Rachel is originally from Minnesota, and she still has family there. I had never seen a real "Northern Winter," and we were really looking forward to spending Christmas with family in December 2006. Rachel's sister actually was our inspiration for getting into birding, and she and her husband would be there as well. It would be a travesty not to get out into the field at least a couple times to enjoy the cold and the birds of Minnesota! We decided to make the journey to spend one full day birding in the famous Northeast corner of the state around Duluth. We hired a very knowledgeable and friendly guide Mike Hendrickson to take us around the most productive hotspots in his SUV. Thus, we were introduced for the first time to "Travel Birding" - boy, what an instant and powerful addiction!
Highlights of our trip included a frigid but fun stop along the Minnesota River, where Rachel and I saw our first AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS and TUNDRA SWAN. There were hundreds of COMMON MERGANSERS, a few HOODED MERGANSERS, and even a few COMMON GOLDENEYES on the river. A large group of gulls was loafing around on the river ice near the warm water discharge of an industrial facility, and we were all very excited to spot and then figure out the ID of a huge GLAUCOUS GULL that joined the group. During our adventures with Mike we headed to Hedbum Road where we spotted a couple RUFFED GROUSE roosting in a tree first thing in the morning, and our first BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES mobbed us when we stopped to pish at them. A couple groups of COMMON REDPOLLS flew over calling, but we did not get good looks. Mike then took us to a scouted spot where there were "workings" on the trees, and before long we found a female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER busily searching for her breakfast. Perhaps the highlight of the whole trip for everyone, down the road we re-located an incredible GREAT GRAY OWL, who was focused intently on a spot in the snow below. When we quietly approached for a few photos, he slowly turned his dome-shaped head and fixed his intense yellow-eyed gaze on us - something that none of us will ever forget! During other stops of the day, we came upon a NORTHERN SHRIKE on a wire and a group of PINE GROSBEAKS "graveling," which Mike explained was eating small bits of gravel off the road to help digest seeds and nuts. On the same road we had more distant but still very impressive views of a second GREAT GRAY OWL and another non-visual fly-over, this time about a dozen WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS. ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were the raptor du jour along most roads, often perched on power poles. At another stop, we trekked into the woods a ways to more "workings" and this time both male and female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS were found. Both of them paid no attention to us and allowed us to approach within 20 feet or less as they foraged! A pair of curious GRAY JAYS made a brief stop in the trees overhead. We walked down the road a ways and located an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER as well, the other "difficult" winter woodpecker we had hoped for! We ended the day by running back over the Hedbum Road to chase a Northern Hawk-Owl which had been spotted by others but we came up empty. We were tired but ecstatic about our amazing day of northern birding, and we celebrated with walleye sandwiches! On our last day in town back outside Minneapolis, Rachel and I decided to try to see a spectacle that had been reported by birders about an hour north of us. We explored a wonderful WMA full of frozen cattail marshes and overgrown fields. First, we witnessed an amazing sight of 15-20 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS coming in to roost together in the same distant tree. Then, almost on cue, at dusk a group of up to seven SHORT-EARED OWLS began coursing over the fields and interacting! Rachel even got to hear them "barking" and vocalizing with one another.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: All photos and other content on this website are the exclusive property of Ken Blankenship (KB) and Rachel Cass (RC), unless otherwise credited. Unauthorized use and reproduction is strictly prohibited; you can usually obtain friendly permission to use images by sending me an email.Minnesota Birding Winter Holidays 2006
    Three-toed Black-backed Great Gray Owl Northern Shrike
Woodpecker Woodpecker by KB by KB
by KB by KB
  Pine Grosbeak Short-eared Owl
by KB by RC
TOTAL SPECIES: 39
LIFE BIRDS: 11
| Tundra Swan |
Black-capped Chickadee |
| Rough-legged Hawk |
Northern Shrike |
| Short-eared Owl |
Gray Jay |
| Great Gray Owl |
Pine Grosbeak |
| American Three-toed Woodpecker |
American Tree Sparrow |
| Black-backed Woodpecker |
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OTHER BIRDS: 28
| Double-crested Cormorant |
Downy Woodpecker |
| Canada Goose |
Hairy Woodpecker |
| Mallard |
Pileated Woodpecker |
| Common Goldeneye |
Red-breasted Nuthatch |
| Hooded Merganser |
White-breasted Nuthatch |
| Common Merganser |
Blue Jay |
| Bald Eagle |
American Crow |
| Red-tailed Hawk |
Common Raven |
| American Kestrel |
European Starling |
| Ruffed Grouse |
House Finch |
| Ring-billed Gull |
Pine Siskin |
| Herring Gull |
American Goldfinch |
| Rock Pigeon |
House Sparrow |
| Belted Kingfisher |
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| Red-bellied Woodpecker |
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Copyright 2008 Ken Blankenship. All rights reserved.
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