April 6, 2016 - Sax Zim Bog

This morning I drove through the Sax Zim Bog, a great birding area in northern Minnesota. As I drove on Owl Avenue (no joke) I saw this Great Gray Owl sitting on a sign. I, of course, had to stop and take some photos.

OwlGreatGrayPostedsignSaxZimBogLouisCounty20160406

Suddenly, the owl plunged into the snow below the sign.

OwlGreatGrayafterthepounceSaxZimBogLouisCounty20160406

It came up with a shrew. A Great Gray Owl has such good hearing that it doesn’t need to see its prey. It can hear the shrew running around under the snow and can locate it by sound alone.

OwlGreatGraywithVoleSaxZimBogLouisCounty20160406

The owl flew off with the shrew in its mouth.

OwlGreatGrayflightwithVoleSaxZimBogLouisCounty20160406

Earlier I saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes in a field.

CraneSandhillSaxZimBogLouisCounty20160406

It snowed last night in northern Minnesota so everything was coated in white.

WinterStreamSaxZimBogLouisCounty20160406

The Pussy willow buds have popped open so spring can’t be too far away.

PussywillowsSaxZimBogLouisCounty20160406

I stopped at a couple of bird feeding stations in the bog. Red Squirrels were also taking advantage of a free meal.

SquirrelRedSaxZimBogLouisCounty20160406

Here’s one mammal I didn’t expect to see. This Striped Skunk didn’t seem bothered by the white stuff on the ground.

SkunkStripedSaxZimBogLouisCounty20160406