Sax-Zim Bog: Hawk Owls, Evening Grosbeaks, Hoary Redpoll: Virtually Live 35 S3E10

In this episode of Virtually Live we celebrate with UMD Biology grad student Hannah Tuotonghi as she finally is able to put a satellite transmitter on an elusive Sax-Zim Hawk Owl! We also check in with David Yeany III (Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program) and Matt Young (Finch Research Network) about their Road to Recovery Evening Grosbeak research project. David shares some very cool maps from the banded birds.
Sparky guides Bog Buddies, Warren Woessner and Iris Freeman on an eventful half day trip...Highlights include dancing Sharp-tailed Grouse, a rare Hoary Redpoll and a sleeping Barred Owl that wakes up and starts to hunt.
Spruce Grouse have returned to Sax-Zim and Sparky searches for them along Sax Road. And later he bushwacks in to a bog to search for a Canada Jay nest.
More at www.saxzim.org

[@kathleensteeves488]

At 72 and many miles of birding I’m so glad I found your channel Thankyou so much…..❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you so much, Kathleen! Hope you enjoy all the past videos… And more to come!

[@kathleensteeves488]

Hemlocks are so beautiful ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤the birds love them and Tamaracks too

[@johnhartley3596]

Thank you

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

beautiful winter life. thanks

[@SparkyStensaas]

It really is!

[@g57462]

Thank you Sparky, wonderful program, very interesting on many subjects,thank you 😀 😊 👍

[@SparkyStensaas]

You are very welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kathrynclark9921]

Great thanks for sharing

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks for watching Kathryn!

[@piccadillypie]

Thanks, Sparky! Love the boreal birds.

[@SparkyStensaas]

My favorites too! Arctic species are a close second.

[@williamknudson7256]

I was there on March 14th and 15th. I went on a guided trip with Judd Brink and two other people. Judd was an amazing guide. I got three different owls in a day for the first time including Northern Hawk Owl, Great Gray Owl, and a pair of calling barred owls. The snowshoe hare on the end of gray jay way was a lot of fun to see. Thank you for showing great videos and maintaining my favorite place to bird in Minnesota.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Awesome trip William! Judd is a great guide… and one of our regular donors. Hope you make it back again soon.

[@davearchbell9921]

You speak the truth on tracking CAJA nests. I was lucky enough to go bushwacking in Algonquin last April with a researcher and we found a nest with young. Very cool.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Very cool Dave! I am jealous! Dr. Ryan Noris from the University of Guelph, does research in Algonquin. He came and spoke to our Sax-Zim Winter bird festival a few years ago. Fascinating stuff. I’m going to go back and try and find the Canada Jay nest once the young are begging.

[@davearchbell9921]

@@SparkyStensaas It was amazing. The researchers are amazing. I report sighting to Dan Strictland and he is very appreciative and has shared their banding spreadsheet with me allowing me to know the age and sex of the birds. I hope you can find the nest.

[@rerolley]

Cool. I purchased one of Hannah's tee-shirts and wore it when we visited the bog last year, hoping for good luck. We found owls, just not a Hawk Owl.

[@SparkyStensaas]

That is awesome! I’m wearing my Hannah-hoodie today!

[@RoseGrace100]

Beautiful snow shoe Hare.

[@SparkyStensaas]

They are beautiful in their winter white!

[@kathleensteeves488]

You may already know a sight on KZbin Leslie the Bird Nerd……great shots of Eastren Canadian birds

[@SparkyStensaas]

Absolutely! I watch Leslie’s Videos quite a bit.

[@_Creaux]

great vid

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you Elliot!

[@wendychampness1901]

Wonderful video. Better luck next year on the Canada Jay nest😂 We always love your calendars and I never get tired of snowshoe hare photos 😊

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks Wendy! I will return to the nest when the young are begging so I can actually locate the nest. Thanks for buying our calendars! And also noted to put more snowshoe hare clips in my videos :-)

[@wendychampness1901]

@@SparkyStensaas Best of luck on the nest!

[@almeadows8277]

I give you high marks for your lamp wicking snowshoe bindings, very traditional.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Ha! Yes, they work great… Easy on-off, never freeze up or break. I’m a very traditional outdoor gear guy. I worked for Duluth Pack for years…. Canvas, leather and wood for me! We did “warm winter camping” trips with the staff in canvas tents and Indian style hauling toboggans. Grew up with Ojibwa style snowshoes, wood skis. in fact, I was so into it at one point that I bought the rights to and redesigned an outdoors book, called the Snow Walkers Companion, which was all about traditional camping and winter traveling gear. I still sell it in limited amounts… mostly in Canada. I bet you’re sorry you mentioned the lampwick now :)

[@almeadows8277]

@@SparkyStensaas Not at all; I’m in your camp.

[@normanfranke4041]

As nice as those Texas “bird-on-a-stick” shots are in your recent videos (which I do NOT mean to disparage at all and watch avidly nonetheless), I just relate much more to these wonderful “home” birding Virtually Live videos and updates. Thanks for another episode.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks for the input Frank! I will continue making both. Texas 3 and Churchill 2 coming up.

[@normanfranke4041]

@@SparkyStensaas 👍. I’ll be watching those too! - Norm

[@kathleensteeves488]

Cape Breton Canada East saw these Grosebeaks❤❤❤❤❤❤not sure if they were yours or not

[@SparkyStensaas]

Due to the massive outbreak of spruce budworm in eastern Canada, we are enjoying a boom in Evening Grosbeaks. This is a natural pest, and the Grosbeaks feast on their caterpillars, allowing them to lay more eggs and raise more young to adulthood. It happens about every 40 years.