Northern MN

We made a quick trip up to northern Minnesota this weekend. Our main focus were owls... we were not disappointed despite the dearth of recent GGOW reports.

Our first NORTHERN HAWK OWL was at 4:50 on 16 January along McDavitt Rd in Sax-Zim bog. It was 2.5 miles north of Sax Rd:

Our second NORTHERN HAWK OWL was at 3:00 on 17 January along Whyte Rd. It was 2.9 miles northeast of Stoney River Rd:

Our third NORTHERN HAWK OWL was at 3:45 on 17 January along Stoney River Rd. It was 1.1 miles north of Whyte Rd:

Our fourth NORTHERN HAWK OWL was at 4:47 on 17 January along Stoney River Rd. It was 4.0 miles north of Whyte Rd:

We also found a GRAY GRAY OWL, a hard species to find lately. We found it at 4:15 on 17 January along Stoney River Rd. It was 5.8 miles north of Whyte Rd:

I also snapped a couple pics as it got closer to dusk...

We also did OK with winter finches. We had flocks of:

Pine Grosbeaks

Common Redpolls

Pine Siskins

White-winged Crossbills

Purple Finches

Here is a female PINE GROSBEAK:

And a terrible picture of a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL:

Here is a COMMON REDPOLL:

Gray Jays were common throughout our stay:

I also enjoyed BOREAL CHICKADEES which turned out to be pretty findable, especially at the Admiral Rd feeders in Sax-Zim. Here is one along Whyte Rd:

We also had multiple BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS along McDavitt Rd in Sax-Zim. Here is a male: