Northern Minnesota is my favorite place to bird. The unique collection of hardy birds that call this place home in the winter is truly spectacular. Getting out for a little birding while home for the holidays is always a must.
I spent a lot of my birding time in the nearby town of Cook. Local birder, Julie, had found some White-winged Crossbills which would be a lifer for me. So I made several trips into town to try for this bird. I came up short that first evening, but came away with a great prize–spotting my own vagrant Townsend’s Solitaire. Such a good bird and to find one myself here at home made it all the more special. In fact–spoiler alert–look for it in my year-end Top 10 post.
One morning I decided to canvas the heck out of Cook, cruising up and down all the streets looking for those Crossbills. Honestly, it is just as much fun driving around Cook as it is the Sax-Zim Bog, especially when there are great birds, like an overabundance of Evening Grosbeaks.
Or Pine Grosbeaks, a bird I finally got a chance to photograph. Despite the large flock I found, I never saw more than two or three adult males.
Some were so incredibly tame. I think I could have pet this one.
Birding a small town like this is a lot of fun because the birds are easy to spot as there are not many of them, and they stick out like sore thumbs in leafless trees. And nearly every bird you pull up the binoculars on in this area is a fun bird. In addition to the Grosbeaks, I saw Redpolls, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Gray Jays, and even a quick sighting of my White-winged Crossbill lifer. Additionally I found a very late Common Grackle, which is the only way a Grackle ever becomes exciting.
One morning while home I took Melissa on a scouting trip to the Sax-Zim Bog for Tommy DeBardeleben and Gordon Karre’s upcoming trip. Melissa is normally the one who spots the Owls, but today was my lucky day as I spied this guy first when it flew out from the tamarack bog and landed right in front of us.
Since I was in the pole position for this Great Gray in the traffic jam that had developed on Admiral Road, I planned to stay put until there was enough light to properly photograph the Owl. This one had other plans as it hopped from perch to perch and went out of sight almost as soon as it had appeared. Many other birders/photographers stayed in the area for a reappearance (which many got over and over), but this was a scouting trip and I had more places and birds to check on.
I tried hard to turn up another Great Gray or two but just couldn’t do it. I was happy to find a small group of Sharp-tailed Grouse near Meadowlands. I know this sounds strange, but from a scouting perspective, this was the most exciting find of the morning. The Great Gray is obviously the better bird, but one only needs to look for the parked cars to spot one of those in the Sax-Zim Bog.
In just three weeks time, Tommy, Gordon, and myself will be hitting the Sax-Zim Bog and NE MN harder than I’ve ever hit these areas before. I am looking forward to this trip just as much as any of my out-of-state trips.
The next stop was for Milt Blomberg’s Varied Thrush at Oakland Cemetery in Marine on St. Croix. It was also a no show. I did not spend more than a few minutes looking for this bird which would merely be a year bird; there was bigger game at stake. We needed to get down to Afton State Park in time for the evening show of some Short-eared Owls. This would be a much hoped-for lifer. We made it by my target time of 4:00, but barely. As you can see, the heavy snow in the first picture had transformed the eastern portion of the state into Hoth. The kids were prepared.
The kids and I walked around the border of this entire prairie area, hoping to spot a Short-eared Owl flying at any moment. I should say that I was hoping to spot an Owl; they were happy to be out of the car and frolicking in the snow. Despair–for me–was sinking in as it looked like this would be strike three for the day’s agenda. But then on the walk back toward the car, a voice boomed from the other side of the prairie, “Hey! Short-eared Owl!” God? No, it was Pete Nichols, moderator of the MN Birding Facebook Group. This was his turf, and he had come to check up on the Owls and give us an assist. Thanks, Pete!
1 for 3 isn’t bad especially when that one is an Owl lifer. More important, though, was that I had a good day out of the house with the kids seeing a beautiful part of the state and exploring some great state parks together. The lack of birds may have even been a good thing as it forced me to pay more attention to the kids, to photograph them. After all, the Owls aren’t changing and will always be there.
The Lovebirds have adapted well to the oases of the water-filled landscaping in the greater Phoenix area. They especially like palms which have proven useful for nesting.
These birds are truly cute. Melissa agrees.
Here’s an important public service announcement for those of you not acquainted with the Lovebird. It is safe to say that despite this being an “easy” bird, I don’t think I would have found them without Gordon’s help. Here’s why: my sense of this bird’s scale was way off. Since all you ever see on blogs are impressive close-ups of this crushable bird, I was looking for something that I thought was Pigeon-sized. I guess I was wrong. 
It’s hard to stop taking pictures of such a cute bird, but that’s mostly because Kiwanis didn’t offer up much more than Neotropic Cormorants and Pigeons. A pair of Gilded Flickers at our feet was a nice bonus.
With the Lovebird lifer out of the way, we made the short trek up to Tempe Town Lake. The Brown Pelican was a bird I’d like to think I could have found on my own. Gordon wasn’t taking any chances. He led the way and spotted it out in marsh section of Tempe Town Lake.
Finally the Pelican/Lovebird anxiety was no more. After saying our goodbyes to Gordon, we had much of the day to do whatever, like check out the impressive collections of potted cacti and caged Macaws at Leaf&Feather in Maricopa. I had no idea so many species of Macaws existed. Might have to put Brazil on the bucket list.
We also spent time playing in one of the most impressive rain storms I have seen, in Arizona no less.
Some children were not as enthused about the deluge and were downright grumpy.
