little year

After spending the night just north of Duluth, we decided to bird County Road 2, which runs north from Two Harbors. According to Kim Eckert's A Birder's Guide to Minnesota, Spruce Grouse can be found there north of the Sand River. When we got to the area, we started to drive slowly and watch carefully. We saw a couple of flocks of pine grosbeaks, but suddenly, some other birds flew up from the roadside. I didn't get a good look at them, but Pole said they were a little chunky and had red in the tail. That means Spruce Grouse.

I was furious, of course, because I hadn't seen anything all day except grosbeaks. I turned the car around, then around again. (It's hard to find the same place going in the opposite direction.) Going very slowly, we saw another group of birds at the bottom of a hill (just north of mile 9862, for what it's worth). Eckert says grouse like to eat the grit from the snowplows, and sure enough, these birds were pecking at the road. I pulled over as far as I could (fear of logging trucks), but we really couldn't see much through our bins. And we didn't want to drive any closer for fear of scaring them off. So I quietly climbed out of the car and set up the scope.

When I got a look, the birds were clearly SPRUCE GROUSE, seven or eight of them. While I was watching, I heard a loud HONK! The grouse heard it, too, and turned their heads. Fortunately, they stayed put. The noise came when Pole climbed out the driver's side and accidentally hit the horn. We usually remember to let her out before I pull over, but we forgot this time. The passenger side opened out on deep snow atop a ridge, so she couldn't exit that way. But she did get a fine look at them once she was out. We gave up once the first logging truck blew us by.

Next we went to Spruce Road, where we took a snowmobile path by foot. I took the scope, though Pole had suggested on an earlier walk that it might not be worth it. (These walks can be long.) A couple of hundred yards in, we heard a light tap-tap-tap coming from a burned-out stand of trees. Then I saw some movement with my bins. I quickly got the scope on the bird: it was clearly a THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. Pole got a quick glance, too, and saw it was a female. An extraordinary bird. A rare bird, too, and -- like the grouse -- a lifer for both of us. And again, like the grouse, we might not have been able to identify it without the scope. It was too far away for the binoculars, and we only had a quick look.

We then walked along Endless Waters Road, where two Gray Jays followed us the whole way, hoping for a handout. Pole aptly described them as oversized chickadees. One of our last stops was outside the Moose Ridge Motel in Isabella. Last year at this spot, tagging along with a first-rate Ohio birder and his crew, we saw a boreal chickadee. No such luck this time, but we did see some COMMON REDPOLLS.

posted by Scrubb at 08:30 PM | permalink | stuck under LIST + lifers

We both got up before dawn to see the wolf, but no luck. Maybe it was eating one of those pesky deer. I hope.

We checked out of Gunflint Lodge, and our first stop was Grand Marais harbor. The first thing we saw in the water was a common goldeneye. Another duck we couldn't identify was hanging out with it. I put the scope on it and got a quick look before it dunked its head. It was a colorful bird and before giving the lens up to Pole, I made my pronouncement: "Wood Duck".

She looked at it for about a two seconds before blurting out in disbelief, "Wood duck? A wood duck? That's a HARLEQUIN DUCK! How could you think it's a wood duck?" I took another look, and it was pretty obviously a harlequin. A dumb mistake, though a non-birder may think the distinction is trivial. But I am a birder, and I know I'll never hear the end of it. In fact, Pole was shaking her head and muttering "wood duck!" all day. I don't know what a harlequin was doing here, but it was great to find. A real oddity, and I would have called a bird alert, but I didn't have a number. It's always nice to see such a distinctive bird, even if it can look like a wood duck under the right conditions -- if, for instance, you're an idiot. A lifer for us both.

We drove south down the coast, and stopped at Bayside Marina where Pole spotted a BOHEMIAN WAXWING on the jetty rocks. We only had a brief look at it -- another lifer for us -- but we saw the white in the wings. It soon flew away with a partner, and we had to content ourselves with another damn goldeneye swimming in the water.

