Hi all, All the feeding stations are now up and running in the Sax-Zim Bog.
The Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center will open on Saturday Dec 13th and will be open 7 days a week from 10am-3pm until mid March (except Dec 25 and possibly 1-1) Friends of Sax-Zim Bog will be having a field trip on Sun. Dec 7th in the Bog. 10am-sunset. $20 to non-members, Free to members (those who have donated more than $20 in the last 12 months) Details under the "field trips" tab at www.saxzim.org Join the Friends of Facebook page for updates on sightings and events. Great Gray Owls are being seen fairly regularly at dawn and dusk. These are likely resident birds with no sign of an irruption. Check Kolu, McDavitt, Admiral and Nichols Lk Rds. One N Hawk Owl was seen weeks ago but no sign of any others. Winter finches include many redpolls (mainly away from feeders but some at feeders), Pine Siskins, Purple Finches, Pine Grosbeaks (not plentiful but there) and Evening Grosbeaks (check Mary Lou's feeders on CR444. Rough-legged Hawks are fairly rare this winter. JASON MANDICH'S BOG UPDATE Sax Zim Bog Report 12/02/14 Brrrr it's been cold out lately with the temperatures dipping down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit with the windchill. I really enjoy the cold days though because thats when the bird feeders are the most active and the owls generally stay out longer. Great Gray Owls are still being seen regularly along McDavitt Rd with sometimes up to 5 individual birds out at a time. They are also being found on Admiral Rd, Kolu Rd and Nichols Lake Rd. On my way home in the evenings I have been seeing a few great gray owls on Hwy 27 and Hwy 5 but these birds are not easy to observe due to the traffic on the roads and no shoulders to pull off onto. If you do cut across Hwy 27 to Mary Lou's feeders, keep your eyes peeled and your likely to spot a great gray. On Sunday I saw a Northern Hawk Owl fly across Hwy 7 by the intersection of Hwy 7 and Fermoy Rd which is a few miles north of Zim Rd. It has not been relocated since.Terry Crayne found a snowy owl on November 26th near the bog. With the exception of last year, snowy owls generally do not over winter in the Sax-Zim Bog , however a few are usually found each year as they pass through. Rough legged hawks are still present and can be found in the more open grassy areas along with northern shrikes. Hwy 7, Stone Lake Rd and Sax Rd are good places to find them. I found a couple of sharp tail grouse in Meadowlands on Cnty Rd 29 this week too. There are some deer scaps someone dumped on the south end of Admiral Rd that are attracting magpies. A moose has been spotted on Hwy 7 a couple times this week, plus I ran into a mink, a fox and a coyote but they all escaped from getting their pictures taken. Feeding Station Updates. The Kelsey Bird Feeding Station is a must stop. They have created a unique birding trail that the birds really flock too. So far the birds being observed there are purple finches, red polls, pine siskins, evening grosbeaks, black billed magpie, pileated woodpecker and all the other common feeder birds. The Admiral Rd feeding station has been up for about a week now and is being visited by boreal chickadees and gray jays. They both love peanut butter and appreciate it if you put some out for them. There is also a male black backed woodpecker being seen south of the feeders, listen carefully for tapping and his calls. The Morses feeders so far have been pretty slow, but they generally attract winter finches each year so make sure to stop and check them out. Abraham's feeders are not up yet. Mary Lou's feeders are the best spot to see evening grosbeaks still. Friends of Sax-Zim Bog feeders are the visitor center are busy with purple finches, red polls and pine siskins. Right now they are probably the most active feeders for the smaller finches in the bog. A few pine grosbeaks are also visiting them. There is a NEW birding feeding station on the east side of Owl Avenue. It's located 1/10 mile south of Arkola Rd. So far the only birds observed there have been gray jays, but hopefully it will also attract pine grosbeaks and boreal chickadees like the feeder on Arkola Rd used too. It is adjacent to the same stretch of bog as the Arkola feeder, but will have far less traffic on the road. When visiting the feeders along roads or viewing owls, please do not block traffic. Everyone should park to one side so residents can get through. Also be careful of the shoulders, its easy to get stuck. For a map to all the feeders click here: http://birdnation.squarespace.com/…/Sax-Zim%20Bog%20Birding… There is a field trip planned for December 7th by Friends of the Sax-Zim Bog. Visit their page to sign up. www.saxzim.org/ Sparky Stensaas 2515 Garthus Road Wrenshall MN 55797 218.341.3350 sparkystens...@hotmail.com www.ThePhotoNaturalist.com www.KollathStensaas.com www.SaxZim.org ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