Another AZ trip is on record, full of many new birds and great memories. It’s time get back to MN though with some good winter owling. Stick around, these posts will be coming out fast.
The famous Paton House–hard to believe I was actually here.
No, we didn’t come for the common White-winged Doves, though they were dapper and only the second time we’d seen one.
Nor did we come for the WWDO’s cousin, the much less abiding Inca Dove.
It was nice to see a Black-headed Grosbeak even if it was a bit scruffy looking, but that’s still not why we came.
We came for the Hummingbirds. But not for the Broad-billed.
Ain’t it a beaut?
It knows it too. Like Orcas or Dolphins, it pandered to its gawking audience.
So that was that. Tommy DeBardeleben and Gordon Karre had told me about a much rarer Hummer, the Plain-capped Starthroat, that had been seen regularly somewhere in Patagonia. Not knowing exactly where to go for it and not feeling I could make yet another birding stop with the non-birding family, I didn’t even bother to check into it.
Scanning a residential pond in the low light of the evening, I was excited to see the brilliant pop of color of the male Vermilion Flycatcher in my binoculars. They never get old.
We also saw a Jackrabbit of some sort which was a cool experience.
The Arizona fun isn’t over. Next up is the final post and arguably the ugliest and cutest birds you will see.
We got some great views of some fun birds while we rested from our recent hike in Hunter Canyon. It was nice to finally see a much nicer Canyon Towee than the haggard one I saw in Florida Canyon last spring. This bird was a lifer for Evan.
We also got to see another Scott’s Oriole (female), but this one did not show itself well either.
Seeing a lifer Dark-eyed Junco sub-species, like this Gray-headed variety, is always fun.
Acorn Woodpeckers were a common sight at all our stops in the Huachucas. At least at Mary Jo’s feeders, you can get a good photo while sitting down–a great combo.
Evan also got his Magnificent Hummingbird lifer with the help of owner Mary Jo who seems to constantly monitor the bird activity in her yard. Tommy and Gordon were watching a different set of Hummingbird feeders and had seen one of the reported Lucifer Hummingbirds. So Evan and I joined them and watched those feeders for a short time to see if we could get this rare Hummer too. That said, Miller Canyon was beckoning, both for what it held and for the short amount of time we had left to bird. Thankfully the Lucifer was understanding and showed up in short order. Note the thick, decurved bill.
The rarity of this bird was really cool even if the plain looks of this juvenile bird were not impressive. I regretfully later found out that an adult male Lucifer had been visiting these feeders on the very day we were there. Doh!
After hiking nearly a mile uphill, we finally reached Split Rock. Here there were two elderly women had been brought to this location earlier to look for the Spotted Owls. Our guide checked out the usual perches for the Owls, a family group of four birds, but none of them held anything. Then, real casually, he points to a different tree and says, “Oh, here’s one.” Sweet!
This Owl was a pretty mellow fellow, which I understand is typical for this species. It could not have cared less that we were ooing and awwing over it.
Tommy and I went a little further up the canyon hoping to spot one of the other Spotted Owls on our own which is half the fun of owling. But without any more luck, it was finally time to head back down the canyon. What a thrill it was, though, to get this prized lifer:
Then there was one last big gift for our big day in the Huachucas. We were nearly to the car when Tommy thought he heard a Black-throated Gray Warbler. I saw one last spring, but only briefly. I was hoping for a better photo. However, I’m just going to have to wait for that because the bird turned out to be a lifer Townsend’s Warbler instead! Now I need a redemptive photo of two western Warblers.
What an incredible day it was at our three stops in the Huachuca Mountains. It was finally time to hit the road to join my family back at Green Valley. Once again, Tommy and Gordon outdid themselves and provided another fun set of SE AZ memories. We said our goodbyes and vowed to meet up again this winter back in Minnesota where it’s not as warm, definitely not as scenic, but with just as cool (if not cooler) Owls. Hopefully Evan and I can repay these guys with some awesome lifers of their own.
But no bird dominates the desert habitat near Coon Bluff like the Phainopepla. Try to not see one if you go to Coon Bluff.
Once Tommy arrived, we all went down to the mesquite-bosque near the river to look for some of our pre-dusk targets.
Darkness and owl hoots weren’t the only thing we were waiting for–bird blogger Laurence Butler of the famed 
Obviously, Tommy is much more experienced at this, and therefore much better at the bird selfies than I. One thing I have learned from Tommy is the importance of having fun while doing this hobby. It is clear that I still have much to learn this owl Jedi.
Whenever owls are involved, one should always give credit where credit is due. Here is the discoverer admiring his prize.
The Great Horned Owl wasn’t the only great bird at the hotel. I managed to find a Black-throated Sparrow, Cactus Wren, and even a lifer Hooded Oriole or three for Evan!
Tommy and Gordon actually contributed to the owl discovery as they found the male tucked up into a palm tree! We now had two adults in view!
Good birds can be had in my parents’ yard and just beyond. My dad had been seeing a Greater Roadrunner around the house recently. Evan and I were going to set out to see if we could find it. As I was literally walking out to get Evan in the back yard, I caught a fast glimpse of the Roadrunner himself on the fence! While I was able to finally put this lifer to rest, Evan still didn’t see it–something that would become a common theme for the trip…
No trip to Arizona is complete without seeing the bodacious and skittish Gambel’s Quail.
And they were doing their courtship dances! It was an incredible thing to watch even from a distance.