Our last stop of the day was Gooseberry Falls State Park, where we saw a DOWNY WOODPECKER in some bare birches. But just as we were walking back to the car, a NORTHERN HAWK OWL flew low over the footpath and then swooped up to the top of a tree. It was there long enough to get out the scope, so we had a good look. A couple of people looked through our scope, including one kid who mocked us behind out back by making exaggerated shushing gestures. (He may have thought he was hot shit, but I bet he missed the downy. So who's cool now, punk?) Anyway, a blue jay also spotted the owl and flew overhead, screaming its crested head off. The owl stayed put, though, only shifting its position to keep an eye on the jay. We saw a couple of these owls during last year's irruption, so it was nice to get reacquainted. Nice owl. Kinda looks like a wood duck.

posted by Scrubb at 11:33 PM | permalink | stuck under LIST + lifers

Here's a picture of Gunflint Lake during a snowstorm. That little dot on the ice is a timber wolf. Obviously, I haven't figured out digiscoping yet. Seeing it was one of the highlights of the trip, though you'd never know from this sucky picture. I saw the wolf was just after dawn, and though Pole was up, she wasn't out yet. By the time I got her, the wolf had gone.

After breakfast, we went dogsledding. Pole was in the front sled and saw two more Pileated Woodpeckers. I missed them both, of course. In fact, today was a bad one for Little Year, since we didn't see a single new bird. Lots of pine siskins, pine grosbeaks, black-capped chickadees, and blue jays, though.

I took the photo with a camera that perplexes me: a 7.2-megapixel Sony Cybershot. OK, maybe I'm just a lousy photographer, but the thing is really complicated. And the screen is so tiny that it's impossible to tell if you have a nice shot until you get home.

Taking photos is something a birder ought to know how to do, and even an artist like Roger Tory Peterson called himself "an obsessive photographer". This blog could certainly do with more photos. Maybe it's time to chuck the Sony and get something easy to use. And something good for digiscoping. I've tried to take a few pictures through the telescope, but I get jittery when putting something hard -- like a camera -- near the objective lens.

Now, for those of you good enough to read the whole entry, here's a special treat. A close up of the Timber (or Gray) Wolf, Canis lupus:

What a magnificent animal!

posted by Scrubb at 07:31 PM | permalink | stuck under other animals

Pole on the George Washington Pines Trail

Last night we arrived at Gunflint Lodge on Gunflint Lake at the end of the Gunflint Trail. It would be nice if I could say it was in the town of Gunflint, too, but it ain't. Driving the trail at night, we saw two moose calves, and in the morning, lots of tame whitetail deer around the cabins. At one point I counted something like 16 outside our window. The lodge has corn so the guests can feed them, which means the deer become spoiled pests. A big doe actually stamped her foot at me when she thought I was going to mess with the corn I had given her. I stamped my foot right back at her, the ingrate.

At breakfast, we saw a lot of birds at the main lodge's window feeders:

PINE SISKIN (lifer for us both)
PINE GROSBEAK
HOUSE FINCH
GRAY JAY (Pole only)

We drove along the Gunflint Trail in the morning, and Pole saw a RED CROSSBILL. It was a lifer for her, as it would have been for me had I seen it. It can be tough to bird from a car: you're often going too damn fast and the car sometimes blocks your view. Pulling over and getting out isn't always an option, either, especially on icy, winding highways.

Later we walked something called the Moose Viewing Trail. Instead of a moose, we viewed some noisy red-breasted nuthatches and a BROWN CREEPER. Final trip was to Grand Marais where we found the usual suspects in the harbor: ring-billed gulls, goldeneyes, and mallards. Also spotted a bald eagle in the distance being mobbed by a gull.

posted by Scrubb at 08:26 PM | permalink | stuck under LIST + lifers + other animals

Before we headed out into the country, we made a short stop at Duluth's Park Point, where saw some COMMON RAVENS. Our next stop was Aitkin County (again). We were driving along Route 5, Pole poring over maps and guides, when I saw a flash directly in front of me. It was a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE. I had only a short glimpse, but it was mostly dark with some white, and a long, long tail. Pole didn't see it, and by the time she unearthed herself from her library, the bird had gone. We saw it in the distance with another, too far off to identify. Pole was disappointed and pissed to say the least, so I kept my mouth shut. When I first saw it, I yelled "Oh my God!", so she knew it was a good one. It was spectacular in fact, but I was a gentleman and didn't gloat.

According to the bird lists, there were several magpies in the area, so finding another for Pole was the priority. We drove around a little bit, and were lucky to see a NORTHERN SHRIKE on top of a tree. We had time to get a quick look with the scope. Like the magpie, a lifer for both of us, so Pole was happy again.

We then drove back to the spot where I saw the magpie, and this time, we tried a narrow dirt road running along a hedgerow. Sure enough, in the distance we saw some long-tailed birds, which then disappeared into the trees. A decent sighting, but not very satisfactory. Then we heard a strange call coming from the very spot they disappeared. I grabbed the Peterson Field Guide, found the bird, and repeated its call for Pole: "queg queg queg queg." At first she thought I was joking because it was exactly the sound we heard. So we can scratch that animal off the list. As an added bonus, we saw a Red Fox trotting through a field as we headed out.

