2021-22 Winter Field Trips
Winter field trips will resume this season. Please note the schedule is not as robust as past seasons and COVID-19 protocols will be adhered to during programs. Field trips will again be limited to 5 vehicles. Attendees will travel in their own vehicles from site to site. Please stay home if you have any symptoms.
Information for these trips is listed below.
Field Trip attendance is free for members (those who have donated $25 or more within the past year). If you are interested in membership, the $25 fee covers membership and free entry to any field trip or program in a 12 month period! You must register online for each of these field trips.
If you have questions about programming, please contact Head Naturalist Clinton by email at naturalist@saxzim.org.
Saturday, November 13
Winter Birding Preview Field Trips with Clinton Nienhaus and Jason Heinen Field trips full!
8:00 am- 2:00 pm Meeting at the Welcome Center
Early to Mid-November sees the return of our suite of wintering birds from the north! Pine Grosbeaks, Snow Buntings, and Redpolls make their way south from northern Canada and beyond to winter in the Sax-Zim Bog, as do species like Northern Shrike, Rough-legged Hawk, and Snowy Owl. While November is still in the migration window for some of these species, there are great opportunities to view these species before they get settled in for the winter. Join us on this field trip to see some wintering species, in hopefully warmer than winter temperatures!
Saturday, December 11
Winter Raptors Field Trip
9:00 am- 2:00 pm Meet at the Welcome Center
Register for this Field Trip here!
Colorful winter finches often get lots of attention from visitors to the Bog in the winter months, but finches are not the only winter visitors to see! This field trip will search the open ag-land and roadsides of the Bog for visitors from the Arctic, such as Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Shrikes, Northern Hawk Owls, and more! This field trip will spend time looking for all manner of birds of prey and other winter visitors to the Sax-Zim Bog.
Saturday, January 1 and Sunday, January 2
Winter Birding Field Trip
8:00 am- 2:00 pm Meeting at in Cotton at Wilburt Cafe
Register for the January 1 Field Trip here!
Register for the January 2 Field Trip here!
Warbler Wednesdays are a fixture for summer birding, but we don’t have a counterpart to winter birding… until now! Join us for a few winter birding field trips. The intention of these field trips is to give you an introduction on how to approach birding in the Sax-Zim Bog in the winter months. We will not be targeting owls, but will take a look at any we come across. This is a good field trip series for you to learn how to approach winter birding in the Sax-Zim Bog.
Saturday, January 8
FOSZB Property Snowshoe Hike: Yellow-bellied Bog
9:00- 1:00pm Meeting at the Welcome Center
Register for this Field Trip here!
Snowshoes are a great way to continue being active during the winter season and are a great way to explore hard to get to locations in the Bog. Join us for a leisurely hike through Yellow-bellied Bog, and learn a little bit about boreal forests and animal sign present during the winter. Snowshoes are required and can be borrowed from the Welcome Center (email Head Naturalist Clinton at naturalist@saxzim.org to reserve a pair or two).
Saturday, January 15
Tracking and Animal Sign Field Trip
9:00- 1:00pm Meeting at the Welcome Center
Register for this Field Trip here!
Often, when traversing the Sax-Zim Bog, tracks are encountered. But how do you know if you are looking at dog vs wolf tracks? What is the difference between a hole made by a Downy Woodpecker and a Black-backed Woodpecker? We will investigate the activity by critters in the Sax-Zim Bog through an investigation of the area around the Welcome Center.
Saturday, January 22
Master Naturalist Advanced Training: Winter Birds and Birdwatching
More information and registration will be posted to the Minnesota Master Naturalist Website soon!
Saturday, January 29
Winter Finches Field Trip
9:00- 1:00 pm Meeting at the Welcome Center
Register for this Field Trip here!
Many visitors to the Sax-Zim Bog in the winter season come to find the elusive Great Gray Owl. Others come for the more readily seen, bright, and vocal finches. This field trip will not only look for some of these bright winter visitors, such as Pine Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak, Common Redpoll, and Crossbills, but we will take some time to learn about their ecology!
Saturday, February 5
McDavitt Road Snowshoe Hike
9:00- 1:00pm Meeting at the Welcome Center
Register for this Field Trip here!
Snowshoes are a great way to continue being active during the winter season and are a great way to explore hard to get to locations in the Bog. Join us for a leisurely snowshoe hike off of the South Logging Road on McDavitt Road. This location often has exciting tracks, finches, and we will get a good luck at a bog during the winter! We will learn a little about bogs and winter ecology over the course of this trip. Snowshoes are required and can be borrowed from the Welcome Center (email Head Naturalist Clinton at naturalist@saxzim.org to reserve a pair or two).
Saturday, February 12
Master Naturalist Advanced Training: Winter through a Hand Lens
More information and registration will be posted to the Minnesota Master Naturalist Website soon!
Saturday, February 19
Winter World of Lichens Field Trip
9:00- 2:00 pm Meet at the Welcome Center
Register for this Field Trip here!
Northern Minnesota is home to a diverse lichen community. These species cover nearly 8% of the terrestrial surface of the earth, yet are relatively unknown to most of us. Join us on this trip to get firsthand experience in lichen identification, as well as to learn a few of the more common lichens in our area. During the trip, we will be making small collections of lichens for the Welcome Center or personal use! We MAY utilize snowshoes for this Field Trip (email Head Naturalist Clinton at naturalist@saxzim.org to reserve a pair or two).
Saturday, February 26
FOSZB Property Snowshoe Hike: Indian Pipe Bog
9:00- 1:00pm Meeting at the Welcome Center
Register for this Field Trip here!
Snowshoes are a great way to continue being active during the winter season and are a great way to explore hard to get to locations in the Bog. Join us for a leisurely hike through Indian Pipe Bog, and learn a little bit about boreal forests and animal sign present during the winter. Snowshoes are required and can be borrowed from the Welcome Center (email Head Naturalist Clinton at naturalist@saxzim.org to reserve a pair or two).
Saturday, March 5
Northern Owls Evening Program
4:00- 5:00pm Meeting at the Welcome Center with Owl trip following until 8:00 pm.
Register for this Field Trip here!
Most often, visitors to the Sax-Zim Bog are looking for owls, but do you really know “hoo” owls are? Come and learn a little about some of the owls that can sometimes be found in the Sax-Zim Bog and the surrounding area. Following a short talk, we will caravan looking for some owls at dusk!
Saturday, March 12
Master Naturalist Advanced Training: Tracking and Animal Sign in late-winter
More information and registration will be posted to the Minnesota Master Naturalist Website soon!
Directions to the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center
ADDRESS: The address is Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center 8793 Owl Avenue, Toivola, MN 55765
[NOTE: THIS IS NOT A MAILING ADDRESS…but put this address into Google Maps or Apple Maps.]
Directions from Cotton, MN on US HWY 53:
*Go West from Cotton on CR52/Arkola for 11 miles
*Turn South (left) on Owl Avenue
*Go 1.75 miles (second curve) to Welcome Center
Directions from Meadowlands, on CR133…
*Go East on CR133 to CR229/29
*Turn North (left) on CR229/29
*Go North to T at Correction Line Rd
*Turn West (left) on Correction Line Rd
*Road curves North and becomes Owl Ave
*Go North on Owl Avenue for 2.5 miles to Welcome Center