The call was, in fact, the property owner who had seen the Boreal Owl all day in her yard!  My heart was beating fast as she was talking.  While visions of a Boreal flooded my mind and I couldn’t believe our luck for the day, my brain started to comprehend what she was actually saying.  Unfortunately, there was no Boreal today, and the all-day sighting occurred on Tuesday, the 12th and not yesterday, the 13th, as I had interpreted the MOU posting.  It turns out this property owner was the mother of a classmate of mine, and in a Minnesota-nice way, she was just calling to give me an update and tell me I was welcome to look for the owl around their yard.  We visited some more about this special bird that showed up to visit her and about a Great Gray Owl that she had seen five times in her neighborhood, the last visit coming a week ago.  It was a slim chance on both birds, but it was only 15 minutes away and worth checking out.  Evan seemed to understand it wasn’t a for-sure thing, so he opted to hang out with Grandma while my dad and I checked it out.  It turns out he made the right choice; we didn’t see anything on this brief outing.

After we got back, we had lunch together and then I quickly packed up our few belongings – our time in the Sax-Zim Bog on the way home was running out.  We were southbound again a little after 1:00.  Before 2:00 we had reached the Bog.  The goal was to check out some places for the Northern Hawk Owl and the location of the Great Gray sighting by my classmate, Brett.

We ended up doing more exploring down side roads and stopping for more false Northern Hawk Owl sightings than I thought – those darn crows can fool you from a distance.  Northern Hawk Owls are so named because they look hawk-like.  Unlike other owls that perch vertically, these owls perch at an angle, looking very much like a hawk in posture. We also spotted some Northern Shrikes which we stopped for because they can look deceptively large when by themselves.  And Evan made me stop and back up for this picture:

The main road through the Bog is Co. Rd. 7, running north/south.  Our search for the Northern Hawk Owl had us stray from this road a couple times.  On one of our little excursions off this main route we discovered that not everyone in the Meadowlands area welcomes birders.

I didn’t think this property owner would appreciate me pointing out his spelling error, let alone getting out of the vehicle to take this picture, so we got out of this dead-end quickly.

We weren’t seeing much for birds, but neither of us were disappointed.  Evan said many times, “Well, at least we hit our target today.”  That was true.  It was classic birding to find the one we were after, the Great Gray Owl.

When we were traveling through the Bog down Co. Rd. 7 we again came by the site of all those Bald Eagles we saw last week.  There was not one eagle there today.  I did see what could have been a lone eagle, so I zoomed in to find out.  It was the Rough-legged Hawk!  This was a new life bird for us! This bird was a very long ways away, so the photo quality isn’t the best.  It was very elusive and moved often.  I couldn’t get any closer than a couple hundred yards away.

As I was tracking this bird while it flew around, Eagle-Eyes Evan hollered out, “Dad, we’ve got another one!”

“Where?!”

“Right in front of us, look!”

It took me a while to find it, but it was really close and flew from its perch just as I caught sight of it.  I am not quick enough with this camera to zoom in and out and get it into sports mode in time, but it was painfully close.  I could have had some amazing shots if I weren’t all thumbs.  Here is a shot of the second Rough-legged Hawk soaring away from us.

This was quite a thrill on top of our monumental morning.  Two Rough-legged Hawks!  We thought we had the Rough-legged Hawk when we went through the Bog less than a week ago, but we were actually just viewing immature Bald Eagles.

The Bog didn’t hold much for us again this trip, but it didn’t fail to deliver something special either.  Melissa’s bird-expert co-worker, Randy, described the Bog to me as “A lot of nothing interspersed with pockets of wonderful.”  So far we have found that to be true.  We spent more time in the Bog than I would have liked, so I was relieved to get back out to the four-lane and start cruising south.

There was a lot to reflect on, and I could tell that Evan had a good day. He had two awesome life birds to dwell on.  Now I kept hearing from the backseat, “Well, we sure hit the jackpot with those Rough-legged Hawks.”  I don’t know where he comes up with some of the things he says, but I often forget he is just six.

