Day 1: A Modest Beginning
What a trip this was: five days in the subarctic frigidness of the Minnesota Taiga. Only a serious birder could hatch a plan like this, especially one from the South. But back in the fall of 2017, my uncle Chris Skelton was already scheming about a birding trip to Minnesota in midwinter. I expressed interest, as did our longtime Georgia birding friend Jim Hanna, and soon enough, it was upon us.
Thursday: February 8th
6 a.m.: We meet at the Pre-Flight parking area on the west side of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. This is a decision that would fill our Minnesota days with the tune of Rocket Man. After greeting, we hopped onboard the shuttle to head to the thick of it. As we waited in the airport in the early morning hours, we dreamed of Minnesota specialties, spoke of our potential first species/lifer, and said goodbye to the South for a little while. Although Uncle Chris and Jim had both visited the state before, this would be a first to me. My expectations were wide open, and my preconceptions of the state had been mostly informed by Fargo. Before long, we were on a flight to O'Hare International Airport. Now I'm a sleeper, so my flight hours were spent unconscious. Waking up in an Illinois February was a shock. Bleak and cold. Parks stuck out and appeared artificial with scattered trees stuck atop a flat, white plane. Open water had been replaced by solid ice. Everything else looked like sprawl from the city. Hopefully Minnesota would hold more of a pleasant surprise. Again I slept on the next plane ride.
12 p.m: When on the ground, we hustled to the car rental station, where U.C. had already organized a pickup. The cold blast hit us as we exited the protection of the building. We were lucky to settle on a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee with only 900 miles driven. We'd be cruising the state in style and luxury (rear heated seats).
Once on the road, our eyes scoured the landscape and powerlines. This is the moment that never becomes dull to a traveling birder. What will we see, what is the land like, first species, first lifer? The land is new to us, our expectations are unchecked, and the possibilities seem endless. Unfamiliarity is exciting! Yet, one feature quickly became apparent. Hmmm, not too many birds here. Whereas a Georgia birder may see tens of birds on a short car ride, a Minnesota birder may be happy with a handful. Still, there are birds around. And our first pickup was an exciting 8 Rock Pigeons in Dakota County.
Now to settle on lunch. A Chick-fil-A in St. Paul was a welcome site. Inside, we were introduced to the impressive friendliness of Minnesotans. We also picked up two new birds, a pair of flyby Canada Geese and a soaring Red-tailed Hawk. We packed on some layers before leaving my Doc kit in the parking lot, never to be seen again.
Our first true destination was Afton State Park in Dakota County. Jim had seen an eBird list with Long-eared Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl from the Park, a duo too good to refuse. Pulling in, we spotted a good amount of activity at the feeders. Although mostly House Sparrows, we picked up some Black-capped Chickadees, a Downy Woodpecker, another RTHA, and some White-breasted Nuthatches. None of us had seen the Chickadees in a while, so that was pretty exciting.
We made for the visitor center with no other plan of attack. At the feeding stations were more of the same species plus Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers. The Pileated's seemed out of place to me. I'm not really used to seeing them on feeders, and my envisioned habitat for them is really mature wet/swampy forest. The rangers there suggested heading outside of the Park to reach the north end, where a Cedar Stand may hide some interesting Owls.
An immature Bald Eagle welcomed us to this portion of the Park, as did a sizable murder of American Crows. We quickly headed to the evergreen stand, where White-tailed Deer fled from the understory. Now there wasn't much of a protocol for this, so we wandered around, gazing up at the branches and looking for whitewash. The best we could find was a couple of Northern Cardinals, which were our only for the trip. As light faded, we decided to take the direct route for our hotel in Duluth, saving a potential venture into Wisconsin for another day. Following a nice southern-esque dinner at OMC Smokehouse in Duluth, we hit the hay, ready for the long day ahead at the famed Sax-Zim Bog.
End of Day Tally:
0 Lifers
11 Species
Thursday: February 8th
6 a.m.: We meet at the Pre-Flight parking area on the west side of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. This is a decision that would fill our Minnesota days with the tune of Rocket Man. After greeting, we hopped onboard the shuttle to head to the thick of it. As we waited in the airport in the early morning hours, we dreamed of Minnesota specialties, spoke of our potential first species/lifer, and said goodbye to the South for a little while. Although Uncle Chris and Jim had both visited the state before, this would be a first to me. My expectations were wide open, and my preconceptions of the state had been mostly informed by Fargo. Before long, we were on a flight to O'Hare International Airport. Now I'm a sleeper, so my flight hours were spent unconscious. Waking up in an Illinois February was a shock. Bleak and cold. Parks stuck out and appeared artificial with scattered trees stuck atop a flat, white plane. Open water had been replaced by solid ice. Everything else looked like sprawl from the city. Hopefully Minnesota would hold more of a pleasant surprise. Again I slept on the next plane ride.
12 p.m: When on the ground, we hustled to the car rental station, where U.C. had already organized a pickup. The cold blast hit us as we exited the protection of the building. We were lucky to settle on a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee with only 900 miles driven. We'd be cruising the state in style and luxury (rear heated seats).
The Ride
Once on the road, our eyes scoured the landscape and powerlines. This is the moment that never becomes dull to a traveling birder. What will we see, what is the land like, first species, first lifer? The land is new to us, our expectations are unchecked, and the possibilities seem endless. Unfamiliarity is exciting! Yet, one feature quickly became apparent. Hmmm, not too many birds here. Whereas a Georgia birder may see tens of birds on a short car ride, a Minnesota birder may be happy with a handful. Still, there are birds around. And our first pickup was an exciting 8 Rock Pigeons in Dakota County.
Now to settle on lunch. A Chick-fil-A in St. Paul was a welcome site. Inside, we were introduced to the impressive friendliness of Minnesotans. We also picked up two new birds, a pair of flyby Canada Geese and a soaring Red-tailed Hawk. We packed on some layers before leaving my Doc kit in the parking lot, never to be seen again.
Our first true destination was Afton State Park in Dakota County. Jim had seen an eBird list with Long-eared Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl from the Park, a duo too good to refuse. Pulling in, we spotted a good amount of activity at the feeders. Although mostly House Sparrows, we picked up some Black-capped Chickadees, a Downy Woodpecker, another RTHA, and some White-breasted Nuthatches. None of us had seen the Chickadees in a while, so that was pretty exciting.
Black-capped Chickadee
We made for the visitor center with no other plan of attack. At the feeding stations were more of the same species plus Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers. The Pileated's seemed out of place to me. I'm not really used to seeing them on feeders, and my envisioned habitat for them is really mature wet/swampy forest. The rangers there suggested heading outside of the Park to reach the north end, where a Cedar Stand may hide some interesting Owls.
Searching For Owls
An immature Bald Eagle welcomed us to this portion of the Park, as did a sizable murder of American Crows. We quickly headed to the evergreen stand, where White-tailed Deer fled from the understory. Now there wasn't much of a protocol for this, so we wandered around, gazing up at the branches and looking for whitewash. The best we could find was a couple of Northern Cardinals, which were our only for the trip. As light faded, we decided to take the direct route for our hotel in Duluth, saving a potential venture into Wisconsin for another day. Following a nice southern-esque dinner at OMC Smokehouse in Duluth, we hit the hay, ready for the long day ahead at the famed Sax-Zim Bog.
End of Day Tally:
0 Lifers
11 Species
Comments
Post a Comment