Sax-Zim Bog | incredible winter birding in Minnesota

My brother, Austin, and I traveled to Sax-Zim Bog this past weekend. We had visited the bog previously in January of 2020 and 2021 while I was living in Minnesota. After a few years away, we were excited to get back to the snowy roads and the birds!
Sax-Zim Bog is a beloved birding spot during the winter season (despite the potential for VERY low temperatures), as it is home to great gray owls, northern hawk owls, black-backed woodpeckers, boreal chickadees, Canada jays, and so many more species of birds and other mammals.
On this trip, we had some of our best views ever of great-gray owls, which were hunting close to the road throughout our second day in the bog. Other highlights included seeing a gray-crowned rosy-finch, American three-toed woodpecker, and hoary redpoll.
I hope you enjoy this video of our time in and around the bog :)
Austin's eBird checklist: ebird.org/tripreport/199059
All pictures featured in the video were taken by Austin, as well!
(instagram: @austinsbirding)
About Sax-Zim Bog: saxzim.org

[@ivan11cast]

Wow !!! Great grey, nothern hawk and an ermine in one day 😱 that is a pretty satisfying day

[@mikhailalynn]

All before 10 am too! It was amazing

[@livesofthefreemasons]

I love that you guys have such a passion for this hobby. I don’t trust people who don’t have hobbies.

[@mikhailalynn]

Thank you! And agreed!

[@chriszamora984]

Great vid. Love virtual traveling with you on your trip. You're helping me plan my future trip.

[@mikhailalynn]

Thank you! I hope your future trip goes well 🤞🏼❄️

[@DaveCollierCamping]

Outstanding video, have an awesome time, new friend here.

[@mikhailalynn]

Thanks for deciding to follow along!!

[@DaveCollierCamping]

@@mikhailalynn my pleasure

[@PeterFLB]

Austin needs to come Patagonia in southern Arizona for some bird watching. I guess best time March - September. The Nature Conservancy has a place down there. And Sipe White Mountain Wildllife Area near Springerville might be worth a looksy. Love your videos.

[@mikhailalynn]

I haven’t been there, but I’m pretty sure Austin has been. He talks about Madera Canyon a lot! Than you for watching!

[@melisaspur032]

I loved SE Arizona and Patagonia one of my favorite spots + I saw my lifer , the beautiful Varied bunting on Blue Heaven Rd Patagonia❤️

[@chiefenumclaw7960]

I had no idea winter birding in NE Minnesota was even a thing. Thank you for enlightening me. Can't say I know much about the Great Gray Owl, but I'm quite familiar with the Barred owl of the PNW. Largely on account of having been attacked whilst hiking alone at night. Suffice to say they are VERY territorial and will "swoop" you with their talons on your head. In conclusion: Am I afraid of owls? Yes... yes, I am.

[@mikhailalynn]

Haha we saw a barred owl while at Sax-Zim Bog too, but it didn’t make the video. I would also be afraid after that experience!

[@hansal8056]

My sister and I just got back yesterday from SZB. Your vid. is really cool. Looks like we did the exact same trim and got a lot of the same birds. Great job!!!

[@mikhailalynn]

Amazing!! I’m glad you were able to see many cool birds also 😊

[@hansal8056]

@@mikhailalynn 👍🏼

[@littlerapidsphotography2554]

Great video! My wife and I wanted to get there this winter but things didn't work out. Definitely planning on going next year.

[@mikhailalynn]

I hope you’re able to make it next year! ❄️

[@bopyranks]

What an amazing bit of winter birding. It's hard for me to choose just one, but I love owls and woodpeckers (amongst many other species) so I'll go with the Great Gray and the American three toed .

[@mikhailalynn]

I agree! It’s so hard to choose, but those two are tough to beat 😊🦉

[@dwayne5698]

I really enjoy your all's energy and excitement!

[@mikhailalynn]

Thank you so much 😊

[@randywendel4671]

I live near MSP and often make the 3hr drive to the bog...love the great gray owl the most. I enjoyed your video...thanks for sharing.

[@mikhailalynn]

It's truly an amazing place! You're lucky to live so close

[@C.Davidson]

Awesome video!

[@C.Davidson]

Also some amazing photos you guys took!!