By this time were booking it down I-35.  I was in the left lane passing all kinds of cars when I noticed a large bird in the snow just off the left shoulder.  As I got closer, I thought, ‘It’s a hawk.’  Split-seconds later I saw it was an owl!  It looked like the Great-Gray, but it was much smaller.  Then my studying paid off as I saw in the very last moment, while going 75 MPH, that it was the Barred Owl!

“Evan, I just saw the Barred Owl!”

“What?! I didn’t see it!  Can we go back, pleeeaase?!”

I explained to Evan that you can’t stop or turn around on the interstate.  There was nothing I could do.  I should have kept my mouth shut.  Melissa has trained me to not holler out to the kids when I see wildlife at the last second because they can never see it and then get upset.  Apparently I forgot my training. Time was of the essence and we needed to get home.  We couldn’t go back.  My excitement over a new life bird for myself was quickly extinguished by Evan’s inability to add it to his list too.

But I’ve hunted birds enough to be trained to mark locations quickly, and I did for this one too even though I was determined to head straight home.  The bird was just north of mile marker 187.  Then I saw that the Hinckley exit was just three miles away.  Suddenly, at the last minute, I found myself going up the exit ramp, across the freeway, and back on to the entrance ramp headed north again.  Then it occurred to me that I did not consider how far I would have to go north before I could exit again to return south.  Well, it didn’t matter now because there was nothing I could do.  Shortly after getting back on the freeway I saw that my exit was 7 miles away.  Not bad.  But each mile marker seemed hundreds of miles apart, especially once we went past 187.

Finally, we were southbound again. 190.  189.  188 – time to start watching!  Time to go at a slow, safe sped. There was a chance that this owl would be gone.  I figured he was eating something in the snow when I first saw it.  Then I saw that my eyes didn’t fool me before – there it was in the same spot!  I was able to pull over to the right directly across from it.  I pulled way over and put on the hazards.  We opened the windows and started snapping pictures in between bursts of cars and semis screaming through the space that separated us from the owl.

Do you see it?  Look in the snow just off the shoulder in the center of the picture.

Here’s a better view.

And then we got this shot.  Pretty cute.

While it looks like I caught him winking, this eye stayed shut the whole time.  I think there was something wrong with this bird for him to be in the spot it was  during the middle of the afternoon.  Maybe he’d been clipped by a car, or perhaps it was starving like so many owls are.

What a thrilling day.  Three major life birds! Two owls!  We were elated.  Maybe it was the enormity of the day or the exhaustion from this whirl-wind trip, but I made a mental driving error about a half hour after this owl that could have cost Evan and me our lives.  I really don’t want to go into the details, but I thank God nothing happened.  It rattled me bad. Birds didn’t matter any more.  I was both relieved and angry at myself.  There is nothing more important than the safety of my kids, and I’ve always prided myself on being a cautious driver.  Now I had two hours of driving before I made it to the place I just wanted to be – home.  In that time I drove, I resolved to take care of myself – managing stress better, getting sleep, hydrating, etc.  I was determined to be present in whatever situation I found myself in – whether that was helping a student with math, visiting with another person, or driving a car.  This cannot will not happen again.

It would have been easy to say that birding is done.  How could I let a hobby become a disaster?  But as I drove, I reflected on why I do the birding with Evan.  It was his passion that also became mine.  Life needs to be lived to the fullest.  Part of that is pursuing passions and sharing in life with loved ones.  Our birding combines both of those.  No, I couldn’t stop on account of a bad moment on the road.  There will be adventures ahead.  The blog will keep telling our stories.

Since 2011 when we lost three people who were very dear to us, I have seen life differently.  It is extremely short.  I want to spend my time with those I love  doing what makes them tick.  Sometimes you need to go on spur-of-the-moment adventures to have a lasting memory.  As proof of how fast life goes, I received this email from Steve Wilson last night.  Steve had asked me for information on my sightings of the Great Gray, and I had given him a summary along with a reference to this blog for the more detailed account.  Here is what Steve wrote:

Thanks Josh, I enjoyed the blog story. However, now for the bad news. Friday a great gray owl, very possibly the one you observed, was struck and killed by a car along that little stretch of Hwy 135 between Hwy 169 and the road past Powerain, There is still a great gray hanging out at the DNR office a short distance away, but since the other bird was killed none have been reported in the triangle. In addition, the boreal owl outside of Cook was found dead on the 14^th, frozen hard, so it was probably already dead when you were looking for it. Sorry to be the bearer of what I’m sure is terrible news. I suppose the glass-half-full attitude is that you were lucky to see the great gray while still alive.

