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Kate and I have been taking
a winter birding trip since 1993. Up
until now, we have always been to warm places - Florida, South
Texas, Southern California, Arizona. But this year, we decided
to avoid flying, for a change, and head north, to Duluth, in
search of winter owls. Needless to say, our non-birding friends
were consistently taken aback when we said we were headed to
Duluth in mid-January for a vacation. Several expressed an
interest in calling the local mental health facility on our
behalf.
Since I brought my laptop along this time (there is a benefit in
not flying...you can carry more stuff!), my friends here on the
CompuServe Birding Forum will be getting nightly reports.
[For friends elsewhere who are reading this, please bare in mind
that this was written nightly, in real time. As I've compiled
this document, I've tried to maintain that feel, while correcting
for any errors. I've also enclosed any postscripts in brackets.]
Here is our planned itinerary:
Saturday - Travel to Keokuk, Iowa
Sunday - Nature Conservancy field trip to Cedar Glen Eagle Roost;
travel to Des Moines to meet AJ and PJ
Monday - Travel to Duluth
Tuesday - Bird Duluth area
Wednesday - Bird Duluth area
Thursday - Travel to Sault-Ste.-Marie
Friday - Bird Sault-Ste.-Marie
Saturday - Return to Chicago - possibly by way of Green Bay -
gotta taste that Superbowl hysteria!
If we smell success in Duluth, we probably won't go to the Soo,
having been there a few years ago.
Day 1 - Saturday, January 18
We left the house at about 9:45am and headed out to the Quad
Cities, then south to Galesburg, west to Monmouth, south to
Macomb and west to Keokuk, Iowa, arriving about 3pm. En route,
we saw the usual highway birds - Pigeon, Starling, House
Sparrow, Red-tailed Hawk and Kestrel. We saw some Canada Geese
in a fluddle. I could not figure out why it was still open -
it's been a little chilly here lately - probably all those
agricultural chemicals are preventing the water from freezing. I
bought my first camcorder last week, specifically for birding,
and played with it, videoing the passing countryside, while Kate
took a rare turn at the wheel.
As we approached Keokuk, it was apparent why this weekend was
Bald Eagle Days. There were Bald Eagles soaring all over the
place as we crossed the river. The water around the dam was open
and the eagles were more numerous than the crows. As we checked
into the Holiday Inn Express in beautiful downtown Keokuk, the
desk clerk said that 90 of them had been counted that morning.
This evening the Nature Conservancy, as part of the package, had
a dinner and presentation by Dr Thomas Dunstan, a local eagle
researcher from Western Illinois University. He tantalized us
with stories about the numbers of eagles that we might see at the
Cedar Glen roost in the morning. The record, set a number of
years ago, was way over 400 birds. Given how cold it has been,
there is the chance that we may see a similarly high number.
Tomorrow, we rise early to be at the roost at dawn.
Day 2 - Sunday, January 19
The assembled multitude of Illinois Nature Conservancy folks
gathered at 5:30am in the lobby of the Holiday Inn in Keokuk. We
numbly munched on oranges and donuts, waiting for the vans and
our guides to arrive. From different tables, we heard spouses
admonishing each other to "remember what Tom said, don't drink
any coffee. There won't be any opportunities for pit stops until
we get back." Kate and I both sneaked an extra roll into our
jacket pockets as protection against hypothermia. :-)
We drove out to Cedar Glen. We were supposed to be quiet so that
we could sneak up on the eagles. But, no one mentioned that to
the crows who evidently decided to roost nearer the eagles this
year. As soon as we started getting out of the vans, they made a
fuss. We saw a flock of at least 100 to 200 (hard to be sure in
the dark) rise up and flock like starlings and make the biggest
racket. By the time we had hiked across a snowy field to the
top of a hill overlooking the valley, many of the eagles had
decided that it was time for an early breakfast. And we missed
the en masse departure, which was kind of the point.
We did get to see two small flocks fly across, but it wasn't as
we had hoped. We then made a couple of other stops where we did
get better looks at the eagles, so the trip was by no means a
bust. After the group got back to the hotel for a hot, basic
breakfast, Kate and I made a stop at the dam where we saw at
least 20 eagles in the air fishing over the outflow from the dam.
There were at least a 100 more sitting on the ice across the
river. Got my fill of Bald Eagles for a while.
We then drove across southeast Iowa and visited AJ and PJ. [Ann
and Paul Johnson...friends from CompuServe] What a great yard!
