Evolution

Last time this birder checked in the mirror, his horns were still very green – much too green to take knowledgeable stands on birding issues, let alone to refine and redefine such stands.  For example, when I first got into birding, I didn’t understand why people were so secretive about owl locations.  I thought they were just hoarding good birds for themselves or were just jerks, plain and simple.  Over time, though, I started to understand that many withheld to protect the owls from bird paparazzi and overzealous birders who know no boundaries.  I understood, yet I still remembered how it felt to be left in the dark and have to start at ground zero.  Therefore when coworkers and students fed me a multitude of Snowy sightings the past couple years and when I discovered my own two this year, I freely shared the sightings and gave specific locations.  I saw many people get excited over seeing their first Snowy Owl or finally seeing one for a specific county. That was quite a thrill for me; it was like playing Santa Claus for a bunch of bird-nerds.  I vowed to myself I wasn’t going to be an old scrooge who keeps an owl to himself because he thinks the masses can’t be trusted with it.

In light of an event this weekend, though, I find myself in a weird state of change.  It seems the Willmar Snowy Owls I have found have garnered the attention of those from afar, bringing out-of-town visitors.  Quite possibly this is because I have been reporting them as all-white males, a coveted sex/plumage combo for birders and photographers as evidenced by all the blog hits I was getting directly off my list-serv postings.  I mean, who can blame them. Wilbur is quite stunning.

Snowy Owl

Wilbur remained on this perch after I left. My camera’s zoom allows me to get close without being close.

It was reported to me that a photographer with a large lens was traipsing (more than likely trespassing) on private land to walk right up to Wilbur for closer shots while Wilbur was resting on a pole in a field far from the road.  It was not nearly as atrocious as some birder/photographer behaviors you hear about when Snowy Owls show up closer to the Twin Cities metro area, creating mobs armed with cameras and binoculars, but still it was enough to rub me the wrong way.  A little bit of innocence was lost.

So now I find myself wondering what/how to report if I get lucky enough to be in such a position again.  I doubt I’ll go completely dark, but maybe I will.  A highly-sought all-white Snowy may not be reported with that level of description or may just not be reported at all. I might report a Snowy like this one I found 2.5 miles from Wilbur just ten minutes after the sighting pictured above (my third double-Snowy day this month).  I doubt anyone will cross a field to photograph his ugly mug.

Snowy Owl

Ugly Mug stayed on this perch after I left.

Then again, he’s not that bad-looking.

Snowy Owl

This pole was in the middle of a field. No boots were muddied in the taking of this photo, and it was taken from within my car. Yeah, the picture quality is terrible, but sometimes that’s just the way it is.

So maybe I will keep ones like this quiet – tell a few friends, delay my eBird reports until long after the fact, etc.  I really don’t know as I am still in a state of transition.  One thing I do know is that I still want to be able to help anyone looking for a lifer Snowy.

More than likely I will still report cool non-owl species.  It’s unlikely that a bird like this overwintering Western Meadowlark I found will create a circus, and serious birders would be interested in knowing about it even if they didn’t want to go see it.  Owls are different though; people (birders and non-birders) get whipped up into a frenzy over them owls.

Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark – a delightful dose of unexpected variety during this SNOWy winter. Plus it’s Dad’s favorite bird.

So it’s a new year and a new outlook.  And my next post will highlight how I’d be put to the test right away.

Time To Get A Bigger Shovel

It’s getting crazy around here.  We seem to be in the midst of an epic winter SNOWstorm that is dumping excessive amounts of SNOW right here in Kandiyohi County.  In addition to the two Snowies I found last week, I saw a recent eBird report of one near Raymond and two days ago I had a student report that he saw a Snowy Owl by Bushmills ethanol plant just west of Atwater.  So this morning I went exploring to see if I could find the Atwater Snowy; I was unsuccessful looking for the Raymond bird yesterday.  Not having any luck at Atwater, I decided to go check up on Wilbur in Willmar.  Goold ol’ Wilbur was found in his usual area just south of Willmar.  This morning he was catching the last rays of sunshine before the day turned gloomy.