It was sad.  I’ve killed my fair share of animals and had pets die, but there was something special about that Great Gray that made it sting a little.  You can’t stare into the eyes of a creature like that and not be affected by its passing.  How fortunate we were to be able to see this bird while it was still alive.  Thanks for the memories, Ghost.

We finally made it home from this epic journey.  25.5 hours.  Nearly 600 miles. 3 monumental lifers. We were the Jack Bauers of birding.  Actually, Jack would have done it in exactly 24 hours and got the Boreal and Northern Hawk Owls.  This was a birding and life experience that we won’t forget.  I don’t know what or when our next adventure is, but you can bet we’ll be out there birding it up.

To read Wild Ghost Chase – Part 2, click here.

To read Wild Ghost Chase – Part 1, click here.

I had trouble falling asleep the last night – the mixture of excitement and 21st century birding kept me up until midnight.  I had some work to get done before I hit the pillow.  I needed to put probability on our side, so I emailed Steve Wilson with my phone number asking him to alert me to any sightings of the Great Gray Owl in the Tower/Ely area.  I only had until 2:00 to search because I was under strict orders to get Evan back by bed time, so it was critical that I get real-time information.   I also had to follow up on the Boreal Owl posting that said a Boreal Owl had been in someone’s yard all day in Cook.  After I saw that post, I fired off a quick email the day before asking for the location or the phone number of the property owner.  I monitored my phone periodically along the trip and never saw a response.  I was getting frustrated.  Were they unwilling to share?  Why then would they post on MOU?  When I checked my phone before I went to bed I was relieved to see that an email came in from the author of the post.  She wrote that the property owner would call me the next day if it was still there.  Whew.  Okay, time for bed.

I woke up the next morning at the time I usually wake for work and took care of my dogs.  My dad was busy cooking us breakfast in the kitchen.  It was a relaxing morning.  I didn’t have to struggle with Marin to get just the right outfit on and out the door; I didn’t have to shower or shave – I was in the northwoods, hunting for an owl.  I was letting Evan sleep until the very last minute.  He’s never been a breakfast eater, and he desperately needed all the sleep he could get.  After a quiet breakfast and cup of coffee with my dad, I went to get Evan.  I nudged his shoulder and whispered, “Evan, it’s time to go.”  His eyes opened wide, and he quickly popped out of bed.  That never happens at home when it’s time to get up for school.  It usually takes both Melissa and me going into his room multiple times, turning on lights and literally dragging him out of bed.  This was Game Day for us birders, and Evan knew it.  In a matter of minutes, his clothes, bird vest, and winter gear were on.  It was go time.

We pulled out of the driveway as it was barely getting light.  We wanted to make it to Tower by sun-up.  This time we were driving in my vehicle – the one that has good windshield wipers.  Even though it was a beautiful sunny day, we were taking no chances. Plus the heated seats really helped on this ultra-cold morning.

The plan was to head to Tower on MN Hwy. 1, and we decided that if the Boreal Owl call came in before the halfway point, we’d race back to Cook for that bird and then go back to Tower to hunt the Great Gray.  As we drove in the early light, no call came in.  We looked for birds but did not take the search seriously until we got within a couple miles of Hwy. 169 near the Pikes River Flowage, an area of previous sightings.  Nothing.  We pushed on to where Hwy. 1 and Hwy. 169 meet, the location of the Y-Store, a convenience store out in the country.  The Great Gray had been spotted around this store, so we drove slowly and scanned the woods for this enormous bird.  It was 5 miles from the Y-Store into Tower, and the Phantom of the North had been spotted in numerous locations on this route.  Still nothing as we crept toward Tower.  Every mile that went by increased a sickening feeling that we wouldn’t get the bird.  That thought was tempered by the amount of time and unchecked locations still on our side.

