In winter, this northern Minnesota bog attracts birders from around the country

Winter is not a season bereft of birds. You simply need to be in the right places.

In Minnesota, that would first be the Sax-Zim bog area northwest of Duluth.

The area, well-known among active birders throughout the country, is basically spruce bog and hay meadow. It has a visitor center, maps, guides, plowed roads and a winter festival. The latter is unique for a cold place. And, yes, you should dress warmly.

Sparky Stensaas, one of several people responsible for putting the bog on the larger birding map, recently sent a list of birds seen there in early November.

Reported were grosbeaks, crossbills, snow buntings, owls, shrikes, hawks, grouse, woodpeckers, jays, chickadees and redpolls.

All of these species are not seen in one place, of course, nor necessarily by the same person on the same day. The bog is large, and birds have wings.

Nowhere else in the state will you have a guarantee, though, to see some, perhaps many of these northern specialties from the comfort of your car. Driving along routes clearly marked on maps that lead you to local feeders and hot spots is hard to beat.

It was 12 degrees above zero on the day Sparky sent his list, Nov. 9, and it will be colder. (If cold weather puts you off, spring and summer birding in the bog offers an exciting variety of birds, butterflies, flowers, lichen, mushrooms, etc.)

Winter bird feeders are maintained by area residents on roadsides or in accessible yards. The visitor center has lists of species recently seen and where.

At these feeders I've photographed crossbills, redpolls, grosbeaks, jays and chickadees, all from my warm car.

A bog, technically, is an area of wet, peaty soil too soft to support a heavy body. Sax-Zim has such areas. Here, bog is shorthand for Sax-Zim's 300 square miles of bog, aspen uplands, rivers, lakes, meadows, farms (and two tiny towns).

Over 360 acres of this are owned by the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog (saxzim.org). The group was founded to protect habitat from logging.

The Sax-Zim Bog Birding Festival this year runs Feb. 16-18. (saxzimbirdingfestival.com).

It features speakers, birding tours of the bog, Duluth and the Lake Superior North Shore, a photo workshop, and a catered dinner. The festival website has a detailed schedule.

In the bog you will need warm (!!) clothes and binoculars. Avoid parking too far to the side of roads — there are deep ditches. The roads are plowed, but not always first thing. Drive a vehicle that you trust on snowy gravel roads.

Respect the privacy of residents. Don't point binoculars at houses. Don't hinder local traffic by watching from the middle of a road.

Gasoline is available in nearby Cotton, which also has a cafe. Meadowlands has a bar and grill, but no gasoline. Fill up in Duluth, also your best place to find accommodations. Cellphone coverage in the bog is OK to good, depending on your carrier.

One really good thing about birding in the bog in wintertime: no mosquitoes.

Read Jim Williams' birding blog at startribune.com/wingnut.