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl

Not long after seeing this owl I was pleased to finally see some Horned Larks as they’ve been noticeably absent all winter.  Additionally I had the good luck of seeing a Rough-legged Hawk, a rare treat for Kandiyohi County.

After this short birding foray, it was time to head home for getting back to the business of Saturday, which was cooking breakfast and then doing absolutely nothing at all.  We did, however, have a dinner scheduled with friends for the evening, but as we were getting set to walk out the door, Marin’s preschool teacher texted Melissa that she just saw a Snowy Owl at Bushmills in Atwater!  It was only a ten-minute drive, so we zipped over there and saw the glowing white form from afar as it contrasted dramatically with the darkening clouds in the twilight. To my amazement, it was yet another adult male Snowy Owl.  That makes for three distinct male Snowies in the Willmar/Atwater area this past week.

IMG_1864

Snowy Owl

This was by far the whitest Snowy I had ever seen.

Snowy Owl

I’m a sucker for a Snowy Owl photo with a barn in the background.

Snowy Owl barn

It’s unclear just how much SNOW has been dumped by this storm.  All these recent owls begs the question of just how many are out there right in our very own county?  It might be time to get the search party organized…

Wilbur

Snowy Owl

I caved. I named my Snowy Owl like so many photogs have done, like “Cellie” the famous SNOW last year that perched on a cell tower, or “Ramsey” the owl who came to the town of his namesake. So why Wilbur?

  • It sounds like Willmar (pronounced will-mer) where he’s living for the winter.
  • E.B. White, duh.  Plus the guy had to be a birder for writing The Trumpet of the Swan.
  • And because, well, he’s…

Some Owl

And Then This Happened: Drama on the High Lines

Buoyed by low gas prices and spurred on by Caleb Strand (this post is dedicated to you, buddy!), I have yet to take a direct drive anywhere this winter as hordes of Snowy Owls are on the loose, causing me to have dust-caked vehicles from all that backroads travelin’.  On January 2nd, I found a Snowy Owl right outside Willmar.  Since then I have driven around that general area numerous times while running errands in the hopes of relocating it. Tiring of that routine, I changed things up a bit this weekend and began hiking some unbirded wildlife management areas in an effort to get some exercise and contribute some data to eBird.  On one outing at Kandi WMA, I saw a raptor land in a tree over 200 yards away.  I used my camera to zoom in so I could make the ID.  I was pleasantly surprised to look at my picture and see a Great Horned Owl, which is always a fun find.

Great Horned OwlBut this morning after I dropped Evan off at school, I was again tempted to take the long way home in the hopes of refinding that Willmar Snowy. So I did take the long way, and this time I finally refound the all-white, male Snowy again since I last saw it over a week ago.  With no camera on me at the time, I vowed to return later in the day to get some photos. After all, it was a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies – a great day to photograph a white bird.

So Marin and I went back this afternoon and found the Snowy in short order.  I got out and took a couple photos.

Snowy Owl Willmar

Despite the fact that I was on the ground, he didn’t mind me and appeared a bit distracted as he gazed west, even alarmed…

Snowy Owl -Willmar

The owl flushed just after I took this photo.  I was cursing myself because I assumed I had flushed it.  The owl was flying east right along MN Hwy 23, going far, far away.  I had to go that direction anyway, so I hopped back in the car and began driving, following it to see where it would finally land.

And then this happened – a second Snowy Owl flew over my vehicle from behind!  All of the sudden I was tracking two flying Snowy Owls!  I decided to focus my attention on this new bird which was much closer.  It perched on a pole on the minimum maintenance road, 30th St. SW, so I pulled up close to it so I could take some pictures.  As I did so, I spotted the first Snowy Owl about a half mile further east on another pole.  Amazing.  Two Snowy Owls in Willmar, together, and both all-white males.  Since I was currently by Snowy #2,  I began snapping away.  These two birds could have been identical twins; the only difference I found in my pictures is that Snowy #1 had very light barring on his belly, indicating a younger bird.  Snowy #2 had a pure white belly.