Once we got into Tower, we went down the new Hwy. 135 that shot off 169, looking at the woods the whole time.  Not knowing the geography real well, the locations described in the MOU post did not make sense until we were actually there.  Once on 135, you could take an immediate left on old Hwy. 135 back into Tower.  With 169, these two sections of road formed a small triangular section of woods that had been the site of regular Great Gray sightings.  As we inched along the second side of this triangle and watched the woods, we were getting nothing.  I noticed a driveway into a private business called Powerain.  I had read that an owl had been seen here, so I turned left into the driveway to look at the woods around this business.  For some reason I looked left into eastern sky along the woods we had just come by before turning, and I saw the most enormous silhouette of a bird I’d ever seen pop against the open sky – the Ghost!  It was sitting on large aspen limb extending toward the road.  I couldn’t believe it.  It was too fast, too easy to be true.  Excitedly but in a mellow voice I said, “Guys, we got him!”  It was an incredible feeling.  The agony of defeat from last weekend was erased.  I didn’t know what to do first – take a picture with my phone or with my camera.  How long did I have?  My birding friend, Steve, from Willmar wanted updates.  Melissa was curious. Do I text them first?  I snapped a picture with my phone, got a couple with my camera and then positioned the vehicle back on 135 to shoot photos with the sun at our backs.  Here was our first sight.

 A quick photo was then taken with the real camera in case he flew away.  Note his white mustache.

There was beautiful sunlight streaming in from the east, so I changed positions.  Warning: this is a bit of a photo bomb.  But, it’s kind of a big deal.  This was a lifer of a lifetime.

It was fascinating to watch the owl’s head pivot without moving its body.  It seemed the head was in constant motion.  I wish I had been ready with the camera when two crows dive-bombed the owl.  He was moving his head back and forth rapidly to face each one of them above him.  After enough harassment, he flew from his perch about a hundred yards over to the Powerain driveway.  We were able to drive within 30 ft of it to get these next shots.

I was absolutely captivated by the eyes of this bird as it stared back at me.  The photos really don’t convey just how piercing its look can be.  I felt he was looking deep into my soul and saying, “Just who do you think you are?”  Seeing it live through the viewfinder was a fascinating, unnerving experience.

It was hard to stop taking pictures.  Apparently this owl was fed up with my obsession of him, so he decided to leave.  How I wish I’d been ready on sports mode.  He flushed from his perch and flew right over me coming within just 6 feet!  He was absolutely massive.  I just kind of stood there in awe as he flew into the woods of the triangle.

That was enough bothering this owl.  We now had a surplus of time on our hands to bird it up however we liked.  Since we were in Tower, we thought we’d keep investigating other sites.  How cool would it be to see multiple Great Grays in one day? We didn’t see anything more, but on our way back through Tower, we drove around the triangle one last time.  This time, on the other side, was a Great Gray perched atop a dead birch tree about 10 feet high!  I believe this is the same bird, but it is possible it was a different one.  Again I shot some more photos and caught some fun behavior.  Another car of gawkers stopped to take pictures as well.

Here is a 1-minute video I shot to show just how cool this bird’s movements were.  Disregard the sideways image below – the video will be vertical once you hit play.

This was an obvious life bird for Evan and me.  It was my dad’s second time seeing one.  It was a neat moment to have a three generation viewing of this incredible bird.  The feeling in the car was a mixture of excitement and relief. It was only around 8:00 in the morning, and we had got what we came for.  With the sun at our backs we made a leisurely drive back to Cook, pulling over every now and then to let faster cars full of non-birders go by us.  Once we got to Cook, the first stop was Zup’s grocery store to visit Evan’s Grandma Brenda at work.  We got to hang out with her for a good 15 minutes or so, and Evan left with some treats from his Grandma as he always does when we visit her at the store.  24 hours earlier, none of us could have envisioned this meeting.

