Sax-Zim Bog Winter Bird Festival February 17-19 2012 Meadowlands, Minnesota http://sax-zimbog.com/ So far this winter is beginning to shape up to be a decent winter for observing winter specialties. Lately Minnesota is experiencing a irruptive season with Snowy Owls and the festival has never added a Snowy Owl to its festival list and it looks this winter probably will be the winter for us to add one with all the sightings being reported so far. There is still a lot of movement of winter finches like Common Redpolls and White-winged Crossbills. I got reports that there is a flock of Evening Grosbeaks coming to a feeder in Sax-Zim Bog and I suspect all the feeders will be very busy once we get some significant snow fall to bring the birds to the feeders. I also saw a recent report of a Great Gray Owl in Sax-Zim Bog and hopefully Hawk Owls will over winter in the bog like they have been doing in the past winters but so far no reports but there is still plenty of time. This year the festival is speakers are Ryan Brady and Paul Bannick ! Ryan Brady is from Ashland, Wisconsin and he will be talking on Friday. February 17th about the “Ecology of Northern Shrikes in Northern Wisconsin” and Paul Bannick is from Washington and he will be talking about “Birds by Season and Habitat” to learn more about out speaker please visit our website: http://sax-zimbog.com/birding-festival/about-the-speakers/ The festival is also hosting a variety of field trips to Sax-Zim Bog, Aitkin County and Duluth/Superior. We are hosting two other field trips; Photography Workshops led by professional photographer Paul Bannick who will go through a step by step process with participants on how to take photographs of birds, how to set your DSL camera to the right settings and many other tips and methods to help you achieve beautiful photographs. Paul will take the participants in the field and work with each participant. The other field trip is with Ryan Brady who will lead a small car caravan around Sax-Zim Bog searching for Northern Shrikes. Ryan has been studying Northern Shrikes for a few years and this field trip will give participants to see how Northern Shrikes are banded also learn how to identify adults from juveniles plus see up close a Northern Shrike in the hand. To read more about our field trips please visit our website: http://sax-zimbog.com/birding-festival/field-trips/ Our current festival field trip leaders; Alex Stark, Alex Watson, Chris West, Dudley Edmundson, Erik Bruhnke, Judd Brink, Mike Hendrickson, Steve Weston and Seth Cuthright . What makes this festival so appealing is that all activity is nested in the small community of Meadowlands, Minnesota which is located in the heart of Sax-Zim Bog but the major attraction is the winter birds that reside in the bog! Birds like Sharp-tailed Grouse, Ruffed Grouse, Northern Goshawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Bald Eagle, Northern Hawk Owl, Great Gray Owl, Black-backed Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Bohemian Waxwing, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Common Redpoll, White-winged Crossbill, Pine Grosbeak ,Evening Grosbeak and Snow Bunting can all be found during the winter months in Sax-Zim Bog. Other birds like Northern three-toed Woodpecker, Red Crossbill and Hoary Redpoll can also be found in the bog during the winter months. Adding Duluth/Superior to the mix participants have a chance to view any odd duck like Barrow’s Goldeneye (reported already along Park Pt.), Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck or a scoter species. Festival participants should be able to observe Iceland Gull, Thayer’s Gull and Glaucous Gull with chances of observing a Greater Black-backed Gull at the Wisconsin landfill or at Canal Park in Duluth. Of course we will search for Snowy Owl roosting on the ice and with the current irruption Snowy Owls might over winter in the hayfields in the Sax-Zim Bog area and in the harbors of Duluth and Superior, WI. Plus Duluth might host a Townsend Solitaire or a Varied Thrush for festival goers! So I ask everyone to spread the word and register for the 2012 Sax-Zim Bog Winter Bird Festival. Thank You!
Mike Hendrickson Duluth, MN ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
