Black Headed Grosbeak

[Netman]

I had three of them on my deck yesterday afternoon. It's been a good long time since I saw a bird that I'd never seen before...it was kind of exciting! Has anybody else ever run across these birds in Minnesota?

Sorry about not having a picture. I was too busy taking mental notes of their features....then they flew away.

[Steve Foss]

Netman, for sure an unusual sighting. If you see them again, check to see if one or more are immature birds. Grab a bird guide or search the Web for pics of the various plumages.

A western U.S. species, black-headed grosbeaks are unusual in the eastern U.S., but over time there have been verified sightings in most Midwest and eastern states.

If they've bred in Ham Lake, that ramps up the "unusual" a bit.

[Netman]

I'll check for immatures and I'll be keeping my camera at the ready!

[Steve Foss]

The camera is a good thing. You can get in touch with the Minnesota Ornithologists Union by clicking here to report the sighting. I'd report it right away. Then, if you get pics, you can post them here (we love our bird pics!) and send them to the MOU, too.

Unusual sightings are valuable tools to gauge expansion/contraction of bird ranges, so I always recommend reporting them to the pros.

One thing. If you report to MOU, stipulate that they not share the location unless you want a bunch of bird-hungry dudes and dudettes stalking your location. You'll probably have some MOU folks in small numbers poking around to verify the sighting, but unusual birds can draw birders in large numbers. I reported a white-winged dove in Ely several years ago (with pics), but it was far enough off the beaten path that I only got a dozen or so birders in the yard over the next week.

If it had been in or near the Twin Cities . . . .

I actually had fun yakking with fellow birders who showed up looking for the dove. Birds of a feather, and all that.

[Jim Almquist]

At our national night party my neighbor had a picture of a Blue Grosbeak or that is what I thought it was but she has not sent me the picture so I can make a better ID. I have not seen it at my feeders and it only showed up at hers the one time

[cryhavoc]

One thing. If you report to MOU, stipulate that they not share the location unless you want a bunch of bird-hungry dudes and dudettes stalking your location. You'll probably have some MOU folks in small numbers poking around to verify the sighting, but unusual birds can draw birders in large numbers. I reported a white-winged dove in Ely several years ago (with pics), but it was far enough off the beaten path that I only got a dozen or so birders in the yard over the next week.

If it had been in or near the Twin Cities . . . .

A perfect example of what you are talking about was this Boreal Owl. It showed up at the Springbrook Nature Center in Fridley in January of 97. People allegedly came from as far away as Florida to see it. There were more than a dozen other people there when I was.