[mou] Pine County 2-21

[Gail Wieberdink]

We made another trip through the Hinckley area of Pine County Monday and saw
a total of 35 Great Gray Owls.  We also saw 2 Northern Hawk Owls -- a
life-lister for me.  We saw the first NHO at about 4:30 p.m. sitting on a
telephone line right beside I-35 about a block or less north of the Mora
exit -- this was before we reached the Hinckley exit.  We turned around at
Hinckley and went back to the Mora exit and headed north again -- the owl
was still sitting in the same spot.  We stopped on the shoulder for about 3
minutes, the owl was still there when we left.

We saw the second NHO about 6:00 p.m. right in the town of Cloverdale along
Hwy 48 about two blocks west of CR 21.  This NHO was sitting at the very top
of a pine tree right beside the highway.  To see a second Northern Hawk Owl
on the same day was indeed a thrill!  In addition to the 35 GGOs, we also
saw 2 bald eagles, both were resting in birch trees alongside the road -- 
one was along CR 21, don't remember exactly where we saw the second one.  We
saw a lot of birds in less than two hours -- what a day it was!  The owls
don't appear to be in any great hurry to leave.

Gail Wieberdink
Roseville, MN  Ramsey County
wieber64@comcast.net