We left Grandma’s store to go to the Cook water plant where Grandpa Don was working.  It was now a four-grandparent day!  Even if we hadn’t seen the Ghost, that alone made the trip.  Don gave my dad and me a lesson on the workings of the water tower which was fascinating for us.  Evan wasn’t too interested in this science lesson, though.  While visiting with Don, he mentioned that one of Brenda’s coworkers had an owl in her yard all day just the day before.  Could this be the property owner or near the property owner?  Was it the Boreal?  As we were discussing this, Brenda had been thinking along the same wavelength and had even called this coworker and then called me.  Apparently there was no owl in the yard today, but we had a location to go search.  We went out that way and did not see anything.  Brenda had also suggested going to the U.S. Forest Service office to see if there were any owl sightings.  So we did.  The worker at the visitor’s center said that she had seen some Great Grays that day and a Barred Owl, but nothing else.  The Barred Owl was intriguing, so I asked her where.  She said that it was on Hwy. 169 near Ely – the very area we’d just come from.  Barred Owls can be found throughout the year all over the state, so we weren’t going back.

We did get to check out the cool display of mounted birds at the Forest Service’s visitor center.

Look! The Boreal Owl!  I know, it’s just not the same as the real thing.

No call had come in.  We were okay with it.  Seeing the Ghost was more than enough to make it a good birding trip.  It was time to go back to Grandma’s house for some lunch.  And with so much time left on our hands, Evan and I were going to hit the Sax-Zim Bog on the way home!  How cool would it be to get the Northern Hawk Owl and possibly a Snowy, Boreal, or another Great Gray?  A classmate of mine who lives near the Bog had seen one of my Facebook posts the night before and told me of where he’d seen a Great Gray the other day on his way to work.  It was something worth checking.

We pulled into Grandma’s driveway and started walking to the door.  Just as I was almost to the door, my phone rang.  It was a Cook phone number that I didn’t recognize – were we about to hop back into the vehicle and race back into town for the Boreal?

To read Part 1 of Wild Ghost Chase, click herehere.

To read Part 3 of Wild Ghost Chase – Two Big Lifers, click 

With the mini-vacation over, it was time to get back into the normal routines – at least until June, anyway.  As I started my work-week on Tuesday I found myself impatient for next January and February.  It didn’t make sense because I really do not like winter.  There’s something about those visiting owls that is alluring, though.  We’d have to find other birds to pursue until next winter because the owls were on their way back north. But then on Tuesday night an MOU-Net post from Steve Wilson was waiting in my email.  Steve reported that he drove 130 miles in Lake County doing an owl survey and came up with nothing but then had a Great Gray Owl perching in his own yard when he returned at 1 AM.  I thought it was neat, but it was nothing to get super excited over.  I’m sure there was still an owl here and an owl there.  They weren’t all gone.

On Wednesday when I was eating lunch at work, I checked my email and saw that Steve made another posting.  My eyes bulged as I read the following:

Apparently the great gray owl in my yard was no fluke. The following was posted to the Ely Field Naturalists site today:

“Not sure if this is the case up in Ely, but the Great Grays seem to be everywhere in Tower right now. We are seeing owls every single day for the past week or so. Specifically, there are Great Grays right by the Marjo Motel, and also right outside of Tower on Hwy. 135 (that new triangle area- the loop detour). There is an owl that seems to like perching on road signs right there on Hwy. 135, and on the Powerain building road sign. Also plenty of sightings by the Y Store, Pike River Flowage, Fortune Bay parking lot, among other places. They are really tame, and don’t seem to be bothered by cars stopping and gawking! 

Jodi Summit”

Tower? The town that’s a half hour from my parents’ house?  Seeing them everywhere? Sightings every day?  My mind was swirling.  My lunch companions had no idea that while I sat quietly as they talked sports, there was a major storm brewing in my head.  The probability of seeing the Ghost was high.  Do I dare consider another trip back up north?  Could I possibly yank Evan out of another day of school?  As I mulled this over another MOU-Net post came in: Boreal Owl seen all day in a yard in Cook.  Cook? The town I went to school in?  By now my mind was in overdrive. What do I do with this information?  I forwarded these MOU posts to my wife and contacted my new birding friend Steve, about the possibility of a fast trip up north; I knew he needed the Great Gray for his life list too.  Melissa responded in an email with, “When are you going up north??”  I took it to be her implicit blessing.  Now I knew I was going but when? Steve told me he couldn’t do anything until Saturday. Argh.  The owls could easily be gone three days later.  Plus we had things going on at home on Friday and Saturday.