We had decided to quit a little early because we had to drive all the way to Gunflint Lake, about 150 miles away. I drove like a maniac, and it was no fun trying to pass huge logging trucks on a curvy, two-lane highway. I was in the middle of passing a minivan when Pole yelled out "PILEATED WOODPECKER!" I passed the van, and like an asshole, immediately pulled over. Then I had to make a U-turn. And then another. I pulled off the road, but the bird had gone. I didn't linger, either, because the shoulder was small, and -- you know -- there were huge logging trucks.

A real bummer since the pileated has been at the top of my list of wanna-sees forever. It was a lifer for Pole, and -- bless her -- she didn't gloat, either. A dem fine woman, sir, a dem fine woman.

posted by Scrubb at 08:20 PM | permalink | stuck under LIST + lifers

Today is the first day of a birding trip to Minnesota. We took a shorter trip last year during the unprecedented owl irruption, but don't expect such luck this year. We left Chicago yesterday after work, but spent the night in Wisconsin, making today our first in the beautiful North Star State.

While on route to St. Paul, a BALD EAGLE flew low across our path. It's always easy to ID, so I don't mind it flying in front of me while I'm going 75 mph. Still heading north, Pole saw another bird fly past. (I was too busy driving the car, so couldn't get a good look.) At first she thought it was a Northern Harrier, but after carefully reviewing both the Peterson and Sibley guides, she decided it was a NORTHERN GOSHAWK.

It's a tough call, but we were certainly north of a harrier's range, and not seeing the damn bird, I can't really say. And besides, adding a bird to your list is a sacred, personal thing that's just between you and your field guide. More importantly, Pole is a better birder and good at quick IDs. The biggest pain is that it's a rarity that I might not see this year. It was a lifer for Pole and would have been for me, too. Tarnation.

When we got up north, we decided to first explore Aitkin County, which is west of Duluth. (I should say Pole decided, for I drive and she navigates.) The weather was miserable because it was in the damn 40's. Instead of a winter wonderland, everything was muddy. A big disappointment, because I was so looking forward to freezing my ass off. Really.

Our first stop was the Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) where a ranger told us what birds were around. We checked out the refuge's feeders where we saw a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH and a HAIRY WOODPECKER. The feeders were outside a house that was probably a ranger's residence. I always feel like a peeping Tom staring at someone's house with binoculars and a scope. Still, it never stops me from doing it. If people don't like it, they shouldn't put out the feeders. The fools! Don't they know what birders are like?

The catch of the day was certainly a flock of SNOW BUNTINGS we saw on County Road 5 south of Palisade. A lifer for both of us.

Last bird was a lovely SNOWY OWL near Tamarack. Our ranger friend gave us an email saying a snowy was spotted on Rt. 380 "8/10 th of a mile west of C.R.5, on a telephone pole." I got on 380, hit the trip odometer, and .8 of a mile later -- bingo -- there it was on the pole. Gotta love that internet.

posted by Scrubb at 10:10 PM | permalink | stuck under LIST + challenges + lifers + raptors

We've been very busy this weekend, what with this, that, and the other. I guess if we were psycho birders, nothing could have stopped us, but being lousy birders . . .

Anyway, we were able to make one short trip today to Glencoe Beach (Glencoe's another northern suburb of Chicago) to see if there was any action on the lake. There was, and we saw a nice raft of ducks. Amongst the scaup, redheads, and goldeneyes, we saw a single RED-BREASTED MERGANSER.

So if we keep this up and manage to see one new bird a week, we'll reach an annual total of 75. I guess choosing the name "Little Year" is finally starting to pay off.

posted by Scrubb at 07:14 PM | permalink | stuck under LIST

Having a job sucks. But money = good, so not having a job sucks even worse. Basically, then, suckage is all that's on the menu.

I'm getting philosophical here because having a job really cuts into my birding time. That means my Little Year just gets littler and littler. I'm hopeful it won't be littler when it's lighter, because then I can do a little birding after work. Going out before work isn't likely. I'm pretty damn lazy and like my sleep. The point of all my whining is that I didn't see squat all week. Pole was lucky and stumbled upon a MOURNING DOVE last Monday. It's only a week into our Little Year and she's already ahead of me. Oh, well. She usually wins at everything, and I'm resigned to it.

