Guide Series: Let’s Go See Some Hawk Owls, Eh

Oh, Canada, how you grab our imagination, especially as birders.  Perhaps no other bird signifies the Far North and gets stuck on birders’ brains quite like the Northern Hawk Owl.  Though Hawk Owls occasionally breed in the boreal forests of northern Minnesota, they are most often seen in winter when birds decide to cross the border for the season.  They are a highly coveted bird for any birder.  Most birders get their Hawk Owl lifer in Minnesota.  That’s exactly what Arizona birding friends Tommy DeBardeleben and Gordon Karre were hoping to do.  One problem, though: Hawk Owl reports were virtually non-existent in Minnesota this winter.  There were only a couple of scattered reports from the under-birded, remote counties of northwestern Minnesota.  This bird failed to show up in the Arrowhead this year despite being fairly regular around the Sax-Zim Bog and Duluth in recent winters.

Of course, this reality, which was was not improving with each passing day, was weighing on me prior to Tommy and Gordon’s arrival.  It would mean that if we wanted to even TRY for this bird, we’d have to travel some 3.5 hours north and west of my parents’ place in northern Minnesota. We’d be going right to the Canadian border on the west side of that “bump” on Minnesota’s northern border.   All told, this is about 7 hours away from Minneapolis/St. Paul.  It’s up there, folks.  I’ve been up that way maybe only twice in my life, but never as a birder.  It was new turf, remote turf, that I’d be exploring in the winter.  I’d be lying if I said the thought of it didn’t make me nervous and give me pause.  Once I accepted the reality that we’d have to venture into the northwest, I began to devour any scrap of birding news out of that remote country.  The more I pored over maps and read up on Roseau and Lake of the Woods Counties in some old Minnesota birding books, the more excited I was getting.  Visions of Hawk Owls, gobs of Great Grays, two species of Crossbills, Black-backed Woodpeckers, and Spruce Grouse flooded my mind.  (Sometime if you’re bored, do an eBird query for Great Gray Owls and see the dozens upon dozens that Hawk Ridge’s Karl Bardon found around Roseau in February of 2013.)  The lack of Hawk Owls in northeast Minnesota was actually a good thing–it was getting me out of my comfort zone and getting me to explore an area that I’ve always wondered about. Birding is often as much about exploring as it is seeing birds.

So on January 31st, our third day of the big northern Minnesota birding adventure, Tommy, Gordon, and I left base camp in Angora at 4 AM to reach MN Highway 310 north of Roseau by first light.  This would be the furthest point from home we’d be exploring, so we’d be birding our way back home from the start of daylight.  It was surprisingly foggy on our way to Roseau.  Once we made it to MN 310, the 10-mile road to Canada, we first took a run up the Sprague Creek Road as this time of day was prime for Great Grays and Spruce Grouse.  The road was not what I expected though, as we went through a lot of Aspen and open areas.  We could see Black Spruce and Tamarack bogs, but never came close to them.  However, it was good to explore this road and see where many Great Grays have been seen in the past, including one earlier this winter.  Gordon did find us a Black-billed Magpie, but otherwise it was dead up that way.

Once back at MN 310, we turned north and the countryside changed from open fields to Tamarack/Spruce bog.  This is one of the most reliable places to see Great Gray Owls in all of Minnesota, and this was the area that a Hawk Owl had been discovered by Sandy Aubol over a month prior to our trip.  Yes, we had made a 3.5 hour trek on information that was over a month old! However, Hawk Owls tend to be pretty loyal to their winter territory, so I thought we had a pretty decent chance.  Needless to say, we were all on high alert for northern Owls! But all we were seeing was the incredible hoarfrost that developed from the fog.

hoarfrost MN 310

We drove up to the checkpoint at the border and turned around there, having to pass right through the car portal at the guard shack, and nobody was home… So, so weird.  The dumpster on this property was enclosed in a chain link fence topped with concertina wire, yet nobody was there to stop wackos coming in to the United States?!? Such a different experience than when I crossed into New York a decade ago and got grilled by our own border patrol for why I was returning to the country where I…live. I guess things are just a little more laid back here in the north.  To be fair, some Minnesotans have to travel through Canada to get to where they live in Angle Inlet (the bump).  That “bump” is composed mostly of water, so the only way to get to Angle Inlet without going into Canada is by boat or snowmobile.