[@mikhailalynn]

Thank you! Austin gets all the credit for the great photos 😊

[@CC-gq7sx]

Thank you, Mikhalia and Austin, for sharing your birding adventure. I have learned a lot, and found the vlog entertaining and relaxing. I have wanted to visit the area, and appreciate the opportunity to see it on the channel. If there are worthwhile areas to see in hiking the Lake Erie islands, Pelee, Kelley's, and the Bass, I would look forward to the channel's exploration of them.

[@mikhailalynn]

That’s a good idea about the Lake Erie islands! I don’t know too much about what they’re like for hiking but definitely something to look into for this summer

[@binsandbirds]

Wow, y'all had an awesome trip! I was up there the weekend before and all the Great Grays were being shy. Thanks for sharing. - Ben

[@mikhailalynn]

Yes, we were very lucky. Hope you got to see a lot of other birds while there!

[@motorin25]

Thanks for some of these captions 😆. I was on Google Earth looking up where Sax-Zim Bog was, and heard Whorey Redpoll lmao. Ahhemm, Hoary Redpoll. I had to back up the video a few seconds. Last weekend I went down to Everglades National Park for a hike. While stopping into the visitors center just before the main gate, bird watchers were all over meandering across the road and parking lot. haha

[@mikhailalynn]

Yes, haha! I thought including a caption with spelling there was important 😂 Lots of cool birds in Florida for the bird watchers!

[@davidcaz1033]

Hi! Another TMB'er here! Loved the owls. I volunteer in VA doing things with barn owls and kestrels but we don't have Great Grays here. Cool to see all those places you visited. See anything good on the TMB?

[@davidcaz1033]

Forgot to mention, I met some Minnesotans dont-cha-know on the TMB also, coincidence. On the TMB I was looking for Golden's and the local vulture but not sure if I saw them. I did see some big birds flying and even with binos I didn't know what they were.

[@mikhailalynn]

Love hearing from another TMB’er 😊 I’m not as good at identification as Austin is, but I think the alpine choughs were the ones I noticed most on the TMB. The way they soared around the mountain passes was so neat!

[@darrellsheffield8283]

Wow, y'all got some incredible pictures! We didn't know there was such an organized birding community all hanging out in the north woods of Minnesota. Who knew?!? Thanks for the video and the education!

[@mikhailalynn]

It’s such a neat community of people. Thank you for watching!

[@darrellsheffield8283]

Driving down a highway in Georgia today, we see a hawk and our first comment was, I wish Austin and Mikhaila were here to tell us what kind it was!

[@mikhailalynn]

😂😂

[@TomReichner]

Who knew? The birding community knows! The greater wildlife photography community knows! Everywhere I go, I hear people talking about the Sax-Zim Bog. In California photographing ducks, guys are talking about the Bog. In New Jersey photographing warblers, people are talking about their most recent trips to Bog. In Colorado for the deer rut, the other deer photographers are talking about the Bog. In southern Arizona in July photographing rattlesnakes in the Sonoran Desert and ... yup, you guessed it ... the other reptile enthusiasts are talking about going to the Bog for owls and finches in January. Pretty much everybody in the wildlife photography and birding communities anywhere and everywhere in the United States knows about the Bog.

[@bethanydarby5615]

Hi! Loved this vlog! Just subscribed to your channel. I’m heading to Sax Zim soon. Where did you find the three-toed woodpecker???

[@mikhailalynn]

Thank you so much! We found the three-toed on Plum Creek Rd just north of Sturgeon, MN. I hope you have a wonderful time in the bog!

[@mikhailalynn]

Might also be called Buboltz Rd in Cook, MN.

[@bethanydarby5615]

Thank you so much!!

[@dwayne5698]

You know what we call roads like that in Southern Indiana?...undriveable!!!!! Ha!

[@mikhailalynn]

The dirt roads of Sax-Zim Bog really do just become snow roads in winter. Sadly, they had less snow than normal this year. The other years we were there, you couldn’t see a hint of dirt under the snow!

[@opheliamorrison7675]

What burding apps do you use? How'd you get notified about the owl, social media?

[@mikhailalynn]

Mostly eBird! I think Austin is on various Facebook groups as well and messaging people within the bog while we were there.