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> https://www.startribune.com/for-american-birders-seeking-rare-owls-minnesota-in-winter-is-a-hot-destination/600040604/
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> VARIETY
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> For American birders seeking rare owls, Minnesota in winter is a hot
> destination
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> Photo Gallery - For American birders seeking rare owls, Minnesota in winter
> is a hot destination
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> By RICHARD CHIN , STAR TRIBUNE
> March 31, 2021 - 8:37 AM
>
> What would induce someone to drive halfway across the country to northern
> Minnesota? During the coldest time of year? In the middle of a pandemic?
>
> The great gray owl.
>
> One of the world's largest owls — standing nearly 3 feet tall and with a
> wingspan of up to 5 feet — the great gray is a rare and beautiful sight
> that's been known to elicit victory dances and even draw tears.
>
> The owls once again made their appearance this winter in Sax-Zim Bog in rural
> St. Louis County. And intrepid bird watchers like Basco Eszeki were there to
> see it.
>
> Great grays are on Eszeki's bucket list. So the 67-year-old retiree made the
> 1,200-mile, one-way drive from Silver Springs, Md., to Minnesota in early
> February.
>
> Need a dose of cute? Minnesota Zoo's Farm Baby webcam shows lambs and kids
> around the clock
> "To see an awesome bird like a great gray owl — on one level it's an
> adrenaline rush like nothing else I get these days," he said. "It's something
> akin to a religious experience."
>
>
> After coming all this way, Eszeki wasn't about to leave a sighting to chance.
> So he hired one of the handful of professional bird guides that work the bog,
> which has become an international winter destination for bird-watchers.
>
> The Sax-Zim Bog in rural St. Louis County is a unique boreal habitat that
> attracts serious bird-watchers in search of great gray owls. Professional
> guides Alex Sundvall (second from left) and Kim Risen (second from right)
> were guiding...
> Brian Peterson, Star Tribune
> For the past 30 years, Kim Risen, a guide from rural Aitkin County, has been
> making a living by helping people find birds in far-flung locations such as
> Latin America and Southeast Asia. In winter, however, he stays closer to home
> as birders migrate here to see the great owls of the North Woods.
>
> Risen said that word about Sax-Zim Bog spread rapidly during the winter of
> 2004-05, when there was an influx (called an "irruption") of hundreds of
> northern forest owls to northeastern Minnesota. Stories about the presence of
> great gray, boreal and Northern hawk owls garnered national news, bringing in
> birders from around the world.
>
> "I guided every day, nearly every day, for three months," said Risen, who
> owns Naturescape Tours.
>
> Back then, he was one of only three guides in Sax-Zim Bog. Now there are
> about 10.
>
> Training, timing and driving
>
> The accessibility of the bog adds to its allure, said Risen. Instead of
> trekking into the forests of Canada, a birder can fly into the Duluth airport
> and within an hour be in the old-growth tamarack and black spruce bogs, which
> the owls favor.
>
> But just because the bog is easy to get to doesn't mean it's easy to get
> around in. Even experienced birders heading into snow-covered back roads of
> the bog often hire guides, said Judd Brink, the Brainerd-based guide Eszeki
> hired for three days of birding.
>
>
> "For first-time people, it can be intimidating," Brink said. "For Sax-Zim, it
> is really critical to be there at the right time."
>
> Having someone who knows how to drive in the winter is another service that
> guides provide for out-of-town visitors, said Gregg Severson, a guide from
> Minneapolis. "Lots of people go off the road in Sax-Zim."
>
> Minnesota guides charge from $175 to $600 for a dawn-to-dusk day of guiding
> at the bog. What clients ideally get for that is someone with sharp eyes and
> well-trained ears, someone who's familiar with the birds' territories and who
> knows what time of day to position a client for the perfect bird photograph.
> Oh, they also need to know where to find a public restroom.
>
> "I can spot a great gray going 60 miles per hour," said Alex Sundvall, a
> guide from St. Louis Park who works for Risen. That's a useful skill, because
> a lot of the birding done at Sax-Zim involves driving from one wooded field
> to another.
>
> While hiring a guide increases the chance you'll find the bird you're looking
> for, there's no guarantee.
>
> "It's no different from a fishing guide or a hunting guide," Brink said.
>
> Most bird-watchers seem to understand that wild animals can't be produced on
> demand.
>
> "It's not a zoo," said Kyle Te Poel, a guide from Stillwater. Still, he
> admits it's a relief when he's able to spot a particular bird. "The weight's
> off your shoulders," he said.
>
> In it for the smiles
>
> Sundvall has been a bird-watcher from boyhood.
