First of all, let me say that Boreal Owls are the cutest bird in the entire world! About the size of a Kleenex box, nearly as wide as they are tall, the Boreal has bright yellow eyes with two black “tear drop” marks and a face framed by black. Immaculate white spots dot the forehead. This has been a great winter to see this most elusive of all owls in northern Minnesota.

Roughly every 4 years there is an increase in Boreal Owl sightings in Minnesota. Usually, late in the winter, a few may be spotted hunting in the daytime, which often means that they are hungry!…possibly starving. You see, Boreals are normally nocturnal hunters. So when voles are at a low cycle further north, the Boreals need to move in search of food. In late January of 2013 they started showing up in Sax-Zim and along the North Shore. Guide Chris Wood found SEVEN in one day along the Scenic 61 highway north of Duluth. This has been a huge IRRUPTION! (yes, irruption is the right word).

And since Boreal Owls are rarely seen, this influx of day-hunting Boreals is big news. Most of the folks I guide still need it for their life list. So irruption years become BUSY years for the local guides (and I’m no exception!). In fact, the tiny owl hadn’t even been recorded nesting in the Lower 48 until the spring/summer of 1978 when a Boreal Owl pair took up residence in a nest box in Tofte, Minnesota.

Here is a compilation of video from 4 different Boreals taken between January 27th and February 8th.

All photos taken with Canon 7D and Canon 400mm f5.6 lens. BUT note that the top photo was taken with the 400mm AND stacked 2x and 1.4x teleconverters! Don’t let anyone tell you that you should NEVER stack teleconverters…I did and the photo turned out all right I think.

The title to this post is “Feathered and Furry 500” but like my logo says, it more accurately should be the “Feathered, Furry, Finned, Frass-forming 500” …couldn’t think of a reptile/amphibian f-word until I posted the question on Facebook when folks sent me the following adjectives—flick-tongued, fossorial, funny, freaky, fearsome, flexible, furtive. p.s. “frass” is insect poop.

WHAT?
I will attempt to photograph 500 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects during 2013. And I hope to create interesting, creative images that go beyond snapshots.

WHERE?
All photos must be taken in Minnesota (unless I don’t find another Snowy Owl and have to count my Superior, WI one!)

WHY???
This is part of my BIG HALF YEAR FOR THE BOG effort. My non-profit, Friends of Sax-Zim Bog, is making a push to raise funds to do some more land purchases and build a Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center in 2013. We have 25 participant so far…Each one has a web page where, like myself, we will post updates on our goals and fundraising. Pledgers can either pledge on a per-species basis or a lump sum. My goal for the first half of the year is to photograph 100 species of birds in Minnesota.

You can see my progress here and PLEDGE ME AND MY EFFORT HERE.

YOU CAN SEE MY FAVORITE “FEATHERED & FURRY 500” PHOTOS FROM 2013 HERE:
http://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/111907221964958833473/albums/5835494865426053457

I ended January with 44 species of birds and 5 species of mammals (no butterflies yet!). Highlights have included MANY photos of Boreal Owls (we are having an irruption in N Minnesota this year), a diving Great Gray Owl, backlit flying Trumpeter Swans, and a sunrise backlit chickadee (even common birds can make great subjects!)

Boreal Owl, Scenic 61 between Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota near Lake Superior.
Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6 AND stacked teleconverters (a 1.4x and a 2x!!) on a tripod and self timer to limit camera shake.