We had planned a day of birding at the Sax-Zim Bog. The forecast kept dropping, but we stayed true to the plan. Even the day before, when we saw a forecast of -20F.

The morning we drove over, we watched the car’s thermometer drop down, down, down. For the most part it hovered around -27F, but once we reached our first destination it settled in at -30F.

It was a cold day to be in the woods, to be sure, and so after starting out freezing our faces on the bog boardwalk, we retreated to do most of our birding (though not all) from the comfort of inside the car. It was a good start to the day, however, seeing an uncommon Black-Backed Woodpecker pecking away out in the cold.

Here is the days’ list in its entirety, with a few favorites in bold:

Common Raven

Black-Capped Chickadee

Downy Woodpecker

Black-Backed Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

American Crow

Pine Grosbeak

(Red squirrel)

Pine Siskin

Snow Bunting

Northern Shrike

Magpie

(white-tailed deer)

Evening Grosbeak

Ruffed Grouse

Canada Jay

Boreal Chickadee

and on the way home:

Wild Turkey

Pileated Woodpecker