"Balmy" Minnesota

February 21

Well, balmy, relatively speaking. We experienced 35 degree weather in Sax-Zim Bog, nearly unheard of for February in the Northwoods. Negative ten or twenty is a common temp this time of year. 

ABA Big Year birder Charlie invited me to join for a few days in northern Minnesota guided by young and talented Minneapolis native Alex Sundvall. I arrived in Minneapolis with a few hours of sunlight to spare, took a shuttle to the hotel, and found that it conveniently abuts up against Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. I was off after a quick conversation with hotel lobby staff, asking whether it was safe to walk the sides of the road for the 1/2 mile to get to the road to the refuge (they looked at me like I was crazy). "You're trying to get...where?" 

It's been years since I'd seen snow, and as a Wisconsin native, I had forgotten the extreme peace and quiet of a calm snowshower. I made my way around a few small ponds filled with mostly Mallards and Canada Geese. Black-capped Chickadee was new for the year, as well as Trumpeter Swan. Aside from a few Hairy Woodpeckers, the woods were otherwise very quiet. I walked a few miles in hopes of stumbling upon American Tree Sparrows but didn't wind up with any other birds. 

Trumpeter Swans, as seen through my snow-covered Swarovski binoculars. 

My winding path took me under a bridge; the tromped snow made it obvious it was a fairly well-used path, but nobody was in sight. The highly publicized birding assault was still weighing heavily on my mind. Under the bridge, the first graffiti I noticed read "I wish it never happened". I walked along and wondered what "it" was; I remembered my own sexual assault, and thinking that exact same thing for months afterward, wishing I could undo the past, wishing I would have been "smarter", thinking I had trusted (my archery coach) too much; too confiding in spending time alone with him.

Continuing on, I walked past individual men walking alone on the snowy trail. Were they aware of my discomfort, merely at their existence and proximity to me? I doubt they had any idea. If they did, there was no way to know it. Was my discomfort magnified in proportion to the amount of time I'd given headspace to thinking about these issues over the past week? Was I being too confiding in spending time alone birding this trail? I thought about all the trails I'll be walking down alone over the next ten months. Am I being stupid, just asking for something bad to happen? Or am I brave? Where is the line between courage and recklessness? 

February 22

Alex, Charlie and I began birding at Sax-Zim Bog at sunrise. Our first bird of the day was a gorgeous Great Gray Owl! A Rough-legged Hawk shortly followed, giving great views as it flew over the road. A half hour of feeder watching a big flock of Common Redpolls produced a few frostier, grayer Hoary Redpolls. Pine Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak, Boreal Chickadee, and Canada Jay were other feeder birds. 

My Minnesota trip was completely unplanned when I left my home in Texas, headed for Arizona. I had planned for camping in 30 degree weather, but not for snow. Luckily, when I mentioned to Clay in California that we’d be guided by Alex, he mentioned he knew Alex’s mom, Joey, and that she was roughly the same size as me, and he would reach out to her, asking to send some size 7 snow boots along with Alex. They were a life saver! Temps into the teens in the mornings sure are frigid when you’re used to 70 degree winters. 

We found Black-billed Magpies, Red-breasted Nuthatches, White-winged Crossbills, and Snow Buntings. Alex took us to a boardwalk trail where a secretive Black-backed Woodpecker had been seen recently. Alex refound it, and we were treated to great looks at it chipping away at the bark of a tree. We finished the day with somewhat fleeting looks at a Sharp-tailed Grouse. 

February 23

Our good fortune on day one left us with fewer birds for day two. We came upon a perched female Spruce Grouse along a back road just after sunrise, much obliging to photos and video clips through my Swarovski scope. Not far down the road was a Ruffed Grouse sitting on a snow-covered path, crested tuft obvious even in the shadows. From there we drove to Ely, Minnesota, where we were treated to a tree full of Bohemian Waxwings in a residential neighborhood. Two Snowy Owls, including one pristinely white adult male, were found at our next stop outside of Rice, Minnesota, and Horned Larks were present along with more Snow Buntings. 

February 24

We stopped at a small pond near a highway for a quick American Tree Sparrow and American Black Duck. The duck was in the parking lot and the sparrow in a nearby tree. Had we known, we probably could have seen both without even getting out of the car. 

By late morning, I had to make my first cost/benefit analysis of the year. Fly back to San Diego as planned, or postpone a day and head to Fargo, North Dakota for Greater Prairie-Chicken? I was drawn to the idea of this life bird, cancelled my flight (covid perk: cancelled flights become credits for another time), and booked a new flight with a different airline for the following day. We'd venture to North Dakota, see some birds in the morning, and I'd need to make it back to the Minneapolis airport by 2 pm. Big Year birding sure leaves little wiggle room or down time. 

Our only two North Dakota birds were a flock of Gray Partridges in a field. They were life birds for me, and, as Alex told us, the exact same flock of birds that Lower 48 Big Year record holder Jeremy had counted on his travels last year. Nearby, across the border back into Minnesota, we sifted through a flock of House Sparrows to find a Eurasian Tree Sparrow. Alex was quickest in locating it. Our next birds were fields full of Ring-necked Pheasants! The number of back-to-back exotic species were starting to get to me. I  want to see a real bird already, one that belongs here! 

Maybe the universe was listening to my wish, because our next bird would be Greater Prairie-Chickens, a Short-eared Owl perched on a fencepost that we nearly drove right by, and a flyover Lapland Longspur. What an incredible couple of days! We headed back to Minneapolis so I could catch my afternoon flight to San Diego. I checked in at the airport, went through security, walked to the gate and directly onto the plane. Not a minute wasted, and yet not a minute to spare, either. Good thing I didn't have to check a bag!