A gross of grosbeaks in the bog

Photographer Will Stenberg was looking for boreal chickadees last Friday, Jan. 13, when he went into the Sax-Zim Bog north of Meadowlands. Instead, he was greeted by a relatively rare riot of evening grosbeaks, pictured, near the visitor center after a hike along Gray Jay Way. "There was much excitement among the birders at the sight of (by today's standard) a very large number of evening grosbeaks," Stenberg said. "I won't offer a numerical estimate, but they were waiting for space at the feeders. It was a rare and uplifting sight to observe." Sax-Zim remains a pilgrimage for birders in the winter, especially for those seeking glimpses of northern owls and finches. And, for Stenberg, that boreal chickadee. The bog is about 50 miles north and west of Cloquet.