Back to the birding story, we still hadn’t seen Sandy’s Hawk Owl despite a couple passes on 310.  I had other Hawk Owl prospects lined up, so I asked the guys if they wanted to make another run up and down the highway for this one or if they were ready to go after a different one.  They opted for another try at this first bird.  It was another wise decision because once I turned the car around to go north one more time, I spotted their third main target of the trip. It felt good to finally beat Tommy at spotting an Owl because he’s really, really good at it!  Of course, this is the only kind of Owling I excel at–finding blobs on tops of bare trees right next to the road.

Northern Hawk OwlBrakes were deployed, and doors were flung open.  It was a happy moment indeed.  If you look, you can even see a big smile on Tommy’s face in this pic.

Tommy GordonI’ve seen plenty of Hawk Owls, so it was fun to watch these guys enjoy the moment.  For this pic below I actually laid on the cold 310.  Tommy GordonA nice bonus occurred when we were observing the Hawk Owl–Tommy spied their lifer Pileated Woodpecker fly across the road!  I had told Gordon all along that if we see a Pileated, that’s exactly how it would happen.

Tommy Gordon

As Canadian cars approached from the north, I wondered what they thought of this scene of the three of us gawkers and imagined their conversations went something like this:

“What are those hosers looking at, eh?”

“Looks like a hawkowl, eh.”

“What’s so special ‘boot a hawkowl, eh?”

“Dunno, eh, saw like 50 on the drive down this morning, eh.  It’s not polite to stare, though eh.”

“You’re right, eh, sorry, eh.”

“No problem, eh. Stop the car, eh.”

“Why, eh?”

“There’s a piece of litter we need to pick up, eh.”

The longer we lingered, the more the sun began to burn off the fog and illuminate the incredible hoarfrost. What a site it was, all the better that we were looking at a Hawk Owl in the hoarfrost.

MN 310 Hawk Owl

Many Owl photographers could only dream of this perfect set-up.  It did not go unappreciated by us.

Northern Hawk Owl Northern Hawk Owl

Check out the blood on the Hawk Owl’s bill.  Perhaps it was feasting on a mouse somewhere when we made our first pass.

Northern Hawk Owl

Northern Hawk Owl

A little while later, the Hawk Owl was on a different frosty perch, only this time the sun was even brighter and the blood was all gone.

Northern Hawk OwlNorthern Hawk Owl

This experience was a lot of fun, even for me.  I really, really like Hawk Owls too.  There’s just something fun and engaging about them.

We spent some time eating a picnic lunch in the van and started to make plans to head home and look for what would now be bonus Hawk Owls.  Our next stop was the Beltrami Island State Forest where a Hawk Owl had been reported on the Roosevelt Road a couple miles north of the Norris Fire Tower.  On the way, though, I opted to drive some gravel roads through the open farmland south of MN 11; I had a strong hunch I could get the guys their Snow Bunting lifer if we did.  Sure enough, we found a few flocks.

Snow BuntingOnce we got on the Roosevelt Road, I was very excited.  This was a desolate forest we were entering, and I wondered at the possibilities it held for us.  There wasn’t a lot of bird life except for some Pine Grosbeaks.  Once we got in the vicinity of the reported Hawk Owl, the habitat looked perfect–large open areas surrounded by Tamaracks.  It practically screamed Hawk Owl.  I mean, it must have, because Tommy heard the message and spotted a super distant, tiny blob in the MIDDLE of a tree that turned out to be…another Hawk Owl!! We were on Cloud 9.

