[mou] Sax Zim Bog, warblers, cranes, and grouse....

[SCmzd at aol.com]

Spent yesterday(5/11/08) in Hibbing, so of course I had to make another two  
trips through the sax zim bog coming to and from Duluth.  In the morning  the 
scene was almost depressing.  A thin covering of snow on the ground,  cold 
windy air, and grey skies.  A rough legged hawk let me walk right  underneath the 
tree it was in, red winged blackbirds and brewers blackbirds just  sitting 
around, no singing, no territorial disputes, and a pair of tree swallows  on 
Cranberry rd. sitting in a perch six feet off the ground all fluffed up and  
obviously hungry with not much to eat in terms of cold inactive insects.   On the 
way home in the evening, completely different scene.  The sun was  out,  
sparrows everywhere near the railroad tracks on Hwy 7, foraging on  weed seeds and 
(waist grain)?  At least 15 white crowned sparrows found  with minimal effort. 
 Birds singing everywhere.  The whinnowing sound  of common snipe was almost 
overwhelming at times.  A lovely pair of  sandhill cranes foraging near the 
railroad tracks just past Sax rd.  Five  sharptailed grouse foraging near the 
sandhill cranes.  Wow!  Back on  cranberry rd. the swallows were now zipping 
around eating insects.  A large  group of yellow rumped warblers had taken up 
positions along the creek or  waterway that flows perpendicular to cranberry rd. 
and were hawking for insects  right above the water level.  If you are a fan 
of warblers in evening  light, you can see a picture of one in the "showcase" 
section of MOU.   Everytime I tried to leave the bog, something else caught my 
attention, frogs  singing, a wolf howling!, a common snipe and a broad winged 
hawk perched on  seperate dead trees within feet of each other on Sax rd.  It 
was a night to  remember for sure.  Happy Birding, Shawn  Zierman.



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