[mou] Owls Everywhere

[Sharon Stiteler]

A van load of women came down with northern owl flu , called in sick and
took a day trip to Sax Zim Bog Tuesday--owls were EVERYWHERE!  I printed out
a map and starred all the intersections where owls had been reported since
Thursday to use as a guide but really, we found many owls in places not
listed.  

We took a drive down a Wildlife Management Area just north of the bog and
immediately found our first great gray of the day.  We pulled over with the
windows down and the side door of the van open so all of us got a good view
of the owl from the van.  A truck with two men clad in orange pulled up and
asked in all seriousness, "You ladies aren't hunting from your car are you,
that's not legal."  We held up our binoculars and pointed out the owl we
were watching.  They asked why they had been seeing so many owls lately and
we told them about what was going on, and they directed us to other areas to
check for owls in the WMA.

The fog made for a beautiful morning and birds seen in and around the bog
include:

7 great-gray owls
2 northern hawk owls
common redpolls
northern shrike
rough legged hawks
bald eagles (one in a tree with a rabbit)
ruffed grouse
gray jays
pileated woodpecker
snow buntings

Again, if anyone hasn't been to the bog yet and was thinking of going, it is
so worth it and so much fun.  More than once we would be driving and someone
would say, "If I were a great gray owl I would be in a patch like this...oh,
there's one."  For one of the ladies in the van this was her first
experience of birding by car and it was fun to hear her exclaim, "I never
knew it could be like this!"

I'm probably going to use this for my KARE 11 segment on Friday.

-- 
Sharon Stiteler
Minneapolis, MN
www.birdchick.com