This past weekend I attended the International Festival of Owls (Houston, MN), just a little west of La Crosse, WI.
While attending Friday's owl prowl at night with Dan Jackson, we were treated to BARRED OWL, GREAT HORNED OWL and EASTERN SCREECH-OWL calling. Friday night was the first time I have ever heard an Eastern Screech-Owl call in the wild! While commuting from my motel in Rushford to Houston for this festival, I would bird periodically on the way. RED-TAILED HAWK and HORNED LARK were seen daily on this brief 11 mile commute. DARK-EYED JUNCOS were seen several times, as were GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, PINE SISKINS, and one flyover PURPLE FINCH in the town of Houston. BALD EAGLES were observed on a daily basis. Like with past years, this year's Int'l Festival of Owls was a blast, and I highly recommend it to people who are interested in learning more about owls, birds in general, and even conservation as a whole. The speakers each year come from around the world, and the festivities and local awareness to conservation are impressive to say the least. Below is my gallery from this year's International Festival of Owls. http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/international_festival_of_owls_2013 I've been meaning to post this earlier, but have been quite busy. Up until the beginning of this month, I had been showing birders around for 24 straight days throughout northeastern Minnesota. Great times, great birds! The birds right now are thrilling up here, and I am very excited for the early tier of spring migration to take place. Bring on the raptors! Good birding, Erik Bruhnke Duluth, MN -- *NATURALLY AVIAN* - Birding Tours and Bird Photography [email protected] (e-mail) www.naturallyavian.com (birding tours) www.pbase.com/birdfedr (photos) www.facebook.com/NaturallyAvian (facebook) ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
