A van load of women came down with northern owl flu , called in sick and took a day trip to Sax Zim Bog Tuesday--owls were EVERYWHERE! I printed out a map and starred all the intersections where owls had been reported since Thursday to use as a guide but really, we found many owls in places not listed.

The fog yesterday at Sax Zim made for a beautiful morning. I was driving so spotting birds as well as photographing them was difficult. I love this photo because it shows the mystery and excitement of looking for great gray owls in the bog. The large lump on the left is a great gray owl sitting in a tree along the side of the road.

We took a drive down a Wildlife Management Area just north of the bog and immediately found our first great gray of the day. We pulled over with the windows down and the side door of the van open so all of us got a good view of the owl from the van. A truck with two men clad in orange pulled up and asked in all seriousness, "You ladies aren't hunting from your car are you, that's not legal." We held up our binoculars and pointed out the owl we were watching. They asked why they had been seeing so many owls lately and we told them about what was going on, and they directed us to other areas to check for owls in the WMA.

Another highlight included a rough-legged hawk that let the van pull up right next to it while it was studying something scurrying on the ground below. This is one of the best looks at a roughy I've ever had!