Well, this has been an interesting week. With frigid temperatures and winter storms sweeping across much of the country, I decided to delay my holiday travels by a few days, but an additional delay came in the form of some minor car issues. These were swiftly taken care of by my favorite auto shop in town. All the delays did, however, give me a chance to sneak in some ProjectFeederWatching.
Snowfall tends to bring lots of life to the feeders, and on the twenty-fifth, I was gifted with the appearance of not one, but two pileated woodpeckers.
Eventually, I made it to the cities for art-viewing, game-playing, gift-swapping and family chilling. It was a quick but good time. My time in the cities would come to end early this morning as I set off for Sax-Zim Bog in search of lifers.
I arrived at Sax-Zim as a glow began to grow within the clouded skies overhead. From the visitor center parking area, I struck out on the short Gray Jay Way trail, and not a few hundred feet later I turned back to a treetop filled with lifers.
Bohemian waxwings scattered around a few evening grosbeaks. An awesome start. I walked to the trail's looping conclusion where feeders were hung from several trees, and before I even got there I came across another lifer.
It was interesting to observe the Canada jays at the feeders in comparison to the raucous, crested blue jays I'm used to seeing snagging peanuts from my own feeders. The Canada jays were curious and cute with small, shy vocalizations, and they fed with me sat a few feet away. The black-capped chickadees and a couple of spunky red squirrels were also present, and a little cloud of redpolls filled a nearby tree for a short pitstop.
But black-capped aren't the only chickadee inhabiting the bog, and a little patience rewarded me with the appearance of a boreal chickadee. A bunch of pine warblers also appeared to feed--a species I haven't seen since I visited Kodiak Island in 2019.
My timing was good. As I started back on the Gray Jay Way, I passed near a dozen birders going to the feeders. I paused at the back of the welcome center to grab some pictures of the evening grosbeaks, American goldfinches, woodpeckers, etc.
My original plan was to drive around the bog a while, but with the sun well up, the roads getting busier, and my eyes already tired, I decided to start working my way southwest. On the way home, I made some quick stops at the Shingobee Recreation Area (where I would have been skunked if not for a noisy blue jay early on my lap of the trails) and Red Bridge Park in Park Rapids. Now, I'm tired. Melee is on. And Jones Soda requires drinking. 2022 has been a fun, comparatively quiet year of birding, but big plans loom for 2023. Here's to a good year and to the birds.
