On the morning of 12/24 I birded Aitkin county in search of the elusive Great
Gray Owls that were previously reported. I found one on Co. Rd. 18 about 1.5
miles west of Pietz's Road. It was quite an amazing bird that was hunting with
a temperature of zero degrees at 7:30AM. This is only the second great gray I
have ever seen and the first in almost six years. I then looked for the
previously reported Snowy Owl on Hwy. 169. I could not find it in the huge
field but in its place was a large Gray Wolf that ran away quickly once I saw
it in my binoculars. Further north in this field was a small flock of Horned
Lark. Back on the snow mobile trail directly south of Pietz's Road I found four
White-winged Crossbills, five Gray Jays and a single Golden-crowned Kinglet
foraging in some small Black Spruce trees. I also saw a Northern Shrike on Co.
Rd. 18 and another on Hwy 169. Thank you to those who previously reported the
Great Gray owl location! Jason Caddy Minneapolis
----
Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net
Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