Willmar Snowy OwlWillmar Snowy Owl

But this guy appeared distracted too, looking in the direction of the other Snowy Owl a half mile to the east.

Snowy Owl Willmar

Then he took off.  Again I cursed myself, thinking my presence caused him to scram.  As I watched, though, he was flying right toward Snowy #1.  I started driving again so I could get closer to the action.  As I was watching through the windshield, it looked like he was going to pull up on the next pole to Snowy #1! Then some SNOW drama unfolded before my very eyes.  No, Snowy #2 was not, in fact, going to the next pole; he was instead going straight for Snowy #1’s pole!  Sensing a potential butt-whooping, Snowy #1 hopped off the pole and landed briefly on the wire.  Not good enough for Snowy #2.  Talons out, Snowy #2 came screeching in and made contact in the air with an alarmed Snowy #1, sending him packing to the east in a hurry.  Snowy #2 promptly then landed on the pole that Snowy #1 had just warmed up for him and began surveying his turf.

"Who you calling #2?"

“Who you callin’ #2?”

I never did see Snowy #1 set down – he was over a mile away before I lost sight of him.  I could not believe what I had just witnessed. Birding continually surprises me.  Looking at photos, it appears that Snowy #2 is the same owl I had found on January 2nd. Here’s a photo from that day.

Snowy Owl

If that’s the case, his behavior today made sense in that he has probably staked out a winter territory and was having nothing to do with a younger male owl encroaching on his territory.  Whatever the case, these are exciting times which may call for a Kandiyohi County Snowy Owl roundup to see just how many birds are wintering here.  Stay tuned!

The Best Game of Solitaire I Ever Lost

Steve and I have a number one target bird for this winter: Townsend’s Solitaire.  Neither of us has seen one, and this species is a regular, albeit sporadic, visitor in the state during the winter months.  Plenty of them seem to be showing up all over the place.  Ideally we do not want to have to go far to see this bird.  A couple of them have shown up within an hour’s drive lately, so yesterday I packed the kids in the car to take them on a little adventure and give Melissa some peace and quiet to do some grading.  Of course, the promise of a Solitaire was not enough to get the kids to go with – on-board movies, the family dog, and the promise of a pop may have influenced their decision.

As the kids watched their movie while we sped by Willmar on MN 23, I watched pole tops. We are experiencing an echo irruption of Snowy Owls, so my eyes are constantly scanning pole tops, shed roofs, irrigators, and other available perches whenever I drive.

Snowy Owl

For once, that obsessive habit paid off when I spotted a Snowy Owl! And right by Willmar no less!  For as many Snowies as I have seen, reported, or helped others see, each one of those has been someone else’s discovery that I have refound, reused, or recycled.  This was the first one I’ve found on my own – a pristine, undiscovered Snowy.  And boy was he a nice looking all-white male too!  Not bad for my first one, eh?

Snowy Owl

Finding a Snowy Owl on my own has been a goal of mine since last year’s historic irruption.  To find one right in our own community made it extra special.  It also felt pretty good to lock up a 2015 county Snowy on just the second day of the year.  Of all the Snowy Owl eBird markers I have dropped in Meeker and Kandiyohi Counties the past two years, this Willmar marker will forever be the one I am most proud of.

After reporting the owl through all necessary channels, the kids and I continued to Redwood County to hunt for the Solitaire.  Going through all that flat country I half expected to find more Snowies.  But we didn’t, and we struck out on the Solitaire too.  No big deal, it was already a great day.

Having a Snowy close-at-hand means you can check up on it when you run errands, like I did later that same afternoon.  This Snowy picks some far-out perches; I’m okay with that so it can’t get mobbed by birders and photographers.  I enjoy this photo because you can read the Willmar water tower in the background.  The SNOW would make a much better school mascot than the Cardinal.

