Pepper – a year older – lies under the tree, not knowing a new winter coat awaited in one of those packages. Family, friends, new acquaintances gather for introductions, activities, reconnections, and sharing plans. A northeastern Minnesota version of winter provided the setting with all the rewards and challenges resulting from the travels.
Get up and get moving. Living entails moving of various forms in all organisms. Being alive and not hibernating means not being sedentary. Pause and reflect on all that happened in just the past month. Depending on how your mind works, the thoughts may fall into categories or a calendar or some combination of both. In any case, they will involve interactions with other living things and the environments in which they occur.
Your activities most likely fit around some given obligations work, home care and maintenance, eating, sleeping, family needs, etc. While thinking about December, my attention is drawn to the very colorful grosbeaks that actively come and go to the window birdfeeder. Throughout winter, evening grosbeaks, pine grosbeaks, and all the other wildlife living around us must actively pursue their lives.
The Christmas Bird Counts that humans have been conducting since December 14 and Ely’s CBC conducted last Saturday allow us to focus on life stories and learn about each other species we observe. Even if someone just sees two different species of grosbeaks and wonders if they might be related and to what extent. Considering that question leads to many questions and discussions about birds, their lives, and the lives of the questioners.
The Christmas Bird Counts scheduled for this winter will finish early in January. Ely, Sax-Zim, and Hibbing CBCs have provided a rich part of the holiday season. Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Day provide elements in a social break between years. Think back on all the recent experiences in our communities that can be built upon in 2026.
Just from the Ely Christmas Bird Count alone, 50 people teamed up to spend a Count Day covering a good portion of a 15-mile-diameter circle surrounding Ely and Winton and adjoining townships. Some participants came from as far away as the North Shore, Iowa, New York City, Washington, DC, and Georgia. Although the final tally is not complete, about 30 species of birds were seen, providing some first-time experiences that will not be forgotten even by people who have watched birds for years. Some people team up together for this one event each year. Some enjoy being out alone or with friends, and some enjoy counting alone and then meeting at day’s end.
Many stories were shared at the wrap-up session: (1) Tyler came up from Iowa to spend the day with a friend who has a cabin here. Tyler is a very experienced naturalist, and both have a lot of knowledge about birds. Tyler hoped to see a spruce grouse, having never seen one. Searched by traveling Hwy 2 and Hwy 1 on the way here without finding a grouse. On the Saturday morning of Count Day, while starting their area on the Sunset Road, Todd saw something in the road, and even though not thinking this was even a bird or spruce grouse habitat, it was a head-end look at a spruce grouse. When viewed from other angles, it was easily identified.
(2) Later that day, after the wrap-up dinner and tally, Tyler and Todd stopped at the boat access on the south side of Shagawa Lake, where barred owls have been in past years. The result was a calling barred owl, the only one of the Count Day.
(3) Jim, who comes to the Highway 1 southeast of Ely each year to count that area. He has years of experience studying birds. This year, for the first time, Jim and Dave heard and saw a Canada Jay perfectly imitating a blue jay call and other bird calls.
(4) Connecting the counts, after being questioned at the Sax-Zim count two weeks ago about reports on EBird of Harris Sparrow and American Tree Sparrow seen in Ely, some research to find the person and location of the two birds. Messages were left at the address, and a connection was made with Jessica who still had the Harris sparrow visiting her birdfeeder and happened to be home during lunch on Count Day. This was the first Harris sparrow (rare in winter) seen on an Ely CBC.
(5) Most of the water is frozen at this time of year, except below dams where common goldeneyes are counted. However, this year, in exploring the open water below the culverts on the Shagawa River, the first Ely CBC sighting of mallards was discovered.
(6) Steve discovery side trip following wolf tracks while counting birds in his area. This led to people sharing stories of timber wolf, lynx and other tracks.
(7) The grosbeak question was researched and these two species although having a “grosbeak” common name and being in the family of finches, they are not closely related. Some other birds having grosbeak in their names are in the same family as cardinals.
Thanks to the count volunteers, all the contributors to our silent auction, the time contributed by many to make this count successful, and for the chance to meet so many of the people in our area with outdoor interests. Next week the final tally for Ely CBC will be provided.