Northern Hawk Owl

The bird flew to a more classic perch, doing his duty of acting Hawk Owlish for these Arizona guests.  Tommy and I actually bushwhacked through the knee-deep snow to get some photos. Gordon stayed back on the road to watch the Hawk Owl through Tommy’s scope.

Northern Hawk OwlTurns out we needn’t have bushwhacked because this accommodating little fellow must have felt sorry for Gordon and flew practically right up to him.  Even Gordon couldn’t resist wading into the snow for this new perch. Get ‘im Gordon!

GordonGet ‘im Tommy!

TommyEven though the blue skies and the hoarfrost were gone, this was my favorite Hawk Owl experience of the day.  We were totally alone in the middle of the remote Beltrami Island State Forest with this Owl.  There was not even another bird around.  Truly, it was an idyllic setting.

Northern Hawk Owl

Northern Hawk OwlNorthern Hawk Owl

The rest of the drive through the Beltrami Island State Forest was uneventful birdwise.  However, I did spy my lifer Bobcat!

BobcatUpon closer inspection, though, it looked very sickly.  It did not move even as we pulled up alongside it. While we watched, it made feeble attempts at gnawing on this slab of meat which came from where? Clearly this cat could not eat what was in front of it, let alone kill something.  Sad.

Continuing our journey, though, we drove the road north of the Faunce Fire Tower and looked for a reported Great Gray.  The habitat was perfect, but the time of day was not, so we kept rolling.  I decided to drive down the Pitt Grade Road where Black-backed Woodpeckers and Crossbills had been reported a month earlier.  There was some snow on the road, but I thought the van could handle it.  The more I drove, though, the more I realized that I was driving on a snowmobile trail! As the soft snow on either side of the skinny road was trying to pull me in, I realized I had to get us out of this situation.  We could A) Keep driving, not knowing when or if we’d be able to get off this road, B) attempt a 99-point turn to get us turned around, or C) drive in reverse the entire 3.6 miles we had come.  After much debate, we decided on the reverse option.  I’ll never forget the look on Gordon’s face as I drove in reverse (trust me, I got a good look as I craned myself around to drive the stressful, painful, 3.6 mile, 15-minute trip all the way back).  Thankfully, the reverse attempt was successful, and we were birding once again!

We made one pass for yet a third Hawk Owl south of Baudette on MN 72 a few miles.  The habitat was again perfect, but we did not strike gold for the third time of the day.  I’m sure if we would have made more passes, we eventually would have spotted it.  Instead, it was time to finish the long drive back to Angora.

Somewhere west of International Falls as Tommy and Gordon were fading in and out of sleep, I caught sight of a large, gray Owl fly out from the Aspen stand on the north side of MN 11!  I hollered, “Great Gray!” but as we got glass on it, we saw it was something even better! It was the guys’ lifer Barred Owl, their 4th Owl lifer of the trip!!!! Woo-hoo!!

Barred OwlTalk about a way to wake up the guys up and get the birding juices flowing again! This was personally exciting for me as it was only my 2nd personally found Barred and 4th one ever.  That’s right, I’ve seen more of the “special” northern Owls than I have of this common, resident bird.  It was a real treat indeed.

This encounter must have brought a jolt of life back into Tommy because somewhere just south of Ray on U.S. Highway 53, Tommy spotted us our 5th Owl species of the trip, a Great Horned Owl! What a day! What a trip!

Great Horned OwlIt was an incredible trip to the Northwest and one I won’t forget anytime soon.  The day was capped off with a hot meal at the Wooden Table in Angora and the relaxation of knowing that we could “sleep in” the next day even though we had another exciting birding itinerary for the day of Tommy and Gordon’s departure.

Here is a recap of the day’s lifers:

Northern Hawk Owl – Tommy, Gordon

Pileated Woodpecker – Tommy, Gordon

Snow Bunting – Tommy, Gordon

Barred Owl – Tommy, Gordon

A huge shout-out and thanks to Sandy Aubol for her Hawk Owl find and for her tips on relocating it! Thanks Sandy!

