MOU Minnesota birding reports

[Steve Foss]

-RBA

*Minnesota

*Duluth/North Shore

*October 19, 2006

*MNDU0610.19

-Birds mentioned

* Snow Goose

* Ross's Goose

* Cackling Goose

* Canada Goose

* Trumpeter Swan

* Tundra Swan

* Ring-necked Duck

* Harlequin Duck

* White-winged Scoter

* Black Scoter

* Long-tailed Duck

* Spruce Grouse

* Rough-legged Hawk

* Little Gull

* Short-eared Owl

* Red-bellied Woodpecker

* Black-backed Woodpecker

* Northern Shrike

* Mountain Bluebird

* Townsend's Solitaire

* Bohemian Waxwing

* Spotted Towhee

* Snow Bunting

* Yellow-headed Blackbird

* Common Redpoll

* Pine Siskin

-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore

Date: October 19, 2006

Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)

Reports: (218) 834-2858

Compiler: Jim Lind ([email protected])

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, October 19th, 2006 sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Don Kienholz found a female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD on the 17th at Bayfront Park in Duluth. It was originally seen between the stage and the aquarium, but was relocated on the 18th and today west of the park near 7th Avenue West. Another female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was found west of Two Harbors on the 18th along the MN Highway 61 expressway, about three blocks east of the big Ford dealership. It could not be relocated today. Jeff Newman reports a female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD on the 18th in his yard near the corner of 44th Avenue East and Regent Street in Duluth. Jeff also had a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER in his yard on the 16th.

A SPOTTED TOWHEE visited the yard of Audrey and Joel Evers in Hoyt Lakes on the 14th, but it has not been seen since. Mike Hendrickson found a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE on the 16th on the west end of Gitchi Gammi Park in east Duluth. Deb and Steve Falkowski found a male HARLEQUIN DUCK on the 15th along Scenic Highway 61 about three miles southwest of Stoney Point near fire number 5174. At Park Point in Duluth they found four WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS at 12th Street and two BLACK SCOTERS near the rowing club. Bruce Munson reported a LITTLE GULL at Wisconsin Point on the 14th.

A LONG-TAILED DUCK was found today along Scenic Highway 61 about three miles east of Lester River at fire number 8517. Two immature ROSS'S GEESE were still present today at the Two Harbors golf course, along with at least 238 CACKLING GEESE, 25 SNOW GEESE, and 120 CANADA GEESE.

Peder Svingen and Tony Hertzel found a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER in Cook County on the 15th along the Croftville Road, as well as a SHORT-EARED OWL near the mouth of the Brule River at Naniboujou Lodge, and a male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD at the Sprague Creek ponds.

Jan Green found two female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS on the 15th in Two Harbors at Lighthouse Point. This afternoon a male and female were seen here along the trail on the east side of the point. Another BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER was found today in Two Harbors at the corner of 4th Avenue and 1st Street. Deb and Steve Falkowski found one on the 15th at Stoney Point.

Steve and Ann Schon found two SPRUCE GROUSE on the 15th about a half mile west of MN Highway 1, on the second gravel road going west off Highway 1 about 1.5 miles south of the Spruce Road. Shawn Conrad found two SPRUCE GROUSE in Koochiching County on the 18th along the Hendrickson Road and another on the Toumey Williams Road near the Hendrickson Road. On the 19th he saw one along MN Highway 65 within the Nett Lake Reservation.

Warren Nelson and Steve and Jo Blanich birded Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Aitkin County over the weekend and saw TRUMPETER SWAN, TUNDRA SWAN, nine shorebird species, and at least 150,000 RING-NECKED DUCKS.

SNOW BUNTINGS, NORTHERN SHRIKES, BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, PINE SISKINS, COMMON REDPOLLS, and ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS are being reported from many locations throughout northern Minnesota, especially along the North Shore.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, October 26th.

The telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-834-2858. Information about bird sightings may be left following the recorded message.

The Duluth Birding Report is sponsored and funded by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) as a service to its members. For more information on the MOU, either write us c/o the Bell Museum to [email protected], or visit the MOU web site at moumn.org.

