416 - "Whooo" will we see?

416 - "Whooo" will we see?

From Natural Connections by Emily Stone

March 5, 2026 · 7 min · Season 1 · Episode 416

About this episode

The episode explores the owls of Sax-Zim Bog and the recent quiet season compared to last year's irruption.

Seeing a moth seemed to signal that evening was coming, and our thoughts turned to owls. Sax-Zim Bog is famous for hosting rare owls. Last year was an incredible irruption year when great gray owls, boreal owls, and snowy owls visited from their homes farther north. This year has been much quieter. A few great gray owls nest here, but lately they've been secretive. We'd heard that a northern hawk owl was hunting at the edge of a field on some of the private land that makes up the patchwork of ownership in Sax-Zim Bog Important Bird Area in Northern Minnesota, so off we went!

People in this episode

Host: Emily Stone

Topics covered

  • owls
  • bird watching
  • Sax-Zim Bog
  • wildlife
  • natural history

Keywords

  • owls
  • Sax-Zim Bog
  • great gray owls
  • boreal owls
  • snowy owls
  • northern hawk owl
  • bird watching

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: great gray owls, boreal owls, snowy owls, northern hawk owl

Places: Sax-Zim Bog, Northern Minnesota

More episodes of Natural Connections

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Natural Connections podcast page.