Bog Redux

With Melissa looking to see a Bohemian Waxwing and there being a possible location just NE of Duluth and the weather cooperating we planned a day long smash and grab in the bog and Duluth area. I got some email information on the Waxwing flock from the guy that generates the RBA email. We planned a nice early exit and got out the door by 6AM and rolled past Cloquet by 8AM. On the way north on 33 we saw (well, I saw) a pair of Black-billed Magpie on a deer carcass along with a Raven and Bald Eagle. Once we got into the bog, the plan was to go direct to Admiral Road the site of the best Great Gray Owl sightings lately. Luck was with us (and me finally) as a crowd was gathered just south of the feeder station. A great looking young Owl was setup just off the road and I finally got my first Gray Ghost in my 4th attempt. Melissa got it on her first. After the owl we moved up the road to the feeder station. It was slow at first and just as we were about to move on, Mike Hendrickson stopped by and then things got interesting. Gray Jays showed up in a pair and then moments later the Boreal Chickadee came as well. After a bit we got awesome views of a Pine Marten. (No wings, but pretty cool.) Mike noted it was an event more rare than seeing the Owl in the bog. We then moved on to 444 and Lou's Feeders and picked up Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, and nearby on the way out Pine Grosbeak. All of these being life birds for Melissa. Pretty cool to add all of these to her life list on a sweet day of birding. We then drove down McDavitt and worked hard for Black-backed Woodpecker, but it was pretty much the only thing we tried for that didn't happen. Eventually we passed the visitor center and looked around and moved on to see about a Sharp-tailed Grouse. Luck was on our side as we first found a Ruffed Grouse and then a small group of Sharp-Tailed Grouse in the same yard space. Pretty cool as that was 2 more life birds for me. We moved on to leave the bog and stopped at Loretta's Feeders on Kelsey Whiteface Road. Neat area with a trail to walk and enjoy the wild. We got a surprise though as a Golden-crowned Kinglet was spotted just as we entered. This is a pretty rare find for the area even if it's not a rare bird. We ran back to the Duluth area and went to track down the Waxwings. On a private stretch of land we used the noted location and started scanning the buckthorn around a field edge. Shortly a huge flock of Bohemian Waxwing flew directly over the top of us and off to the north. Seconds later another flock did the same thing. I tried to run them down and see where they went if it was close. A third flock came over Melissa and that was it. We didn't get stationary long term looks, but could hear them talking a lot and I was able to get binocs on one flock enough to see the yellow on the wings. Another year bird and a lifer for Melissa. Got done birding just in time as a squall was about to come over the area. Back in Duluth we got some food at Grandma's and looked at the lake for a few minutes. I did spot a pretty dark Mallard that appeared to be a Black Duck and Mallard hybrid male. Pretty cool. We had an awesome day together and picked up a lot of life and year birds.

Sax-Zim Bog Plus Weather

As the morning rolled around I could tell it was going to be special. The snow had some in from nowhere and it looked like the roads were going to suck. Meeting at the mall several of us setup for car pool and headed north at a slow click comparred to a desired speed. A few even turned back, but we made it to the Meadowlands safe. The group totalled in the 20's even with the weather and one woman even drove south from Ely. We got on the road then and started looking for birds. Clint very quickly got us started with a flock of Pine Grosbeak on HWY 7. That was a solid get considering the low numbers reported in the bog this year. The day then played out like a normal bog trip, we drove to a lot of locations and tried for all the target birds that we could. Low traffic roads were filled with birders doing the same as we zig zagged all over the place hitting feeder locations and known hunting grounds and lek's. The day was a mix of snow, fog, and great fun. It was a reminder of how fun car birding can be even though my preference is to be alone in the woods hunting for a bird sighting.

We picked up Evening Grosbeak by the dozens at Mary Lou's on 444, Boreal Chickadee on our 2nd trip to Admiral road feeders, Common Redpoll by the hundreds, along with many Pine Siskin. We also tracked down 3 total Black-billed Magpie flying from point to point, a few Rough-legged Hawk (including my 2nd dark morph), several Northern Shrike, and many Purple Finch as well.

The day was a great bog effort that really only saw me come up short on the birds I expected to come up short on.

Below is my pre-trip list with successes and misses.

1. Success: Common Eider

2. Success: Raven

3. Success: Northern Pintail

4. Success: Pine Siskin

5. Success: Common Redpoll

6. Red Crossbill

7. Success: Gray Jay

8. Great Gray Owl

9. Success: Purple Finch

10.Success: Evening Grosbeak

11.Success: Northern Hawk Owl

12. Thayers Gull

13.Success: Glaucous Gull

14. Greater Black Backed Gull

15.Success: Boreal Chickadee

16. Ruffed Grouse

17. Sharp Tailed Grouse

18. Snow Bunting

19.Success: Red-Breasted Nuthatch

20. Black-backed Woodpecker

21. Bohemian Waxwing

Maybe the only real dissapointments were missing on Snow Bunting, and both Grouse. I always have trouble with Grouse and feel that with a couple days effort they wouldn't be that hard. Also a bummer to come up empty on Great Gray Owl again. I'll keep trying until it happens though. The gull misses are to be expected with the wind situation and it just comes down to a coin flip. The day of the bog I heard word both Thayers and Greater Black-backed were found at the point with ease along with Iceland as well since the wind shifted and kept many in the water.

Now that I'm back I see Bohemian have showed up in a nice consistent location straight west of Two Harbors. Like I said, with a couple days I probably could have tracked down some misses and been in a pretty good state.