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-RBA

*Minnesota

*Detroit Lakes

*October 19, 2006

*MNDL0610.19

-Birds mentioned

* Snow Goose

* Cackling Goose

* Canada Goose

* Trumpeter Swan

* Surf Scoter

* Hooded Merganser

* Spruce Grouse

* American White Pelican

* Bald Eagle

* Northern Harrier

* Sharp-shinned Hawk

* Red-tailed Hawk

* Black-bellied Plover

* American Golden-Plover

* Killdeer

* Greater Yellowlegs

* Lesser Yellowlegs

* Long-billed Dowitcher

* Wilson's Snipe

* Great Horned Owl

* Red-bellied Woodpecker

* American Three-toed Woodpecker

* Black-backed Woodpecker

* Gray Jay

* Boreal Chickadee

* Red-breasted Nuthatch

* Brown Creeper

* Eastern Bluebird

* Cedar Waxwing

* American Tree Sparrow

* Chipping Sparrow

* Fox Sparrow

* Lincoln's Sparrow

* White-throated Sparrow

* Dark-eyed Junco

* Western Meadowlark

* Rusty Blackbird

* Pine Siskin

-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Detroit Lakes

Date: October 19, 2006

Sponsor: Lakes Area Birding Club, Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce

Reports: 1-800-542-3992 (weekdays during business hours)

Compiler: Jeanie Joppru ([email protected])

This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Friday, October 20, 2006 sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce. You may also hear this report by calling (218) 847-5743 or 1-800-433-1888.

Leaves are only a memory now, and the temperatures are flirting with the freezing mark this week in the northwest. Scoters and gray jays are showing up in the birding reports on both sides of the Red River, and the last sparrows are making their way out of the area.

Ben Fritchman passed on a very good sighting of 20 SNOW GEESE at Lake Latimer just south of Long Prairie in Todd County this week.

In Clay County on October 15, Bonnie Schultz reported a GRAY JAY at her place near Glyndon. The bird was not relocated by several birders in recent days, but permission has been obtained for birders to come look for the bird from the roadway or you may come to the door and ask if it has been seen recently. Directions to the location are as follows: From the intersection of US 10 and MN 9, go one mile south and one mile east on 12th Ave to 1222 145 St S. On looking at the map, it looks as if that might be only 0.5 mi east.

Matt Mecklenburg visited Johnson Park in Moorhead, Clay County, on October 19 where he found the expected CHIPPING SPARROWS, WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, and PURPLE FINCH; in addition there was a GREAT HORNED OWL. At the Moorhead wastewater treatment ponds on October 18, Ben Fritchman found three SNOW GEESE, an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, one KILLDEER, and 12 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS. Patrick Beauzay, near the entrance to Buffalo River State Park, found most of the same species and also 7 HOODED MERGANSERS, a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, GOLDEN -CROWNED KINGLET, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, and PINE SISKIN.

There were four SURF SCOTERS at the Thief River Falls wastewater treatment ponds in Pennington County on October 15. They were in the far southeastern corner of the most southerly cell. Other species seen there included SNOW GOOSE, CANADA GOOSE, CACKLING GOOSE, many ducks of a nice variety of species, and a WESTERN MEADOWLARK. Zeann Linder reported a flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS at her home on October 15, and a possible LINCOLN'S SPARROW on October 17. On October 19, four EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and one TREE SPARROW appeared in our yard near Thief River Falls.

At Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge on October 15, I found CACKLING GEESE, 5 TRUMPETER SWANS, BALD EAGLES, NORTHERN HARRIERS, RED-TAILED HAWKS, 2 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS, 4 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, WILSON'S SNIPE, and a RUSTY BLACKBIRD. Many of those species were along CR 7 east of the headquarters building.

Pat Rice in Beltrami County reported RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, FOX SPARROW, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, and DARK-EYED JUNCO at their place near Bemidji on October 16.

