I arrived at Sax-Zim Bog this afternoon around 3:30pm, and birdwatched until sunset. The first bird I saw in the bog was a gorgeous Northern Shrike perched on a power line. One of the biggest highlights of the evening was seeing three Trumpeter Swans swimming and feeding on Stone Lake. They were seen from the first lake-viewing area (the first bend in Stone Lake Road).
One of the other fun things that I discovered this afternoon, is that Pileated Woodpeckers can keep up a sustained flight speed of at least 27mph. While I was driving on one of the roads this evening, a Pileated Woodpecker was flying parallel with the road (maybe ~150 feet away). I noticed that it was matching my speed as I hit 27mph, and it held that speed for a considerable amount of time before it landed on a tree to likely roost for the night. My list from this afternoon is below. Trumpeter Swan - 3 Red-tailed Hawk - 1 (adult) Downy Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike - 1 American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Blue Jay Gray Jay Snow Bunting Common Redpoll And some pictures from this evening... Enjoy! Trumpeter Swans http://www.pbase.com/image/139425717 Black-capped Chickadees (there was a flock of at least 18 chickadees) http://www.pbase.com/image/139425713 Common Redpolls http://www.pbase.com/image/139425714 Afternoon Moon at the Bog http://www.pbase.com/image/139425718 Gray Jay (first shot is of one in-flight, with food in the bill... likely preparing to cache food for the winter)! http://www.pbase.com/image/139425715 http://www.pbase.com/image/139425716 Good birding, Erik Bruhnke Duluth, MN -- *NATURALLY AVIAN* - Guided Birdwatching Trips and Bird photography www.pbase.com/birdfedr www.naturallyavian.blogspot.com birdf...@gmail.com ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html