Searching for Sea Ducks on the North Shore of Lake Superior

Canal ParkThere has been a gaping hole in our Minnesota bird collection.  We have traveled extensively throughout the state and have pretty much seen all the specialty birds tucked into hidden nooks and little-known crannies.  Despite that fact, we have neglected one of the state’s most important birding areas – Lake Superior.  Here the possibilities for new birds abound with many sea duck species, northern gull species, oddball loon species and even three jaeger species.  I have never known how to approach birding the big water from the vast 150 miles of shoreline between Duluth and the Canadian border.  I had long ago figured that someday I might just have to hire a guide for a day to learn how to bird this sea-environment.  A couple weeks ago, though, I saw that Clinton Nienhaus was leading a FREE field trip through the Duluth Audubon Society along the North Shore specifically to look for sea ducks.  Free is always good, unless it’s a puppy, so I went for it.  Visions of Scoters and Harlequin Ducks danced in my head while I awaited this trip.

At long last, it was time.  This past Friday I picked Evan up from school, and we drove the 3.5 hours to Duluth.  We stayed in a hotel so we could be up and ready to go in Canal Park at 7:30 that next morning.  Evan was excited about the pool; I was excited about leaving at decent hour instead of 3 AM if we had foregone the hotel.

We met up with our guide, Clinton, and the rest of the small group for an adventurous day ahead.  First up was birding the canal and canal walls that you see above.  One never knows what interesting ducks will be in the canal or what special gulls line the walls.  Alas, it was pretty ho-hum.  We tried to make a Herring Gull into a Thayer’s, but it didn’t work. So it was off to our next stop, Brighton Beach.

Brighton Beach

No ducks could be seen, just a couple of Horned Grebes. We did observe a delightful birding phenomenon as we had Common Redpolls migrating by us and through us by the hundreds.  This was a great sign because strangely there were only two reports of Redpolls in the entire state last year.  That abysmal report contrasted greatly with the numbers we had two years ago when we had about 150 in our yard alone.  Needless to say, it was good to see these old friends again.  It was also fun to witness birds migrating down the shore;  southbound birds hit the big water of Lake Superior and opt to fly southwest down the shoreline.  Many of the Redpolls were literally flying over the rocks you see above.   I have hundreds of Redpoll photos at close range in great light of the many varied forms of this bird when they hung out in our yard two years ago.  So these photos are not the best but are provided to add a little meat to the bones of this post.

Common Redpolls

Clinton, a graduate student in environmental education, taught us that the Redpolls love to eat the seeds of birch and aspen trees. The catkins (those banana-shaped things below) contain thousands of the tiny, paper-like seeds.  When the Redpolls forage on these catkins, hundreds of seeds are then dispersed.

Common Redpoll

Throughout the day we kept seeing more and more Common Redpolls.  A conservative estimate would be 1,000 birds. Clinton pointed out that their flight calls sound like little lasers shooting.  That tip really helped this birder who is challenged in the auditory department.

After Brighton Beach our convoy of cars snaked its way up the shore to Stoney Point.  All I found here were dismal memories of missing Boreal and Great Gray Owls a couple years ago.  There still were no ducks either.  It was tough to get discouraged, though, because we had a long ways to go and many more stops to make, like at Agate Bay and Burlington Bay for which the town of Two Harbors is named.

Right away at Agate Bay an interesting raptor hovering in the stiff wind caught our attention.  It was a Rough-legged Hawk which ended up being one of several for the day.  Right now they are migrating through.  I always enjoy seeing this hawk.

Rough-legged Hawk

It was amazing how it stayed in one place in the air, seemingly hovering like a helicopter.  Finally it swooped down to the grassy bank below where it caught a mouse and proceeded to eat it on a rock.  Clinton taught us that mice are their primary food of choice and that though they are the same size as a Red-tailed Hawk, their talons are half the size.

