We made another trip through the Hinckley area of Pine County Monday and saw a total of 35 Great Gray Owls. We also saw 2 Northern Hawk Owls -- a life-lister for me. We saw the first NHO at about 4:30 p.m. sitting on a telephone line right beside I-35 about a block or less north of the Mora exit -- this was before we reached the Hinckley exit. We turned around at Hinckley and went back to the Mora exit and headed north again -- the owl was still sitting in the same spot. We stopped on the shoulder for about 3 minutes, the owl was still there when we left.
We saw the second NHO about 6:00 p.m. right in the town of Cloverdale along Hwy 48 about two blocks west of CR 21. This NHO was sitting at the very top of a pine tree right beside the highway. To see a second Northern Hawk Owl on the same day was indeed a thrill! In addition to the 35 GGOs, we also saw 2 bald eagles, both were resting in birch trees alongside the road -- one was along CR 21, don't remember exactly where we saw the second one. We saw a lot of birds in less than two hours -- what a day it was! The owls don't appear to be in any great hurry to leave. Gail Wieberdink Roseville, MN Ramsey County [email protected]