Snowy Owl Willmar

Hopefully this Snowy has set up a winter territory here.  The terrain sure looks right – very flat, wide-open land with many quiet perches.  Randy refound it this morning, so I went out hoping for more photo ops but the bird was way too far away.  Here’s an authentic scenario that will give you somewhat of a feel for a SNOW search – can you find it below?

Willmar Snowy

Were you right?

Willmar Snowy

This may not be the last you see of this Snowy Owl as it is just a few miles away.  Are you sick of Snowy Owl postings yet?  Well, too darn bad!  This year is getting to be as historic as last year, and I aim to soak it up and celebrate it as much as possible. Farmers’ Almanacs don’t predict SNOW storms after all – we just don’t know when SNOW levels will fall back to normal.

Merry Christmas Bird Counting and Happy Owlidays

Having retired from advising all my extra-curricular activities at school, my schedule was finally clear for me this year to go on my first-ever Christmas Bird Count.  To be honest, I wasn’t too excited to go out counting ordinary birds.  But partnering with Steve made the Willmar CBC an enjoyable experience, and I was surprised at how fun it was to count birds as every single one was important on this day.  Steve and I didn’t have any finds that would rock the birding scene, but we did have some nice contributions to the count.  Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles are about as boring a bird you can find, but in the winter they are quite rare and by extension, quite exciting.

Common GrackleWe also had the only Sharp-shinned Hawk of the day.  He was feeder watching too.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Steve and I also had most all of the American Tree Sparrows for the count, a dapper bird that is always a treat to see.  Other fun sightings included 20 Ring-necked pheasants in one spot, an all-white Rock Pigeon that looked like a ghost against the white sky, three Bald Eagles, and two Red-bellied Woodpeckers.   The CBC’s most notable bird was an American Black Duck which I need for my county list and have chased several times unsuccessfully.  The CBC was most notable for what didn’t show up.  There were several expected species missing completely, and the overall number of birds was roughly half of what it was last year.

Maybe there would have been more birds if Steve and I had birded until dark.  Steve had to go in the early afternoon, and I was itching to head west and out of the count circle. Andrew Halbritter, who found the Willmar Varied Thrush out his bedroom window last month, reported at the CBC morning briefing that he had seen three Snowy Owls on his drive into Willmar just the day before.  So late in the afternoon I ventured west to Chippewa County and was able to refind one of the Snowies, a nice male.

Snowy Owl

As I observed the owl, it flushed and I worried I had gotten to close and spooked it.  But then the owl flew toward my direction.  It seemed to float as it came closer and closer to the ground and the road.  Then magic happened. It touched down for a split second and lifted again with a mouse clutched firmly its large, feathered talons.  The owl took its meal  to the field to eat it.  Before I could even locate the white bird in the white field, it flew back to another pole to resume hunting. It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had with an owl.

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl

With 120 Snowies now in the state, this year is shaping up to be another record year for SNOW, and I’m hoping this SNOW isn’t my final owl of 2014. Plus we’ll be back in Great Gray country before year’s end. Merry Christmas to you all and may your new year be full of owls and other cool birds.

Not a Creature Was Stirring, Not Even a Mouse

With all the gift-buying, childrens’ concerts, holiday parties, and over-indulgences of molasses Christmas cookies, there’s actually a lot stirring these days.  All of this on top of the normal bustle of the work and home fronts leaves no time for birding.  The 9.5 hours of daylight doesn’t help matters either.  But I won’t complain because we are about to turn the solstice corner, and Santa brought me an early Christmas present. You may know Santa as old St. Nick, but I call him Mike McNab.  Today after work Mike found me another Snowy Owl just a few miles north of school and promptly called me.  I was still at work and in a hurry as usual, but there’s always time to see a SNOW.

Snowy Owl

Good old St. Mike – he brought me my lifer this time last year, and he has found five Meeker County Snowies in the past year.