Rough-legged Hawk

This hawk continued to dazzle us as it flew low over the parking lot.

Rough-legged Hawk

Here’s my favorite view of a Rough-legged Hawk when it shows off those black, carpal patches.

Rough-legged Hawk

But as cool as the hawk was, we still had no luck finding ducks on the water.  We took in migrating Bald Eagles, though.

Bald Eagle

And even some that might just be sticking around.

Bald Eagle

We took a little walk around the Two Harbors Lighthouse hoping to relocate the Western Kingbird or Northern Saw-whet Owl that had been seen there last weekend by the Minnesota Birding Weekend group.  No luck on those.

After awhile it was time to keep heading northeast up the shore.  Stops at the Silver Bay Marina and Taconite Harbor kept up the trend of the day – no sea ducks.  It was frustrating because in the past week all three Scoter species, Long-tailed Ducks, a Harlequin Duck, and a King Eider had all been seen.  We were running out of shoreline in a hurry. However, Taconite Harbor did have one goody for us –  a flock of fly-over lifer Bohemian Waxwings!  We never could get them to stick around to get good looks, but it was fun to finally get a life bid.

The next stop finally produced what the trip was offering.  As we exited our vehicles at the Cut-Face Creek Wayside at Good Harbor Bay, we could see a few dark blobs on the water.  One of those blobs was a Red-necked Grebe, but those three were our first lifer of the day, the White-winged Scoter!  This was a hoped for bird.

White-winged ScoterI was hoping for closer looks, but distance was a factor…

IMG_1076

White-winged Scoter

White-winged Scoter

I think we all had a sense of satisfaction of finally seeing a trip target.  We got to observe the Scoters dive which they do differently that divers.  Clinton told us to pay attention to how the ducks open up their wings just before they duck under.  It was pretty cool to watch the trio do this in unison.

With spirits buoyed we made the short jaunt into Grand Marais to see what the harbor was harboring. It turns out there wasn’t much in the way of ducks, and there were zero sea ducks.  One of the highlights, though, was getting to observe two Snow Buntings at arm’s length as they foraged in the parking lot.  I have seen many, many Snow Buntings but never this close as they are a skittish bird and never with a backdrop that is anything other than white.  This was a real treat.

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

And here is perhaps the best SNBU photo I will take my whole life:

Snow Bunting

We continued to bird around Artist’s Point.  Interestingly the group found an out-of-season, out-of-range Western Meadowlark right on the Coast Guard station lawn.  Then it was off to the lighthouse to get some better looks at the gulls across the harbor channel.  The appropriately named Sawtooth Mountains are in the background.

Grand Marais

Birds or no birds, it was an epic adventure for a 7-year-old to hike out to the lighthouse.  I had brought along his deer-hunting snowsuit to keep him safe on this opening day of deer season.  Perhaps I should have also brought a life jacket and a wetsuit??

Evan

King of the world, this very cold world.

Evan

Out by the lighthouse we scanned the gulls across the way.  I really don’t know gulls, so in this department I am not the least bit embarrassed to let someone tell me what some gull is or what cycle it is.  Clinton tells us this tawny-colored bird in the center of this shot is a first-cycle Thayer’s Gull.  We tallied it for the life list and moved on.  Personally I find these lichens to be more fascinating.

Thayers Gull

From Grand Marais we had a couple stops left.  We did them out of sequence going to Hovland first, the furthest point we were going to, and Paradise Beach second on the way back to Grand Marais.

There were no ducks at Hovland.  Paradise Beach held a few more White-winged Scoters that I never saw but the group did see and one Bufflehead that we tried to turn into Harlequin Duck.  Finally darkness was upon us and the great day of North Shore birding was over. Our hopes for more sea ducks the next day would not be further up the North Shore as we had no passports with us.  Instead, our hope for the next day was still alive because Evan and I would be able to continue the duck hunt back down the shore on our way to Duluth.  And it would prove to be a very bright day.

Hovland