I was looking to catch up on the weekend, but Saturday was shot because of family obligations, so Sunday was birding day. We decided to hunt down the saw-whet owl at the Morton Arboretum, but it wasn't there. In fact, there was hardly anything there. We did see a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH on top of a tree AHNK-AHNKing its ass off, but there were hardly any other birds. I felt like Omega Man.

Actually, we kind of hate the Arborteum because we never have any luck there. It's always Silent Spring or Silent Summer or -- you finish the joke. A lot of birders like the place, so the problem may be that we're just lousy birders.

Most exciting thing was when I spilled some orange juice on Pole's Swarovskis. Tense moment there, folks, but it was only a few drops, so I was able to handle it.

To continue. We heard there was a snowy owl at Waukegan Harbor, which is on the lakefront north of Chicago near the Wisconsin border. We didn't see it, of course -- remember, we're lousy birders -- though we ran into some guy who saw it in the morning. Did see a lot of waterfowl:

LESSER SCAUP
HOODED MERGANSER
AMERICAN COOT
BUFFLEHEAD
GADWALL
RING-BILLED GULL
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT
REDHEAD
COMMON GOLDENEYE

By the time we got home we we're pretty exhausted, but then I noticed an posting on IBET (the Illinois birding list) that said there was a LONG-EARED OWL in Evanston (where I live), and less than a mile away. It was in a tree next to Mount Trashmore, which is the name given to a landfill hill that kids use for winter sledding. The poster was kind enough to ram some red cardboard into a fence next to the bird, so we found it right away. It was wide awake and staring at us, though it didn't stretch its body out into the freaky caricature as it sometime does. I'm sure it wanted to sleep, but us pesky birders just wouldn't let it alone. The bird made our day, because it's a lifer for both of us.

It's amazing how anybody located the bird, or even thought to look there. We would have had a hell of a time finding it without that red marker. I wonder if it's known to hang out there? I never heard of it, but that doesn't mean much because, you know, I'm lousy.

Miscellaneous catches: A flock of EUROPEAN STARLINGS and some HOUSE SPARROWS.

posted by Scrubb at 11:53 AM | permalink | stuck under LIST + challenges + gulls + lifers

Considering this is the first day of our little year, I did my best to get up early, but I was still late meeting up with Scrubb. Last night, we had decided to bird the Morton Arboretum, some miles west of Chicago, with an advertised morning bird walk given by the DuPage County Birding Club. This is a top-rated area for winter birds in our region. Not only was I hoping to add birds to our little year list, but with a guided tour, I was also hoping to add a few lifers -- birds I had never seen, such as pine siskins or saw-whet owls -- to my own personal life list. Well, I was disappointed in my selfish pursuit of lifers, but the little year list has grown slightly.

We added the following common species:

ROCK PIGEON
NORTHERN CARDINAL
CANADA GOOSE
AMERICAN CROW
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
EASTERN SCREECH-OWL (a lifer for Scrubb)
RED-TAILED HAWK (I missed it)
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH (Scrubb missed it)
BLUE JAY

Our guide led us to a pine in which a saw-whet owl has been seen roosting, but unfortunately, our group couldn't find him -- though we did find fresh pellets and droppings. We spotted the blue jays after the walk was over, psychotically screaming their jay-jay calls at us at the top of their lungs.

We made one last push to Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo, to see a great horned owl that's been hanging around since November in the same tree by the flamingo pond. Did we see it? Nope. Maybe we can add a robin to the list tomorrow. Good night and good luck.

posted by Pole at 12:21 PM | permalink | stuck under LIST + lifers

We began our Little Year at midnight, hoping to spot an easy one and then quit until morning. Our first stop was a useless, birdless visit to the Lake Michigan shore at Evanston, a suburb just north of Chicago. We heard a faint gull cry from the lake, but neither of us knew enough to identify it.

Then we followed the shore north to Gillson Park in the suburb of Wilmette, which also seemed deserted. We didn't see or hear anything until we reached the sheltered harbor at the south end. As we approached the water, Pole spotted a duck swimming away from us, but there wasn't enough light to identify it. I walked up to the water's edge and clumsily spooked about half a dozen MALLARDS, who burst off in a terrified medley of flapping, paddling, and quacking.

In a way, it's not a very auspicious beginning to our Little Year to freak out a bunch of sleeping mallards. "Poor ducks," was Pole's sad comment. Still, they're one of my favorite birds, and I'm delighted to have such a beautiful animal at the top of my list. I guess waking them is better than shooting them, which Audubon would have done. So I'm one up on him, too.

posted by Scrubb at 01:28 AM | permalink | stuck under LIST