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl

Despite a couple sightings this winter, Meeker has not yet proved to be the hotbed of Snowy activity like it was last year.  With over 100 Snowies being reported in the state so far, this year is shaping up to be as good or better than last year.  Other areas like Big Lake and Cambridge have stolen the Snowy spotlight this year with multiple owls (and multiple photogs).  Perhaps to the chagrin of local field mice, squirrels and farm cats alike, Meeker County is finally getting its snojo back.  ‘Tis the season to pile the dust and miles on the vehicle and watch the pole tops!

Snowy Owl

 

A Scoter Kind of Day

All of last week I had been reading reports of a stunning find for Minnesota – three Common Eiders had shown up on Lake Superior, the first time since 1966. So last Friday night when Melissa came home from chaperoning a dance I told her I was thinking about getting up in a few hours to head back to Duluth after going there just a week ago.  I agreed with her response that I was crazy.  So I dashed my Eider dreams and settled for a Snowy Owl search, a more local, reasonable way to get in a good birding fix on a Saturday morning.

So it was an owling I went on this snowy morning.  I was finding fun birds like my first-of-fall flock of 100+ Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings, a group of 8 Wild Turkeys (all jakes and toms), and over a dozen of these guys which I haven’t been seeing much of all year.

Ring-necked Pheasant

I wasn’t seeing what I was seeking.  It was disappointing because I thought my chances were good.  As my Snowy Owl route eventually brought me closer to Spicer, I thought about heading into Willmar to try for some better Varied Thrush photos or even to check up on a older report of a Northern Mockingbird in town.  However, as I drove around the very large Green Lake, I noticed that it hadn’t iced over yet unlike the smaller lakes and ponds.  Gears shifted completely – suddenly I had the urge to look for Scoters.

I stopped at the public beach at Spicer and walked up to the calm water.  There was some debris in the water right by shore that I hadn’t looked at twice.  That is, until that debris started moving.  I was startled to see this family of Trumpeter Swans.  Not an Eider, not a Snowy Owl, but still another fun bird to add to the morning’s outing.

Trumpeter Swan

As neat as swans are, I didn’t come here to see them.  So I scanned the lake to the east past Zorbaz Restaurant where I saw a large group of waterfowl at a distance.  The naked eye showed that most were Canada Geese.  The zoom on my camera revealed a couple of ducks I would have liked a better look at, but I just couldn’t make any IDs.  Then an interesting bird right near the pylons at Zorbaz caught my eye.  It dove and then wouldn’t come up.  I was hoping it was a Scoter. After a long wait I never did see it resurface.  Finally, I gave up and went to the public boat landing to check out the lake from there.  That unknown bird was bugging me, so I decided to go back to see it.

Well, I saw it and was greatly disappointed.  Pied-billed Grebe.  It doesn’t get more boring than that.  I took one last scan to that group of geese and waterfowl to the east.  What’s this trucking my way through the blustering snow?  I see a very dark duck, low to the water, with a wide bill.  It’s V-shaped wake was getting bigger as the duck was cruising toward me.  Could it be? It turned its head revealing two big white spots on its head.  Holy smokes, it is! A White-winged Scoter!!

White-winged ScoterEvan and I just got this lifer exactly one week earlier on Lake Superior where it is not a rare duck.  Here, though, in the middle of the state, this was a spectacular find.  There previously had only been three instances of this bird in Kandiyohi County.  And the cooperative duck just kept coming my way!

White-winged Scoter

White-winged Scoter

I immediately called Steve, who was just hanging out at home.  He scrambled to get to Spicer. I kept an eye on the duck until he and his son, Riley, got there.

Steve

Steve and I were elated – a Varied Thrush and a White-winged Scoter in the county in the same week.  It was a dream.  What was I looking for again? Snowy-something-or-others?

Amazingly this White-winged Scoter has hung on and is still present at the writing of this post.  Many county-listers came out to see the duck after my posting to the listserv.  More importantly, though, several birders finally added this duck to their life lists.  Helping others get a lifer like this is one of the things I enjoy most about a good find.

