A few kindly readers, such as ecologist Susan Harrison of UC Davis, have sent in photos, so the feature is not yet moribund. Susan’s narrative and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the owl photos by clicking on them.
A winter visit to the owls of Bob Dylan Country
Many North American owls are not regularly migratory like songbirds, but will shift many miles to the north or south depending on yearly weather conditions and prey availability. Once every five or more years, the northernmost Midwest receives a winter influx of Boreal Owls (Aegolius funereus). The arrival of this handsome little raptor is so exciting that some birders will travel from as far away as (say) California for a weekend to see it.
Having heard about the Boreal Owls in January, I reached out to a local guide and arranged a late February trip to Two Harbors, Minnesota on the north shore of Lake Superior. On our first day it seemed I might have waited too long. The weather had warmed and no owls had been reported for a few days. We spent 10 fruitless hours cruising the roads and staring obsessively into the willows, alders, and small spruce along the verges. Had the owls moved back north?
Our second day dawned as clear and cold as a proper Minnesota winter morning. Not half an hour into our renewed search, a teardrop-shaped gray bundle stared back at us from the roadside shrubbery. With a nod to Bob Dylan, “Highway 61 Revisited” describes exactly how we found this owl!
Our first Boreal Owl:
Later that day we saw another one at Sax-Zim Bog, a famous destination for seeking overwintering owls of multiple species.
Our second Boreal Owl:
We were greatly helped by the close-knit network of regional owlers who share sightings with one another over an app. They guard information closely to spare owls from excessive attention.
Owlers at our second Boreal Owl sighting:
Having achieved success with the elusive Boreal Owl, we cruised around Sax-Zim Bog looking for the magnificent and more regularly occurring Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa). These are similar to Boreal Owls in being boreal forest inhabitants, nonmigratory, and shifting farther south in some years. We found a very sleepy owl perched along a roadside.
Great Gray Owl:
Finally we looked for Snowy Owls (Bubo scandiacus), which unlike the other two, undergo a regular winter migration to this area from their breeding grounds in the high Arctic. In most years they reach only the northern tier of US states, but they wander much farther south every now and then. They seem to be highly adaptable; one reliable place to see them, in fact, is the industrial district of Superior, Wisconsin. I think Bob Dylan would approve of their taste in gritty, down-to-earth surroundings.
Snowy Owl:
Nice owls. Thanks!
Thanks for these photos and congratulations! It must have been discouraging to look fruitlessly for ten hours. I know all too well that sinking feeling of perhaps not seeing the bird that one has travelled for. Glad that persistence paid off. And congratulations at getting unobscured photos of a Boreal Owl with its eyes open. No mean feat (also personal experience).
It certainly has been a good winter for Boreal Owls. Here where I live (Ottawa, Canada) I think about half a dozen have been reported, although only one has been at all reliable. As it’s in a popular birding spot it has attracted an enormous amount of attention. One person commented that at one point he figured there must have been 60 photographers taking shots of it. A bit excessive.
I’m not sure when Boreal Owls typically move back north. A friend of mine who’s a bit of an owl expert has had them well into April. Spring comes late to the north woods. Perhaps they move back north later than we’d expect.
Stellar Strix!
Cool stuff! We have a Great Horned Owl near our neighborhood, and I sometimes hear it calling at night. Snowy Owls do come into our area at times, but I’ve yet to see one.
So cool that you saw so many species! When we look for owls, we see nothing, but we still enjoy a nice walk.
Nice collection! Thanks.
Great owl photos! That Snowy Owl is really magical looking. Looks like the trip was more than worth it.
Thanks!
Beautiful pics. Beautiful owls. Thank you.
Wonderful photos and commentary. About a decade ago, I too went to Northern Minnesota during an “owl-outbreak” year. We couldn’t find any Boreal Owls, but we did get The Great Grey Owl and a Hawk Owl. And I’ve seen Snowy Owls in Northern Minnesota on other occasions. All owl spottings are so special!
Great owls. I’ve never seen one… but I believe they exist. 🙂
And excellent photography.
Thank you,
D.A.
NYC
Wonderful photos–thank you! Hearing two Great-Horned Owls calling back and forth during February 2003 inspired me to create 12 native-plant gardens in our yard and have our yard become a National Wildlife Federation wildlife habitat. I always think of owl pairs calling to each other as like my husband and me–apart but still connected.