Short-eared Owls at Dusk

Short-eared Owl ©HvHughes

My first experience with Short-eared Owls years ago was unforgettable.

It was winter and bone-chilling cold.  I drove up to Amherst Island in the St. Lawrence Seaway with friends to see Northern Saw-whets, up-close and personal.  We got great looks at the little owls.

But it was the farm field full of Short-eareds at dusk - doing their wing-clap display and barking like dogs that I'll never forget.  They were so loud I could hear them over the sound of my car engine and the noise of my heater.  I considered myself very lucky - and thought I'd never see anything like it again.

That was before I moved to northwestern Minnesota.

I've lived here a little more than a year - and I have to sat the owling up here is the best I've ever seen.

New Years Short-eared Owl ©HvHughes

In early January, I spotted a Short-eared Owl in a snow storm.  Months later, I happened upon short-ears wing-clapping at 3pm on a cloudy day less than a mile from my house.  But the Short-ears Saturday night had to be my best sighting ever.

The CRP fields were full of these stubby-bodied birds with the huge moth-like flight.  We spotted 2 on the ground by the side of the road.  Then two more nearby on the opposite side of the road and another sitting atop a power pole.  Had to be flight school.  We sat and watched as one, who appeared to be flying well, crash-landed on his noggin.

Then tonight, driving home from the Library in Thief River Falls, I rolled down my car window and slowed to photograph a Loggerhead Shrike hunt from a power line.  First I'd seen since this month - same time as last year.  Then I heard it:  the barking of a Short-eared Owl - first one, then another and another.

Yep.  There they were - two more Short-ears.  Awesome!

Saturday Sundogs

Sundogs - looking east on 190th St. NW in Warren MN

I've only seen a "sun dog" once in my life - the afternoon of 18 January 2012.  And wouldn't ya know it, I didn't have my camera.

I swore I wouldn't leave home without my camera again!

This morning, camera hanging from a lanyard around my neck, I headed out at 7:30am to deliver some papers to my boss in Warren.  To avoid getting stuck in drifting show, I decided to drive the 1.5 miles east to County Road 68, instead of driving directly west on township roads. 

I turned east as I pulled out of my driveway, and there it was - right in front of me:  a "sun dog."

Sundogs, usually spotted at dawn and dusk, are the pair of "suns" that sit to the left and right of the rising (or setting) sun - on a 22º radius circular halo.  More frequently seen than rainbows, sundogs, also known as parahelia, are formed by the sun's rays deflected by ice crystals.

I was surprised to learn that sundogs are visible all over the world and at any time of year regardless of the ground level temperature. In Europe and North America they occur about twice a week.  

I'm a birdwatcher who gets up early.   So why haven't I seen them before? 


You just can't miss them out here on the edge of the prairie!  Nothing blocks the sunrise and sunset.

A Very Big Bird Sitting on a Utility Pole

The day started out gray and cold - bone chilling cold.  I had some errands to run in Thief River Falls around noon, so I took my Prius out for a spin.  My Prius has heated seats.  Back when I bought the car a couple of years ago, I didn't think I'd have reason to appreciate a hot seat.  On a day like today, I'm glad I did.  Brrr.

As I headed east on Minnesota State Hwy 1, I started scanning the utility poles.  I haven't seen a Snowy Owl in a couple of weeks so I was hoping to spot one.

Just before the curve at the road near the Viking turn off, I spotted something very big sitting on top one of the utility poles.  It was easily twice the size of a Rough-legged Hawk.  Its posture said:  eagle.  But it did not have a white head.  Maybe a young bird, I thought.  Maybe something else.

Do I pick up my camera - or my binoculars?

As I went for my camera, tapped my turn signal and pulled off the highway - the bird leaned forward and started to push off its perch on the pole.  Fortunately for me, it flew north - right in front of my car.  I rolled down my window, focused and clicked.

The wings were a mottled black and white, but it just didn't look like a Bald Eagle.  It wasn't until I got back home and downloaded the photos that I realized what it was:  a Golden Eagle!

A Golden Eagle.  Just another day on the beach here on Glacial Lake Agassiz...

Way cool!

Clear Today with a High of -3º F

Today promises to be all about temperature.  In a word:  Brrr!  After a very mild introduction to Northwestern Minnesota winter - reality returned last night.

The first warning was a "crawl" notice on the television screen:  National Weather Service Extreme Cold Warning.   I live at the bottom of the "o" in Grand Forks.


At 10pm, meteorologist John Wheeler forecast the overnight temps:  -21º F

I checked all the thermostats and thermometers in the house.  I let the water drip in the sinks.  I checked all the electric baseboard heaters.  I cursed the little red light on the "ripple control" box by the electrical panels in the mudroom.

I kept the fire in my little wood stove going all night.

Warm and toasty indoors.

The thermometers outside my windows told another story.  -20ºF

The birds were at the feeders well before dawn this morning.

Brown Creeper

Common Redpolls, American Goldfinches, Red-breasted Nuthatches, White-breasted Nuthatches, a Brown Creeper and Dark-eyed Juncos.