bog and some nice rolling farmland and mixed conifer/hardwood forest. We located the northern hawl owl in an open field; actually I must give credit to my husband for identifying it first by the way it flew. I didn't get a good close look but I got perhaps the once in a lifetime opportunity to see both a northern hawk owl and great gray owl at the same time! I'll probably go back there this afternoon when we pick up the car, now that I know where to look.

Eight great grays

Eight of them seen on the way home last night; two on the Hinckley road, four on the Askov road, and two right in front of my place!

Eleven!!! Eleven!!!

Eleven great gray owls on the way home, which totally blows my theory that they've gone further south. Four were on 61 north of Hinckley in the vicinity of the big curve towards Sandstone. The rest were along 30 east of Sandstone (the "churchy way" as Joey calls it, because we go by our small country church enroute) and north on 22. "Our owl" was there perched in a white pine near Sand Creek on the front part of our property, as usual. I also saw one ruffed grouse; grouse are low in number this winter due to the natural fluctuations in their population which seem to go in a seven year cycle. This grouse was so out in the open as to be obvious to me as I was driving along at about 55 mph, in a crabapple or other low shrubby tree eating buds or something.

55 mph is relative; these days I am driving a 1990 Honda Accord from Canada, with nearly 400,000 km on the odometer. I still have trouble converting mph to kmph, although they nicely include mph on the inside of the odometer in small numbers. I think I can drive about 85 kmph and be reasonably within the law here!

I need to brag about Joey (age 3) here; he actually spotted one owl that I would otherwise have missed. He knows how much his mommy get excited seeing owls, and he just wants to help.

Great gray owls are awesome!!!

"Our" owl had breakfast

This morning as I was driving out the driveway, "our" great gray owl was there again. I caught sight of it just as it was landing on a post. Just then I saw it transfer something from its talons to its beak! That got me thinking, the horse pasture probably attracts field mice because of all the spilled grain and seeds from the hay. So it's probably a good place for an owl to hunt for food, and that's why this one stays around here.

I saw two more great gray owls as I was driving to work. Joey (age 3) was in the back seat, and after we saw the second owl he said to me "We need to see a hawk owl!" I guess he's heard me say that a few too many times.

another 5 owl day!

Just when I thought they were going away, along with them my luck...I saw 3 great gray owls along county road 32 east of Askov, where I've been lucky to see one lately. And then when I got home, I decided to drive north to the corner of our road, to see if I could see "our" owl, one that's been hanging around the vicinity of our property. Well not only did I see "our" owl, I saw another one, within a half mile! "Our" owl was on a willow at the outlet to the pond, then when it saw me it flew a couple times to various fence posts along the horse pasture, before flying to a small white pine across the pond. I think these owls are getting more savvy to cars, judging by the reactions to them. So this has me wondering, how much does pure chance have to do with bird sightings? It may be worth my time to record my daily sightings, as the "city birders" do not get this rare opportunity.

But I still have not seen my Northern Hawk Owl. argggghhh... but I will.

I did see a bald eagle today on the way to work, just about a mile west of my road along the main road. I'm so used to seeing grat gray owls now, at first I thought it was one. I always pause in awe every time I see an eagle, and think how fortunate I am to live in an area where I can see such wonders daily! I will never see an eagle, or a great gray owl, or for that matter even the smallest chickadee, and not thank the Great Spirit for the gift of such a sighting.

These gifts are what sustains me lately, as I am dealing with frustrating financial issues. I just want to live my simple life, not be bothered with such things, and all of a sudden I'm afraid to even open the mailbox! This too shall pass...repeat ad nauseum and on the way drink a few beers to numb the reality...This too shall pass...

Sunday afternoon blues

My owl luck seems to have been waning as of late. I think many of the owls I have been seeing in the last two weeks have moved on south. Granted, I'm still seeing 2-3 owls per day, which is more than I could hope for most years, but I've kinda grown accustomed to seeing the magnificent critters every mile or so along our road.

I did an official owl survey yesterday, through the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. Drove a 35 mile route and counted owl sightings. I picked a route based on where I've seen owls before. We made it a family project, with my husband driving and the kids in the back seat. Vincent, age 7, was going to be the official GPS recorder until we found out the batteries were low. Damn! And no, we did not kick back a Gluek Honey Bock or two along the way...although I maintain that drinking while driving is entirely different than driving drunk, which I do not endorse in any way, shape or form. ; ) So how many owls did we see for our trouble? ONE! Along the same route where I saw twelve one day driving home! And still no Northern Hawk Owl. This winter is my big chance, but I guess it's all up to chance. If one happens to be hunting along the road where I am driving, it will be an entry on my life list; if not, so be it. That's the way it happened with the painted bunting two summers ago. THREE MILES from my house, I have a copy of a digital video to prove it, and did I mention that the painted bunting is the reason I'm so crazy about birds in the first place, but did I get to see it up close and personal? No.

