Martens, Owls, Ermine, the Unexpected

Sax-Zim Bog wildlife attracts amateurs and pros, big lenses and small.

“Not only are you able to actually see nature. There’s a lot of travels I do, and I don’t see any animals, hardly any birds, and to be able to have this in our backyard is awesome,” said local photographer, Amber Nichols.

“There are people that come here from all over the world, to see owls in particular, and the pine martens and stuff. I think it’s a great asset to the area,” said Nichols.

The “area” is the Sax-Zim Bog. Searchers can find it at the country intersection of Cotton, Canyon and Meadowlands.

“I started coming in 2018. That was my first trip,” said Nichols. “First time out I got to see a great gray owl. First time, it was like ‘Oh, My God. Like why I haven’t been doing this my whole life?!’ So since then, I’ve been coming up two to three times a year.”

While Nichols is a local photographer, the word is definitely out. Why would professional shutterbug Dawn Wilson travel from the Rockies to the land of ten thousand?

“So, Minnesota gets the birds like great grays, snowy owls, redpolls that we don’t normally see in Colorado,” said Wilson.

“So, within a day, day and a half drive, I can be up here and see some of the Arctic birds that would normally be much farther north compared to where I am in Colorado,” Wilson said.

The draw–and gear–is different for everyone. Ranging from the naked eye, to the friendly binocs, to lenses so large it looks like the photographers are on the launch pad covering a space shuttle blast-off.

For some, it’s looking for a mammal they’ve never seen. While others squint hoping to find that pair of wings they have yet to check off their list.
And if not an owl, then why not what runs along–or burrows into–the snow or grass?

Take what nature gives you. It’s not a zoo.

“Number one, I always tell everyone don’t expect too much,” said Nichols. “There is wildlife. They have their own minds. They don’t have a set schedule. There are many times I come up here and I don’t see the animals I want to see, so I have to change my perspective and shoot what I can find,” said Nichols.

The value of places like the Sax-Zim Bog is not lost on the humans. They worry about the impact on their feathered and furred friends, as more, large chunks of natural habitat are broken up.

Nichols said, “One of the big things for me as a photographer, I want to be able to see wildlife in their natural habitat. And it’s getting harder and harder and harder to find those, because of development and how humans are encroaching on those wild spaces.”

Colorado’s Wilson said she has the same concerns, and values what is preserved at the bog.  “Birds, wildlife, mammals, they have the food, they have the habitat to raise young. There’s a lot of aspects around healthy habitat for wildlife, so these are important. It’s not just for people to come out and learn, but it’s also so that our wildlife has a safe place to go to.”

If you do decide to get off the couch and go, what is their best advice? Patience.

On one visit, Wilson was rewarded with a marten–after waiting four hours–at 14 below.
It was an addition to her photo album, and to her favorite memories.

“The martens and the ermines. Great grays. I would say those are probably the three, the most,” said Wilson. “The last time I was up here I had a really good morning with some bobcats. Some growing kittens too. That was a lot of fun. That was unexpected.”

The unexpected. Sometimes that’s what happens if you sit in the woods, watch, and wait.