We sat in their dining room (still a little too cool for relaxing
on the deck) and watched their feeders meet the late afternoon
needs of cardinals, titmice, black-capped chickdees, downy
woodpeckers and white-breasted nuthatches. Kate got a much
needed cat fix from Misty. PJ and AJ prepared a wonderful dinner
including homemade ice cream. AJ helped with the details of
the
Duluth segment of our trip and told us about some secret spots.
It was a delightful evening. Tomorrow, we meet AJ to do some
hotline chasing and maybe get Kate a lifer.
Day 3 - Monday, January 20
We met AJ at our hotel and headed north out of DesMoines. On the
way out of town, we saw a Red-tailed Hawk sitting on a
wire...which you don't see every day. The first stop was a
Jester County park were we walked through a wood lot looking for
Saw-whet Owls. We found none but there were lots of songbirds
for a winter day. AJ and Kate managed to spot a short-eared owl,
but I just stood looking up at the sky saying "Where?"
As we were heading back to the car, I followed AJ down a slight
hill to the road. She took it conservatively; I decided that I'd
be different. As I put my foot down completing the step, I
realized that it was a mistake. In slow motion, I fell down onto
the road. Luckily, snow is a great cushion and neither
binoculars or camcorder suffered any apparent damage.
We next visited the location of the Pinyon Jay that has been
visiting Iowa for a while. Kate wanted this one, since I had
gotten it a year ago, with Christine Rideout's [another
CompuServe buddy] help, while in Palm Springs. We pulled up to
this farm house and proceeded to watch an array of feeders. We
were starting to get nervous until several vocal jays showed up.
Suddenly the Pinyon Jay was among them and Kate was able to get
an excellent look.
Next stop - a house with lots of Red Crossbills coming to the
feeder. We parked there for a while until we rationalized that
it was highly unlikely we'd see them, so we headed out to buy AJ
a well deserved lunch. She lead us to the Hickory Park
Restaurant in Ames. What a great place. Highly recommended
should anyone ever find themselves in Ames, Iowa.
We waved goodbye to AJ and headed for Duluth on I 35. AJ had
urged us to stop for a reported Boreal Owl just north of
Minneapolis. I listened to the Minneapolis hotline and it had
just been recorded this morning. Not only is there a Boreal Owl,
but Great Gray and Northern Hawk Owls are also being seen in the
area. So we made some calls and wound up staying in Minneapolis
tonight as opposed to going all the way through to Duluth. We
made a few stops and were not able to get to Minneapolis before
dark, so tomorrow, we search down here for birds that we expect
to find in Duluth.
Day 4 - Tuesday, January 21
Greetings from Duluth. We're sitting here on the 14th floor of
the Holiday Inn looking out over a frozen Lake Superior with
light snow falling. We got in and crashed last night watching
"Must See Tuesday" and, since the weather is crummy this morning,
I'll catch up on yesterday.
Yesterday sucked. We spent the morning in Minneapolis chasing
a
Boreal at Springbrook Nature Center, a Hawk Owl in Blaine and a
Great Gray at the Carlos Avery Wildlife Area.
We dipped every time. We did meet Jay Hammernick at Springbrook
and he was very helpful with directions and suggestions. We also
noticed Springbrook's bow to political correctness: they renamed
the local CBC to the National Audubon Society "Holiday" Bird
Count.
After lunch, we considered going to the southern suburbs to do
some more chasing, but it started raining and getting foggy so we
decided to cut our losses and head up to Duluth while we could
still get there.
As we approached Duluth, we figured we had enough daylight left
to do a little of what we came here for. We cut over to the Sax-Zim
area and drove up County Road 7. There wasn't much of
anything, which really wasn't unexpected since the hotline
indicated that most of the action was further west, in Aitken
County. We broke off our search as the light got poorer and
headed back to Duluth. It's a good thing since the weather
forecasts of freezing rain proved correct. We passed at least 10
cars off the road (all empty or being assisted) and didn't feel
comfortable doing much more than 40 mph. We finally arrived at
the Holiday Inn (which is darned nice, as a matter of fact) and
resolved to relax a little. Which we did.
[For the winter birder, we chose the Holiday Inn because it had
an attached parking deck, which sheltered the car from the worst
of the weather. It was successful. Loading up the car every
cold winter morning was more pleasant and we had no fear of
problems with getting the car started. ]
Hey, the birding might be marginal and the weather lousy, but
we're not in the office and we are, at least, kind of birding.
We're on vacation!!!
Now, we have to do some planning to see what we can do today.
More later.
Day 5 - Wednesday, January 22
We woke up to "snow showers". It did not bode well for the day.