The questions continued to pound away inside my head.  Now as I taught class I was fighting the students’ distractions as well as my own.  On the outside I was answering questions about linear models and helping students with surface area – topics I could teach in my sleep by now, but on the inside I was asking my own questions and trying to answer them.  If I don’t take advantage of this, how long will it be until we get our Great Gray lifer?  Could I take a personal day on such short notice?  What would my students be doing if I were gone Friday, or even tomorrow? When my last afternoon class was done, I went to Bridgid, our Human Resources person, to ask about the possibility of taking a sudden personal day.  She told me that Friday was out – they didn’t have enough subs that day.  She said it would have to be tomorrow if I did take a day off.  Tomorrow?  That meant leaving for Up North after school!  That was a five-and-a-half hour trip.  It was insanity. This was at 3:00.  The HR person needed to know by 4:00.  I went back to my classroom and mulled this all over.  Do I dare?  It is so crazy, so irresponsible, so…not me.  I’ve learned that like investing, birding is sometimes all about timing, and you have to act.  These things have wings.  There is no promise of tomorrow with them.  People go years without seeing another Great Gray or Boreal Owl.  Many birders have never seen either.  But could I really do the big drive after a full day of work without even planning on it?

The clock said 3:30, and I found my feet walking toward Bridgid’s office.  I was doing it.  It was the craziest decision I had ever made.  I would be driving across the state and  sleeping in my parents’ house this very night.  I did not see that one coming when I woke up in the morning.  I quickly put my sub plans together and was out the door by 4:00, running to my SUV.

Once the decision had been made, a calm set in.  I was now in tactical mode.  Melissa was picking up Evan in Willmar and would be bringing him home.  Meanwhile I changed and threw one set of clothes and some toiletries for both Evan and myself in a bag.  Weird.  I’ve never packed so little going up north.  I packed up our winter gear and got the vehicle outfitted for hauling my two dogs.  Leaving these beasts home with Melissa for her to take care of would have just been cruel.  It was just as easy to bring them along.  I piled about 6 pillows in the back seat to make a comfy environment where Evan could easily fall asleep in the car.

Melissa’s after-school work and errands were taking her longer than she expected, so I ended up going in to Willmar to pick up both kids.  As each minute ticked by that we weren’t pointed north, I felt more and more crazy and frantic.  I picked up Evan first and told him what was going on.  While I expected shouting and screaming, he was fairly quiet, but his excitement grew the more he understood the reality of what was happening.  Once we got everybody home, I put together some food for Evan and me for an on-the-road supper.  Evan put on his pajamas and made a bathroom stop, we said good-bye to our ladies, and at 6:00 we were northbound.  Just a couple hours earlier I had committed to this trip.

Once in the car, I talked to Evan very seriously that at 8:00 there would be no talking, no radio, no books, no nothing.  He needed to go close his eyes and go to sleep.  I told him that if we ever wanted to do something like this again that he needed to do his part to make it work.  A crabby kid on Friday would ruin any fun in the future.  He seemed to understand. In addition, I told him that I would hold onto his water bottle and give it to him for a couple drinks when needed.  Our last trip up north we had bought him a bottle of water and ended up making three emergency bathroom stops.  Time was of the essence tonight.  We needed to fly.

Strangely, with each mile traveled, I felt better and better about doing this.  It was a real adventure that Evan and I would remember for the rest of our lives, whatever the outcome would be.  It was also a treat to be able to have a long ride with my son.  He talked on and on about the things going on his world – how he loved the gymnastics unit they were doing in Phy Ed and how he was the only one to climb a rope to the top.  Our conversation also included bird-related topics as we’d see a bird here or there and as this budding reader read his field guides and listened to bird songs with the Audobon Society Bird App on his iPod.  As the sun set, though, Evan was true to his word and tried to sleep.  By 8:20 I was getting no response from the backseat.

Just before 11:00 I was greeting my parents in the flesh with a sleepy boy in my arms.  Neither of us expected to see each other so soon.  The greeting was quick because the Team would be heading out before dawn on the greatest wild goose ghost chase of our lives.  Sleep was essential, but it was hard to come by with visions of what tomorrow could hold.

To read Wild Ghost Chase – Part 2: The Great Gray Ghost, click here.