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-----Original Message----- From: Carrol Henderson [mailto:[email protected]]=20 Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 8:09 AM To: [email protected]; Jan Welsh; Maya Hamady; Nancy Huonder; Steve Kittelson; Steve Wilson Cc: [email protected]; Katie Haws; Lee Pfannmuller; Pam Perry; [email protected] Subject: Great Gray Owls, northern MN wildlife tourism, and a wandering whooping crane Good morning. I thought you might enjoy an owl update. Yesterday I drove from Blaine to Grand Rapids to give presentations at a wildlife tourism workshop being sponsored by the Office of Tourism and the Nongame Wildlife Program. Sharon Stiteler was also a presenter at the program. You might be interested to know that there were frequent references the the MOU and their diverse skills, personnel, and publications for the 40-plus persons in attendance at the meeting. =20 Attendees were from all over northern Minnesota and represented Chambers of Commerce, CVBs, motels from Lake of the Woods to Duluth, National Wildlife Refuges, Indian bands, nature centers and the Forest History Center. The "winter of the owls" has accomplished something very special: it has put wildlife tourism onto the radar of the northern Minnesota tourism industry in such a dramatic manner that these people are really excited to become involved, more accommodating and supportive of wildlife and nature-related tourism endeavors. Stay tuned for future developments. I encountered four great gray owls on the way. Three live and one fresh roadkill. The first owl was a quarter mile south of the intersection of Hwy 65 and County Road 2 in Aitkinl County. It was on the east side of the road perched on top of a power pole at 6:30 a.m.=20 The second owl was on Hwy 210 west of McGregor, and about a mile east of the intersection of County Road 5 that goes north to Palisade, at about 7:00 a.m.. It was perched about 20 feet up in a tree in the roadside.=20 The third owl was perched on a fencepost adjacent to a pasture on the east side of Hwy 169, about a hundred feet north of the intersection of County Road 68 (540th St). That was about 7:20 a.m. The fourth owl, a fresh roadkill, was found in Itasca County on Hwy 169 about a quarter mile south of where County Road 450 forks to the left (going north) off of Hwy 169 (about 13 miles south of Grand Rapids). That owl was encountered about 7:40 a.m. I traveled the same route home starting at 4:00 p.m. and saw no owls, but I did see a turkey vulture, two rough-legged hawks, a northern harrier, and a kestrel. I picked up the dead great gray owl and will be forwarding it along with other DNR salvaged owls. The breast was plump on the dead owl suggesting that it was not starving or failing to find food. =20 Because of the late date, I suspect that a fair number of owls that have chosen to stay and nest in the Aitkin County region, offering an extended opportunity for viewing during the nesting season. I would expect that the Palisade area would be a good core area for further explorations for summering owls--and it seems that early morning is a prime time for viewing unless the day is overcast and the owls may be active later in the day. Thursday was a beautiful sunny day and I understand that they are not quite so apt to be so active along roadways on the bright days. Also, there was a report of an immature whooping crane near the entrance of the Wargo Nature Center early on Wednesday morning. I drove by there on the way back from a meeting at Carlos Avery at noon that day, but I did not see the whooper. The sighting was by Frank Taylor, a good naturalist and avid falconer. It seems a credible sighting, and it is likely that the whooper is from the Wisconsin release effort and may be exploring wetlands up in the Carlos Avery area. Maybe we will get some more sightings this weekend. Have a good weekend. You may share or forward this information as you see fit. Best wishes, Carrol H.
