[mou] 'Spring or Winter?' or 'Just another Boreal Owl!'

[Cindy Butler Risen]

Hello All,

Cindy and I have been out in the field in bits & pieces over the last three
days and we have a few sightings that were fun & interesting to report. We
have been jealously following the sightings of spring migrants from those
of you in the southern part of the state. We KNOW spring is on the way, but
when we look out our window we still see our snow-covered yard with piles
of snow three or four feet deep in places. As one might expect with that
kind of winter landscape most of the common birds in our area are still the
winter species. Our feeders are still hosting a huge number of Common
Redpolls (100-150) with a nice male Hoary Redpoll showing up on yesterday
and Wednesday. Evening Grosbeak numbers are steady with a flock of 20-30
that brighten the feeders each morning. Pine Siskins are VERY vocal and are
present in big numbers. A few Purple Finches are beginning to show up, with
the extremely bright male we had this morning a real highlight. Both Red
and White-breasted Nuthatches are really singing. Unfortunately, we haven't
seen a Pine Grosbeak yet this week. Yet another indicator that Spring may
be on its way to Northeastern Aitkin County.

Don't let all these 'winter' birds fool you. Spring migrants ARE starting
to trickle in. We had our first Red-winged Blackbirds of the season earlier
this week. American Robins were at Cindy's parent's house on Wednesday.
Male Northern Harriers, along with Kestrels, have been common in all the
open areas around McGregor since Sunday. Yesterday, Dave Johnson from
Illinois spotted a Great Blue Heron north of Aitkin, while Canada Geese and
swans were spotted by all of us near Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Now that I have told you about snow and winter birds on the one hand and
spring migrants and water birds on the other, let's see what else I can do
to confuse you.

As some of you may be aware (and let's face it, if you don't know by now
you have been out of the country or in a coma) we have had a nice winter
for owls here in Aitkin County. If you are reading this and you have been
thinking of coming to Aitkin County but aren't sure if any owls are still
around, let me state most emphatically--YES! They are.

Yesterday we saw five Great Gray Owls and two Northern Hawk Owls at mid-day
between our house and McGregor. This afternoon from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Cindy took a few of the backroads to look for owls as she traveled to
Aitkin. Owls were counted on a route from our house in Balsam south to
Tamarack, west on 210 to McGregor, south on the Portage Lake Road (257th
Ave.), then west to Kimberly, west on county 56 to Aitkin, north on County
Road 1 to 'The Dump Road' (450th St.), south on County 10 to Palisade,
County 5 south to Kimberly then back on to McGregor on the Portage Lake
Road, and finishing up by taking 420th east of McGregor toward Tamarack.
Her tally totalled 70 Great Gray Owls, 1 Northern Hawk Owl, 1 Great Horned
Owl, and, most unexpectedly, ANOTHER Boreal Owl. 

Great Gray Owl concentrations were found along the Portage Lake Road (11
Great Grays), County Road 56 (8 GGO), County Road 1 (11 GGO), County Road 5
(20 GGO), and 420th east of McGregor (14 GGO). 

The Northern Hawk Owl was on 420th east of McGregor 3 miles east of the
junction of 420th and Highway 210. Also, the Northern Hawk Owl that has
been present since at least the first week of November 2.1 miles north of
Tamarack is STILL there.

The Great Horned Owl was at the junction of 420th and County Road 16.

The Boreal Owl was found on County Road 31 2.5 miles of County Road 6. It
was actively hunting from its perch on the telephone wires! Even in the
extremely low light, Cindy was able to get photographs to document the
record. This is the SEVENTH Boreal Owl sighting on this road this winter!
We searched the area after dark but were unable to relocate the owl. We
plan to look in the morning and if we are able to relocate it we will post
the information right away. (And we just HAVE to find it--Cindy has seen
FOUR Boreal Owls in Aitkin County this winter and I have only seen TWO!!)

Speaking of Boreal Owls. I would like to hear from anyone who was fortunate
enough to have seen that very cooperative Boreal Owl that hung around for
five or six days one mile east of McGregor two weeks ago. I would really
like to hear your comments about your experience.

Finally, as Spring is supposed to be coming and because Cindy has never
heard a Great Gray Owl and because conditions were so good last night AND
because David Johnson got us excited to go out to listen for owls at night,
we conducted a short after dark owling search last night. As stated
earlier, conditions were just perfect--little or no wind, no traffic, and a
full moon lighting up the SE skies. We did not hear any of the hoped for
Great Gray or Boreal Owls or the expected Barred and Saw-whet Owls. We did
hear a nice Long-eared Owl just about 1 mile east of our house. It was kind
enough to call seven or eight times for us. It certainly livened up our
evening!

Still Enjoying the Winter Here in Northeastern Aitkin County!

Kim & Cindy Risen
Tamarack, MN