I have no idea why the first came through empty -- but here it is again... I took my first trip to Aitkin Co yesterday. It was very fulfilling -- while I missed all the good Great Gray photos I was hoping for, I found the Boreal Owl where previously mentioned -- the north side of 210 in the jack pines just west of 62. I found it actively hunting at 2:30 and continued hunting until about 3, when I left it. A good place to park it off to the right just after turning on to 62. When I came back to check on it after warming up (around 3:30, I think), there were several cars parked by it and as I was leaving, a hwy patrol pulled up along them with his lights on. Does anyone who was there know what the problem was? Parking on 210 (no shoulders) maybe? I'm curious to know what to avoid!
One of the hightlights was observing some very interesting GGOW behavior. In what I assume was "owl field" (a field on the south side of CR 4 with lots of owls), I was watching one particular owl (there were 5 present), when another came and perched about 20 feet away and began making soft yet authoritative cooing sounds. After some time, it left with no further interaction. Later, I observed an owl make a catch in the field. While I was watching it in my camera (too far away for a good shot), suddenly without warning another great gray attacked it! The first (the one with the vole), met the attacker mid-air upside-down! The first fared well, and the attacker left it. Unfortunately, my pictures of this event are very poor, small and out of focus, but I'm attaching them anyway. I assume that this is not common behavior. Has anyone else witnessed such a thing? Here are the photos: http://www.elijahparker.com/temp/owls1.jpg http://www.elijahparker.com/temp/owls2.jpg http://www.elijahparker.com/temp/owls3.jpg Also, it's a late report, but I went to Sax-Zim last Sat, and had an impressive list of 27 species, including the Northern Three-toed (in the woodpecker spot on McDavitt) and a Magpie. Also of note were Red Crossbills and Evening Grosbeaks. I'll post again when I have the photos online. I got some great ones of the Three-toed! Elijah Parker St Paul, MN http://www.elijahparker.com