From Lake of the Woods County, Martin Kehoe reported seeing five groups of SPRUCE GROUSE totaling 24 individuals within the last two weeks. He also found one AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, two BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS, and some BOREAL CHICKADEES. He noted that small mammal populations have exploded in the Beltrami Island State Forest this summer which bodes well for owls and goshawks this winter.

Thanks to Ben Fritchman, Bob O'Connor, Bonnie Schultz, Martin Kehoe, Matt Mecklenburg, Pat Rice, Patrick Beauzay, and Zeann Linder for their reports.

Please report bird sightings to Jeanie Joppru by email, no later than Thursday each week, at [email protected] OR call the Detroit Lakes Chamber's toll free number: 1-800-542-3992. Detroit Lakes area birders please call 847-9202. Please include the county where the sighting took place. When reporting by email please put "NW Bird Report" in the subject line of your message. The next scheduled update of this report is Friday, October 27, 2006.

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-RBA

*Minnesota

*Minnesota Statewide

*October 19, 2006

*MNST0610.19

-Birds mentioned

* Tundra Swan

* Ring-necked Duck

* Surf Scoter

* Black Scoter

* Red-throated Loon

* Pacific Loon

* Common Loon

* Rough-legged Hawk

* Little Gull

* Sabine's Gull

* Common Tern

* Pomarine Jaeger

* Ruby-throated Hummingbird

* Eastern Bluebird

* Mountain Bluebird

* Townsend's Solitaire

* Bohemian Waxwing

* Spotted Towhee

* American Tree Sparrow

* Fox Sparrow

* Lapland Longspur

* Snow Bunting

* Rusty Blackbird

* Red Crossbill

* Evening Grosbeak

-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota Statewide

Date: October 19, 2006

Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) http://moumn.org

Reports: (763) 780-8890

Compiler: Anthony Hertzel ([email protected])

This is the Minnesota Birding Report for Thursday October 19th 2006.

A POMARINE JAEGER has been seen at the southern end of Eagle Lake just east of Mankato in Blue Earth County since the 15th.

An adult LITTLE GULL was found near the Richard's Townsite boat launch on Lake Winnibigoshish, Itasca County, on the 15th. Another Little Gull was at the Ironton sewage ponds in Crow Wing County on the 18th, and a SABINE'S GULL was seen there on the 17th.

On the 14th, Dan Floren found both a BLACK SCOTER and a SURF SCOTER on the east side of Lake Ripley in Litchfield, Meeker County.

A lengthy survey of Mille Lacs Lake on October 18th produced a record total of 2,729 COMMON LOONS, the majority of which were along the north and west shores, including a flock of 1,061 near Wealthwood. A RED-THROATED LOON and a late Hudsonian Godwit were also seen along the north shore, an adult PACIFIC LOON was photographed on St. Albans Bay, and a late COMMON TERN was in the bay near Isle.

A MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD has been at Bayfront Park in Duluth since the 17th, and another was along the state highway 61 just west of Two Harbors in Lake County on the 18th, foraging at the crest of the hill just west of where the highway 61 becomes two lanes.

On the 16th, Mike Hendrickson discovered a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE on the western edge of Gitchie Gammi Park in east Duluth.

A SPOTTED TOWHEE was in St. Louis County on the 14th. He was at the feeders at Audrey Evers home in Hoyt Lakes.

At the Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Aitkin County, Warren Nelson, Jo Blanich, and Steve Blanich reported at least 150,000 RING-NECKED DUCKS. Many birders are reporting large groups of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, and I also have reports of TUNDRA SWAN, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, BOHEMIAN WAXWING, AMERICAN TREE SPARROW, FOX SPARROW, SNOW BUNTING, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, RUSTY BLACKBIRD, EVENING GROSBEAK, and RED CROSSBILL.

Finally, John Nelson of Buford, Blue Earth County still has a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD coming to his feeder. There is no reason to take feeders down at this time of year, and those with feeders still up may want to increase the proportion of sugar in the water for the remainder of the season.

The next scheduled update of this tape is Thursday, October 26th 2006.