But I have been privileged to watch a great gray owl today from mostly inside my own home! The first time I saw it, we were just sitting down to breakfast when I saw a cloud of redpolls and chickadees scatter from the bird feeder, followed by a huge wingspan swooping just over the feeder and off into the big white pines. Later I saw the same pair of wings silently flapping over to the clearing where we are building the new house and gardens. It perched for nearly an hour in an elm tree near the edge of the swamp, then changed perches once or twice before flying off into the tamaracks. I saw it later, perched on a tiny white pine near the side of the road. I did not see it take any prey, although I should walk over to the elm some time and look for pellets. The snow has a hard crust on top after a few days of temperatures above freezing, so I would imagine that would make hunting harder for them.

During the owl survey, well more likely after we had given up hope of breaking the record for most owls seen during a single survey period, we visited the home of Chris Brockman. He has built an Earth ship home that is completely off grid, not too far from my house. It is heated by a wood stove, which he hadn't operated for the last 3 days, and passive solar design with thermal mass from concrete and stone. The thing that I liked most was the smell of stone, of concrete, of earth, upon entering. It was not like a cement block basement at all, it was really cozy. And he had tomato plants in containers, in February, in Minnesota! So now I'm designing my combination greenhouse/garden shed/root cellar along the same lines.

On the mailbox!

The owl count on my drive home is ever increasing...twelve yesterday! I haven't had this much fun commuting since the fall migration, when I see sandhill cranes and tundra swans. It makes my day whenever I see a bald eagle as well, and I have been seeing them all winter around here, but this owl irruption is simply amazing. My husband called me at work to tell me there was a great gray owl hanging around the front of our property along the road. He took pictures until he ran out of film, but he missed the ultimate picture. As I approached our driveway, I saw the owl swoop across the road from the neighbor's fence, and it landed on our mailbox! I slowly turned into the driveway, so the owl was about ten feet away from my side window. I stopped and looked, and the owl just gazed at me. There's something about the look on a great gray owl's face; there's the common myth of the "wise owl", and I can see where that came from. There is a sense of wisdom and serenity. And I cannot fail to see the irony in that a wild creature, one that flew hundreds of miles from its native range, one that makes its home in spruce bogs and conifer forests far from human civilization, now sits on my mailbox and just stares as I drive past.

Fourteen owls yesterday

I saw four great gray owls while I was on the way to work, and TEN on the way home! I'm starting to recognize areas where I usually will see one. They don't like dense aspen or hardwood forest, of which we have plenty around here; I am more likely to see them in spruce/tamarack bogs or open pastures with scattered small trees. They seem to have staked out individual territories; many times I will see an owl in nearly the same spot every day. One of them has been in the same tree, along a fairly busy highway at the entrance to my kids' school, for two days now.

These owls obviously have little to no experience with cars or roads. While I was driving along slowly last night, I saw one swooping low, back and forth, across the road. At sunset, even though these owls have an enormous wingspan, their dark color makes them difficult to see against an asphalt road. There was a vehicle behind me, driving too close, and I was looking for a place to pull over so it could pass and I could enjoy my owl watching in peace! The driver, not noticing the owl, passed me and nearly hit the owl, which landed on the road right in front of me! I was driving slow enough at that point that I could stop. Owl did not move. I carefully pulled over to the other lane to drive around it, and it took off, flew in front of me, and landed on the side of the road, about six feet from me, staring with its yellow eyes.

I know far too many people who would hear this and say, "What a stupid bird". As if animals were supposed to have an innate knowledge of human inventions that have been around for only about a hundred years.

Winter of the great gray owl

This winter I have had the privilege of seeing numerous great gray owls near my home. I had only seen one once before, a long time ago while grouse hunting. Now I see at least two or three of them each day on my drive to work. It does not require any particular act of birding bravado to see one either. They hunt by day, perching low in trees or on utility poles or fence posts near forest openings or bogs, often near roads. How easy can birding get when you don't even have to leave your car?

The owls are here due to low numbers of small rodents, their main prey, in Canada. Owls have been seen hundreds of miles south of their usual range, in search of prey. According to Laura Erickson , who produces a very informative radio segment called "For The Birds", the owls are not finding many mice here either and are resorting to larger prey such as snowshoe hares and squirrels. If they do not die of starvation.

A week ago, I thought I had found a victim of starvation. It was up in a small aspen, dead with its head lodged in a crotch. I even took off of work early and waded through deep snow to photograph this unfortunate bird. Its image, wings dangling awkwardly, blank face gazing out at an unlikely angle, haunted me, a visualization of the harsh realities of winter. Only after I got the photographs I wanted did I tell my coworkers about it; I work in natural resources and I didn't want the local wildlife biologist taking my subject away for examination before I got it on film. Today a coworker brought the owl in to the office, and I was horrified to see very clearly that this owl had died of a gunshot wound. Not only is shooting this species of owl illegal, it is so downright IGNORANT and DISRESPECTFUL. And it totally changes the artistic meaning of my as yet undeveloped photograph.