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Birding In Winter at Two Destinations

Spring 2005 Newsletter

In the North Woods

Ten Guardian members visited Dana and Randy Vincent’s beautiful cabin in northern Wisconsin for a birding trip in January. In spite of freezing weather (one morning it was 32 below!), many birders were driving around Duluth looking for the owls that were reported inundating the area from icier lands.

At the Duluth Airport, where Snowy Owls had been seen, we met a group of birders from Georgia. Although we didn’t observe any Snowy Owls, our southern visitors told us where a Northern Hawk Owl had been seen.

Following their directions, expert birder Charlie Winterwood spotted the owl and pulled off the road onto the right turn lane, followed by the other two cars. Although the road was fairly busy, Greg Painter immediately left the car and set up his scope. The accommodating owl was posing on top of a tall pine tree, and oncoming traffic must have been puzzled by the people lined up to get a look.

Reports of a possible Gyrfalcon sent us down a side street. No falcon, but hundreds of Bohemian Waxwings flitting in the trees! In the scope we could see the white and yellow on their wings and the cinnamon undertail coverts.

By this time our feet and fingers were numb, but a glimpse of another bird caused us to leave the cars once more. As we searched the skies, a gentleman, noting our binoculars, called us over. He had found one of the most elusive birds of all: a Boreal Owl!

Even in the scope it was hard to see, it blended so perfectly with the snow-covered tree trunk upon which it perched. Once we made out its black-and-white forehead and yellow eyes, we lined up for a third, fourth, even a fifth look at this unusual and beautiful bird.

The rest of the weekend was spent eating, resting, playing Trivial Pursuit and, for the brave-hearted, cross-country skiing on the frozen lake. Jim Mantey played his guitar in the evening, and we all got to know one another better. Everyone agreed that even though Florida beaches may beckon, it was a special treat to go north in the winter!

At Lost Mound Refuge

Imagine pines and snow and a beautiful sunset. Now picture a dozen owls flying out of the pine grove, the white undersides of their wings catching the light as they swoop overhead and back down into the trees.

Such was the sight that greeted about forty Guardian members who joined guides Dan Wenny, Alan Anderson and Randy Nyboer on February 11 at Lost Mound.

Several people, having heard news of the thirty or forty long-eared owls seen last year, brought along scopes and sophisticated photographic equipment. Although fewer owls were seen this time, no one was disappointed.

At the first (and smaller) “roost,” (a protected area in thick vegetation where owls rest communally) only owl pellets and feathers were found. Randy showed us the soft feather edges that help the owls glide quietly to surprise and overtake its prey.

We then traveled to the larger roost. The owls were almost ready for their nightly foray into the fields to search for food. As Guardians surrounded the group of trees, the owls began to leave.

“There's one!” someone would say, and the entire group would be silent as we watched the owls dart back and forth and land once more on branches near a tree trunk. Binoculars were raised and shutters were clicked as the sun set and a crescent moon got brighter and brighter in the sky.

Long-eared owls are found in most of the northern US and southern Canada, but it is unusual to see so many at one time. Their call is a low, soft hoot or a short barking sound. They are mostly gray above and white with black marks beneath their wings. It’s a sight worth viewing!

—by Pat Wemstrom, February 2005