Thanksgiving in The Bog

[Jim Almquist]

Found a few friends in the Bog today.

[LeeKen]

Very nice! Seeing those images was a nice after dinner treat. Love the redpoll in flight, and am envious of the owl pictures that you get.

[Dbl]

Very nice work, I enjoyed them all!

[traveler]

We've had our first redpolls and pine grossbeaks at the feeders the last few days...no numbers yet though. Also some evening grossbeaks yesterday, and a northern shrike a couple days ago.

[eyeguy 54]

nice!

[Sturg]

Very nice shots. Do you live near or in the bog? I too would love to get some owl pics. I hope to visit a couple of times this winter. Thanks for sharing!

[Jim Almquist]

I would guess I live right around 30 miles away. If you want to see the Great Grey Owls you should look for then during low light conditions when they are looking for food. When the Northern Hawk Owls show up they will be out during the day time. I have not seen any NHOs yet but this cold blast could get them on the move.

[brushwolf]

HI, my bird ID isn't too sharp..was that an immature redtail in the photo?

Thanks..Patrick

[Jim Almquist]

Patrick that was my guess. The lighting was very bad and the picture was very poor until I "fixed it" in Photoshop.

[brushwolf]

Jim the only reason it was a guess was because i was walking my dog over in a woodlot by UMD (Bagley Nature Area) and twice I jumped/flushed a big raptor with a brown streaked breast..had to go to the Google and found a bird that resembled it...I wonder if he will stay the winter, or if he will move out now that it is as cold as it is..

On another note.. do you guide bird tours in the bog? Assuming its the Sax Zim Bog...

Patrick

[Jim Almquist]

I am no guide by any means. I just like to get out and photograph birds/wildlife and the such.I think this blast of cold and snow will now push the hawks out and when things freeze over most of the eagles will leave as well. The good thing is that will help bring down more winter birds like the Northern Hawk Owl.

The best way to find birds in the bog is to just spend time cruising the roads and sitting at the feeders. If you want to see a GGO you will need to be there early and be willing to stay late as they like to feed during low light. When the Northern Hawk Owl comes down they will be out feeding all day long. they are also very good about letting you take their picture.

The GGO are harder to spot because the will blend end. They are not always in the same area so if I see one today there is no guarantee it will be in the area tomorrow.They seem to like a mix of trees with some open area

The NHO is a little different because if they find a good hunting area they could hunt from there all winter long. The like to have a lone tree and lots of open area around them to hunt.

[brushwolf]

Thank You Jim..I appreciate it. I know the Bog has an actual map so i will look at that and get a start there

Patrick

[Jim Almquist]

If you want to see certain birds just let me know and I will try to get you in the right area. The more time you spend the more opportunities you will have to see some cool stuff.

[Raider4ever]

Brushwolf, there is a FB page for the Sax-Zim bog. They have a bird-oreinted festival coming up in January. If you go to the FB page, I believe one of the directors is doing a free guide trip in the bog. Also, if you google Sax-Zim bog it will bring up the HSOforum first. There is a tab on that page for "Local Guide". He is one of the directors, been at it for a long time, REALLY knows his birds, and is getting better as a photographer. If you still have questions, please PM me and I will get you his e-mail.

[brushwolf]

Thanks Raider..was lucky enough to watch a barred owl come floating down one of my swaths when i was deer hunting..landed in a tree not far from me, so i got a good view, and then the next week a hawk of some sort cruised by but I couldn't ID him as he landed on a branch behind a tree...would love to see my first great grey owl,,do they perch conspicuously or do i have to park and then get out and scan..

Not Sax Zim related, but also would like to find a snowy owl on the bay, or around the grain elevators, maybe a Gyrfalcon too..just don't wanna freeze doing it..

Patrick

[Jim Almquist]

If you drive slowly and keep your eye's peeled and have the ability to see the grey with the grey background you should have no problem. The one in the picture was just off the road in a tree that I always said should have an owl there someday. They seem to like a branch or tall stump about 20 to 25' up in the air and some open area around them. When you see one it is the eye that will pop out at you. Watch for the head movement because it will look right at you to see what you are up to.

[ShawnZ]

Great series Jim. My fav is the redpoll/backside view, over the shoulder look with the

perfect head angle, good looking male bird. The hawk is most definitely a rough legged hawk.

[Jim Almquist]

Thanks for the ID Shawn. I always have a hard time when it comes to IDing Hawks. I am working on trying to improve my composition of my pics. The one in flight was cropped to remove the other Redpoll and branch.