We all arrived in a snowy and cold Minneapolis unaware that the cold conditions were going to get worse, a lot worse. After we collected our larger-than-life Chevy Suburbans (with their heated seats!) we made a brief stop at Acacia Park Cemetery in Mendota before the drive north to Duluth.

The cemetery was quiet (a surprise?) but some adjacent feeders had our only Red-bellied Woodpecker and Dark-eyed Junco of the trip. The roadside birding on the way north to Duluth was sparse to say the least, with the highlights being a couple of Bald Eagles, and a flock of waxwings that buzzed over our heads along the iced over Kettle River. While they were probably Bohemian Waxwings, we could not be sure.

We met our local guide, Mike Hendrickson, at the hotel at lunchtime. That afternoon we headed across to Superior, Wisc. where we debated the identity of a distant falcon, before finally deciding that it was the gray-phase Gyrfalcon.

Our next quarry was the beautiful Snowy Owl with the first one being seen on a light pole along the main highway. Over the next hour or so we had incredible views of eight birds. All of the owls had been trapped by local owl banders and, as well as the wing-tags, had been anointed with a little shoe-polish to avoid recapture.

The next morning found us heading north into the Sax-Zim Bog area of St Louis County. This is the heart of Northern Minnesota birding with many of the specialties being regularly found in this area.

We did have great views of one of the few Northern Hawk-Owls around this winter, as well as a fly-by Northern Goshawk and feeders thronged with Common Redpolls, Pine Siskins, Evening and Pine Grosbeaks. We did manage to find one Hoary Redpoll amidst the mass of Commons. However, the few local Great Gray Owls managed to stay invisible.

The following day we headed up to Superior National Forest looking for the ever-elusive Spruce Grouse. Snowy roads and very cold conditions prevented us from seeing the grouse, but Red Crossbills feeding on grit in the roads gave us great views. We found another Northern Hawk-Owl along the roadside. This one allowed for great photo opportunities, and some of us even watched it plunge into the snow and catch an unsuspecting vole.

Another highlight today had to be the flock of Bohemian Waxwings that Mike had located in Knife River. After finding them in some distant trees, we were lucky when they all flew closer to feed in the Buckthorn hedges, allowing more great photo ops.

Sax-Zim Bog the next morning was cold, very cold with our car thermometer registering a toasty -35F at its lowest.

Again, the Great Gray Owls stayed hidden, but another Northern Shrike was more cooperative. A flock of Snow Buntings along one of the roads was a very nice surprise and some nearby feeders gave us even better views of several Pine Grosbeaks.

Talking of surprises, at lunch in Cotton we met a local reporter who informed us today we were in the coldest spot in the nation where the temperature had dropped to -42F. No wonder we did not want to get out of the car! After birding in these conditions all day, it was always nice to step inside to warm up. It was snowing on our last morning in Duluth, so we just went out to find a couple of local rarities. We dipped on the Golden-crowned Sparrow, but did find the female Common Eider sitting on the ice in Superior. We finished the tour with 45 species.

Simon Thompson owns and operates his own birding tour company, Ventures Birding Tours (birdventures.com) and operates the Asheville Wild Birds Unlimited Store. For more information on any of the birding activities in the area, drop by the store or visit asheville.wbu.com.