I have been out to Green Lake several times since my initial discovery.  Only one of those times, though, was to check on this duck.  No, there was another big draw that kept bringing me back – more on that later.  Anyhow, each time I’m at the beach in Spicer, I see my duck and can’t help but take a photo or two or five. Some days were cold and windy.

White-winged Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Other days were colder and placid.  Much of Green Lake was covered in ice in these next shots, and I suspect that the open water and the Scoter will be gone in the next day or two.

IMG_1479

White-winged Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Even though I’ve had more than my share of good finds, this is one of my all-time favorite discoveries.  The rarity of it, the fact that I set out to find a Scoter and succeeded, and that so many people got to enjoy it makes this a very memorable find. And it came in a crazy week of birding.  Indeed, there was another rare bird that kept drawing me back here.  But even beyond that, Steve and I managed to add TWO more sea duck lifers after we saw this Scoter!  More on all that later.

Varied Thrush Redux and a Turkey Remix

Since the Varied Thrush has been continuing for a week now in the same backyard where it first showed up, I wanted to try for some better photos than my blizzard, Bigfoot-style shots.  So Evan and I stopped by the house today before I had to drop him off for school. We were not disappointed and did not have to wait long to see the Varied Thrush.  Evan got a lifer. I got the best shots I could get before we had to hustle off to school.

Varied Thrush

Varied Thrush

Varied Thrush

Now you’d think this would be the bird Evan was most excited about today.  Well, you’d be wrong.  Evan had a project for school that was due today – he had to decorate a cut-out turkey with the stipulation that no crayons, colored pencils, or markers could be used. Things could be glued, taped, or adhered in any way possible. We were wondering how to solve this dilemma when I had a burst of inspiration. Ever the opportunist, I pulled out the turkey tail I had in the freezer from a turkey I shot a couple years ago that had been driving my wife crazy as she would rummage in the freezer for this or that.  In a single shot, I made both my wife and son happy.  Melissa and Evan have likely created what will be the envy of the entire 2nd grade class.

Evan

 

The Varied Rushes and Thrushes of Birding

It felt pretty good to find that Snowy Owl before the landscape turned completely white and making search efforts all the more difficult.  It did NOT feel good to arrive home and immediately work on frantic, last-minute winter preparations in the the dark by raking the yard one last time and cleaning out the garage so we could park the vehicles. Snow was coming.  Lots of snow.

Sure enough, when we woke up the next morning, we were in the middle of a nasty winter storm that was living up to all the hype.  As expected, school was called off for Evan. I was staring out the window and contemplating the work of snow removal when I got a stunning text from Steve: “Varied Thrush in Willmar!”

Holy smokes!  Steve and I had been talking about how this was one of our winter chase birds and now here it shows up right in town!  I didn’t even think about the horrible road conditions and reduced visibility.  I just hopped in the SUV and went to town.  Evan was too content to stay at home in his PJs than to join me.

Before I had even gone a mile I was thinking what a fool I was.  I could hardly see 50 feet, and there were large drifts covering the road.  Still, I bounced along and strained to see ahead.  I was determined to see a Varied Thrush, a winter vagrant from the likes of Washington and Oregon that can show up in basically any yard in the rest of the country during the winter.  A Varied Thrush!

Apparently the bird landed in the yard of the Halbritters who just happen to be birders themselves.  Such a smart bird to go where it knew it would be appreciated and get the accolades it deserved!  Steve and I waited inside the Halbritters’ house hoping for a glimpse.  Each minute that passed made me more nervous about the trip home.  I needed to get back on the road as the storm was still intensifying.  After about 15 minutes I decided I would drive around the block to look in the area, and then I would call it quits.  I told Steve this would guarantee the bird would appear.  I hadn’t even made it all the way around the block when Steve called to say it showed up.  It took me seconds to rejoin him and get my Varied Thrush lifer.

Varied ThrushBlizzards make for bad photos, but they more than make up for it with good birds!

Varied Thrush

November birding has been HOT, and there are several more blog posts to come.  Hang on for more good birding!