We called Kim Eckert and discussed the latest news and also
engaged his services as a guide for Friday. In the meantime, we
were going to try to find as much as we could on our own.
We started, based on Kim's suggestion, at Park Point where a
Great Gray Owl had been seen. Not today.
Then it was over to Superior, Wisconsin where he had reports of a
Northern Hawk Owl spending time in a neighborhood. Not from us.
On to Two Harbors along the scenic route. No owls, no Red
Crossbills and no Boreal Chickadees. We did get a Red-breasted
Nuthatch. Whoopee.
Kate and Jim's trip to Duluth was starting to look like the
birding equivalent of a train wreck. As we headed back, it was
late afternoon and we again took the scenic route along the North
Shore. We were trying to figure out what the problem was. Kate
accused me of not having done the ceremonial owl dance this
morning. I rejoined that it was all her fault because she
wouldn't accompany me to the owl worship temple (otherwise known
as Hooters) where I would have done the owl dance in the
traditional way - with one of the temple maidens in her
ceremonial hotpants. But I digress.
As we headed south, we continued searching high and low for owls.
Discouraged, we were not looking forward to the rest of the week.
Our birding karma had reached a low ebb. All of our successful
chases had finally caught up with us. Suddenly, Kate said "stop"
a little south of the south entrance to Stoney Point. I slowed
down as fast as possible on the snow packed road and looked back
where she was pointing. I caught a glimpse of the Great Gray
Owl. We turned around and slowed to a halt about 100 feet away.
It was great. We got true lifer looks at our first Great Gray
Owl. We went from being whipped to exchanging high fives.
I
also got some nice video footage as well. We also noted that we
now owed the birding gods a trip to the local Hooters to make
proper propitiation.
On the way back to the hotel, we were thrilled with our lifer and
now we could focus on finding a Hawk Owl. Instead of searching
both low and high, we can now scan the tops of the trees and
snags.
Tomorrow, Aitken County. Hey, the pressure's off!
Day 6 - Thursday, January 23
This was a MUCH better day. And so was the weather - sunny
and
not too much wind. High was under 10, though.
We drove over to Aitken County since that is the place where most
of the reports have come from, per Warren Nelson. We started
from beautiful downtown Aitken and headed north on County Road 1.
In quick succession, we found 2 Northern Hawk Owls (lifer) and a
Snowy Owl. We continued searching some of the other recommended
spots for better looks at the Hawk Owls and for another Great
Gray. No luck there, but we got our two most wanted birds.
So
our Duluth adventure is an unqualified success.
Curious thing about the Aitken area. The source of the
Mississippi is just a tad further north and, in this area, the
river is little more than a creek that meanders through the
county. We crossed the Mississippi at least 5 times today.
It's
a lot different here than down in Illinois. I don't think you
can get a 16 barge tow through this part of the river.
As the day progressed, we found ourselves in the middle of
falling snow. We tried for Pietz's Road, but by the time we got
there, the snow was coming down more heavily and the road had not
been cleared for a while.
On the way back to the hotel, we took State Route 200 and US
Route 2. On the way, Kate spotted a pair of Ruffed Grouse
feeding in a tree and we also chased a flock of 30 or so Snow
Buntings along the highway. The moon roof that we got on our
Sable has come in handy a couple of times now. While Kate
watched the Grouse through her window, I opened the moon...er,
snow roof and watched them clearly at a much more comfortable
angle.
Kate's new nickname is now Sharpy (for sharp eyes). She's been
spotting almost every bird we've seen. I get us there, she finds
em. When her double vision goes away, she's deadly.
Tomorrow, we do Lake County with Kim Eckert. Target birds are
Red Crossbill, Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse, Three-towed and
Black-backed Woodpeckers and Bohemian Waxwings.
Day 7 - Thursday, January 23
This was our last day of birding in Duluth, for now. Tomorrow,
we head back to Chicago and work. Ugh. Let's see. Maybe
we
should buy that coffee shop that was for sale in Palisade.
Today was a very good day. It snowed overnight to the tune of at
least 3 to 6 inches depending on where we were. I must
compliment the road crews up here. Every road we traveled today
had been plowed and we never felt that we were at risk of being
stuck...except that Kim Eckert hadn't shoveled his driveway yet.
We had to park on the street to pick him up. :-)
We left his house at 6:30am and headed up to Two Harbors in Lake
County and took County Road 2 north from there. This took us
well inland through a beautiful forest. With at least 30 inches
of snow on the ground and much of that hanging from the trees, it
was like a trip into a Christmas card. Our target birds were
Spruce Grouse, Red Crossbills and Boreal Chickadees.
