Spent yesterday(5/11/08) in Hibbing, so of course I had to make another two trips through the sax zim bog coming to and from Duluth. In the morning the scene was almost depressing. A thin covering of snow on the ground, cold windy air, and grey skies. A rough legged hawk let me walk right underneath the tree it was in, red winged blackbirds and brewers blackbirds just sitting around, no singing, no territorial disputes, and a pair of tree swallows on Cranberry rd. sitting in a perch six feet off the ground all fluffed up and obviously hungry with not much to eat in terms of cold inactive insects. On the way home in the evening, completely different scene. The sun was out, sparrows everywhere near the railroad tracks on Hwy 7, foraging on weed seeds and (waist grain)? At least 15 white crowned sparrows found with minimal effort. Birds singing everywhere. The whinnowing sound of common snipe was almost overwhelming at times. A lovely pair of sandhill cranes foraging near the railroad tracks just past Sax rd. Five sharptailed grouse foraging near the sandhill cranes. Wow! Back on cranberry rd. the swallows were now zipping around eating insects. A large group of yellow rumped warblers had taken up positions along the creek or waterway that flows perpendicular to cranberry rd. and were hawking for insects right above the water level. If you are a fan of warblers in evening light, you can see a picture of one in the "showcase" section of MOU. Everytime I tried to leave the bog, something else caught my attention, frogs singing, a wolf howling!, a common snipe and a broad winged hawk perched on seperate dead trees within feet of each other on Sax rd. It was a night to remember for sure. Happy Birding, Shawn Zierman.
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