Jan 1 and 2. A Fun Start!

The Friends of Sax Zim have protected over 25,000 acres of habitat already in the area!

Well the first few days of my 2025 birding were really fun! While this blog is dedicated to my Green Big Year efforts, I actually decided to spend my first day birding at the place that I'm hoping that you'll help me support- Sax Zim Bog, in northern Minnesota. The Friends of Sax Zim Bog are doing some great work here to protect habitat and provide access to the bog for people, and I'm glad to be supporting them!

Winterberry Bog - a FOSZB parcel, and the site manager

My friend and I headed up early with hopes of getting a Great Gray Owl for Bird #1 of the year. While we got up there right around sunrise, some Common Ravens spoiled the effort with a flyover to cement their place as the first bird of 2025. Oh well, they're cool birds. 

Rough-legged Hawk

As we worked our way up to the McDavitt Rd area, we ran into some good bog birds, including a Northern Shrike and a Rough-legged Hawk, which was something of a surprise given that there haven't been all that many seen around the bog this year, apparently. A Black-billed Magpie also popped up, which was another nice bird, at their easternmost extent of their range. Finally, we saw some cars parked along the side of road which sure enough indicated an owl - a Great Gray! 5th bird of 2025 isn't bad! We eventually saw two more that day, including this one (outside of the SZB area) which was close enough to the road for my usual crummy photo (get used to that, ha ha). 

Our second Great Gray Owl of the day - beautiful

We spent the rest of the morning at various spots around Sax Zim, where we got a good number of the expected birds - Canada Jay, White-winged Crossbill, Evening Grosbeak, Redpoll, and big flocks of Purple Finches. A flyby Sharp-tailed Grouse was also a nice treat. We missed out on Boreal Chickadee, Pine Grosbeak, and Northern Hawk Owl which haven't really been around this year (yet) so no big surprises there, but I was expecting Black-backed Woodpecker, which we missed also. Another time, I suppose. We rounded out the day by passing through the Duluth area, where we got American Black Duck, Harlequin Duck, and Boreal Owl...which was a very special treat, only the second one I've ever seen. 

The quiet winter bog - nothing but an occasional bird and wind creaking the trees

An inquisitive Canada Jay

Now, on to January 2nd, my first day of green birding! I got up early to feed the dogs and lingered by the door while they did their business, hoping for a Great Horned Owl that I've heard recently - no luck. Off to work...

I had a couple of hours of leave to use, so rushed home a little early to get started on my green birding! I spent about 30 minutes watching the feeders, and green bird #1 soon appeared - Black-capped Chickadee, one of my favorites. A couple of other feeder birds, and some flyover Trumpeter Swans brought me up to five species. After a quick lunch, I was ready for a short hike (and test of my winter gear) to O'Dowd Park nearby - where I saw some promising conifers for wintering owls on a prior visit. It's just barely over a mile away in winter thanks to being able to cut across our frozen lake. 

Right as I started walking on to the ice I found a very nice surprise - a Northern Shrike! While fairly common in the area, this is not a given for a green bird by any means so I was thrilled. Sadly it flew away before I could get a picture. Next time. A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew overhead while I was making my way across the ice also. 

It was a pretty quiet walk over otherwise. I spent the next 45 minutes bushwhacking through the conifers there along the frozen lakeshore. While I found some promising "whitewash", the owl(s) that left it were nowhere to be found. A little frustrating, but a good sign for the future, and a flyover Red-tailed Hawk and Pileated Woodpecker in the nearby oaks were a good reward for the challenge of the steep slopes and prickly branches. Some calling Brown Creepers and Hairy Woodpeckers on the walk back rounded out the trip. 

There's an owl in there somewhere, I just know it

My winter gear performed well - a little too well, actually, as I got warmer than I'd like. Good to know, and I'll try a lighter outer layer next time maybe. 11 species and 2.9 miles walked in total over a couple hours of birding to start the year off. Thanks for reading!