They had just plowed and sanded and there were lots of birds
flying down to the road and getting their grit fix. The first
group of birds we saw was a flock of Pine Grosbeaks. The birding
had begun at about 40 miles from Two Harbors. Moving a little
further, we excitedly tried to turn a flock of Purple Finches
into Red Crossbills. No such luck. Then came a flock of White-winged
Crossbills and a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches. With
windows and moon roof open, we were driving slowly when we heard
and saw chickadees. They were on Kate and Kim's side and they
looked out while I looked up through the roof...Boreal Chickadees
- Lifer!!! Kate and I both got insurance looks; then we piled
out of the car to get better views. We counted 4 of them.
We drove on a little further, got great looks at Gray Jays,
ticked Common Raven and had a surprise Hairy Woodpecker. And
then, at about 43.8 miles from Two Harbors, Red Crossbills
appeared...again, seen through that wonderful hole in the roof.
We hopped out of the car and got terrific looks - another lifer!
Pine Siskins turned up suddenly. Why aren't they in Chicago
right now where they belong?!
Kim said that we might see a moose along this road. We didn't
manage to see that particular life mammal, though.
We cruised County Road 2 a couple of times between Sand River and
Minnesota Route 1. Then we headed east on State Route 1 to look
for a lone Bohemian Waxwing reported at a house with some serious
feeder action. We stopped at the house of Alex Pempeck, about 7
miles east of County Route 2. Alex is your classic, north woods
kind a guy. Imagine Bill Murray at 70. Alex loves his birds.
He
spends a LOT of money on seed. There had to be at least 50
Evening Grosbeaks along with Purple Finches, Red-breasted
Nuthatches, Pine Siskins and Black-capped Chickadees. For only
the second time that we've ever seen Evening Grosbeaks, it was
pretty spectacular. We continued east searching the berry laden
Mountain Ash trees for Waxwings. Kim did find a Cedar Waxwing!
That one is definitely NOT supposed to be in Duluth in the
winter. Only Bohemians are allowed in Northern Minnesota at this
time of year. We followed State Route 1 all the way down to Lake
Superior and then State Route 61 back into Two Harbors and on to
Duluth.
County Road 2 from mile 40 to State Route 1 and State Route 1
east to just past Isabella are terrific birding roads. With a
fresh snow and sand on the road, the birds kept landing on the
road and giving us great looks. We had, in the course of the
drive, both Crossbills, Pine Siskins, Purple Finches and Pine
Grosbeaks frequently having to get our of our way.
We never did find Spruce Grouse or Bohemian Waxwings. But, we
DID get two lifers; more than a day's work.
Just before hitting Duluth, Kim suggested we check out one more
spot. He said that a Hawk Owl was seen there last weekend.
As
we rounded the corner of Burquist and Lindsmore Roads, about a
block away from where we were heading, ol' Sharpy Kate spotted it
sitting at the top of a tree. Today, there was almost no wind
and this bird was much closer to the road. We pulled over, broke
out the little used scope and trained it on this fella. We had
great, wonderful, fantastic lifer looks. In Aitken County, the
Hawk Owls we saw were either far away from the road or seen in
conditions too windy to get good looks. We saw them for the
first time yesterday, but we got the best look today.
We dropped Kim off and headed back over to Superior, Wisconsin.
Since we were on a roll, I wanted to see if we could find the
Hawk Owl we unsuccessfully searched for on Wednesday. On our
first pass through the neighborhood, I (yes - ME) spotted the
bird sitting on a telephone pole. Great - we had one in
Wisconsin now as well!
So, for the day, we had several more trip birds, 2 lifers, great
looks at Purple Finches, Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks,
White-winged Crossbills and two more sightings of Northern Hawk
Owls. We dipped on the Spruce Grouse and the Bohemian Waxwings,
but, hey, got to have a reason to come back.
And so ends the birding portion of the Frazier's trip to the
North Country. If we have the uneventful day of travel tomorrow
that I hope for, this will be our last report. We wound up
with
4 lifers (5 for Kate - the Pinyon Jay) and 32 trip birds.
For future visitors, here are some observations:
- Refer often to Kim Eckert's book;
- Pay lots of attention to the hotline;
- Be adventureous, the roads may be snowpacked, but they're
drivable;
- Bring a cell phone;
- Birders in Duluth seem to be very open to phone inquiries.
Duluth is pretty cool. |
