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New Jersey Audubon Eco-Travel: Minnesota in Winter-January 23-28, 2025 with Scott Barnes

By Scott Barnes, Senior Naturalist

It was a blazing hot trip to the frozen bogs, spruce forests, and shores of Lake Superior on this winter’s Minnesota tour. Winter birding can vary from year to year at this northern latitude and our trip was most fortunate to coincide with an irruption of Great Gray and Boreal Owls near Duluth.

Sunrise backdrop over the Duluth shipping channel lighthouses with sea smoke rising off Lake Superior. Photo by Scott Barnes.

Irruptions occur when food resources are low/scarce in a normal portion of a bird’s range and happen every few years, sometimes less frequently. In our case this meant that there were unusually high numbers of Great Gray Owls and Boreal Owls in northeast Minnesota. These birds likely originated in the vast boreal forest of Canada to the north, moving south in search of food (mostly rodents like Red-backed Voles) and possibly better hunting opportunities. The winter of 2024-2025 may be the best winter in twenty years for large numbers of Great Grays in the areas around Duluth and the north shore of Lake Superior, which acts as a barrier for birds migrating south. It’s important to note that during irruptions, raptors that are pushed south are driven by hunger. We were respectful by keeping our distance and not harassing the birds by close approach or noisy behavior.

Another species experiencing an irruption this trip was White-winged Crossbill. We recorded 145 individuals, including some older males with their hot pink bodies, dark wings with two white bars, and the eponymous bill for which they are named.

Two other so-called “winter finches” that were numerous were Purple Finch and Redpoll, with a few Pine Siskins as well. Redpolls flocks were often chattering overhead, sometimes descending rapidly to cone-laden conifers for a feeding frenzy. Conversely, there were no Bohemian Waxwings around this year and we couldn’t find any Pine Grosbeaks. Every trip is different!

We saw 8 Great Gray Owls on the tour, watching them hunt from fenceposts, telephone poles, and spruce trees. They are North America’s longest or “tallest” owl but rank third in weight behind Great Horned and Snowy Owls. Great Grays may look heavy, but it’s all fluff and feathers designed to keep them warm in the cold bogs and conifer forests they inhabit. A life bird for many on the tour and a species that you can’t get enough of—no one ever tires of watching this impressive raptor with piercing eyes and that giant globe-like head!

This was the first of eight Great Gray Owls we saw on the tour. Great Gray is the longest (tallest) of North America’s owls, but third in weight behind Great Horned and Snowy Owls. Photo by Scott Barnes.

This Great Gray Owl was soaking up the apricity (the warm of sunlight in the winter) along the north shore of Lake Superior. Photo by Scott Barnes.

Our first encounter with Boreal Owl was one found perched in a black spruce at one of the trails in Sax-Zim Bog. We remained quiet except for the crunching snow beneath our feet as we watched the bird at close range. The bird remained non-plussed as a red squirrel chattered at it and an annoyed Red-breasted Nuthatch squeaked and squeaked. The next day we saw another Boreal Owl, this one actively hunting along a roadside patch of grass and alders. A man came out of a nearby house, wearing a short-sleeved shirt in what felt like 15-degree weather to watch the owl as it flew by and landed on his clothesline. What cold?

 

Our first Boreal Owl was tucked away in a spruce tree in Sax-Zim Bog. These northern owls appear less than annually in the bog and Minnesota’s north shore. Photo by Scott Barnes.

Our trip was fortunate enough to see two Boreal Owls, this one was actively hunting a brushy roadside just outside Duluth. Photo by Scott Barnes.

Northern Hawk-Owl is another sought-after species and distinctive among owls with their much longer tail. They often perch prominently atop dead trees in burned areas and spruce/tamarack bogs as they hunt voles, small birds, and red squirrels. Our first attempt to locate one in Superior National Forest was a bust, but the next day we had long looks at this cool raptor near McGregor.

A bold and beautiful Northern Hawk-Owl eyes us warily from its perch in a spruce bog outside of McGregor, MN. Photo by Scott Barnes.

Thanks to Sean’s local knowledge, we tracked down one Snowy Owl near the outskirts of Duluth late one day. The wind had picked up and the bird—a young heavily barred female, was taking refuge on the lee side of a large metal roof.

One morning we spied a Barred Owl perched on a power line, our fifth and final owl species of the tour.

Ruffed Grouse were around in good numbers, and we watched birds pick off seeds from birch and aspen trees in beautiful late day sunlight. Several Northern Shrikes were observed, unfazed by the strong winds that caused them to sway as they clutched sapling trees for hunting perches. These sharp gray, black, and white birds have a strong hooked bill reminiscent of raptors.

Under the famous and much photographed lift bridge in Duluth’s Canal Park, we enjoyed watching a close flock of hundreds of Common Goldeneye as they drifted up the shipping channel before flying out to the lighthouses, their wings whistling as they passed by. Among them was a much rarer first-winter drake Barrow’s Goldeneye; this individual was tricky to pick out as birds were diving frequently.

Other mentionables seen in and around Sax-Zim Bog included Canada Jay families, a few Black-billed Magpies—here at the eastern edge of their continental range, and a Boreal Chickadee.

An afternoon snow squall passes through Sax-Zim Bog between birding stops. Photo by Scott Barnes.

My sincere thanks to everyone who joined the tour—it was a fun group; and to my co-leader Sean McLaughlin of Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory for making the trip successful and memorable. Special thanks to Frank Nicoletti for his help and information.