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-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*March 25, 2000
*MNDU0003.25

-Birds mentioned

• Smew
• Sharp-tailed Grouse
• Great Gray Owl
• Hoary Redpoll

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: March 25, 2000
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 525-5952
Compiler: Kim Eckert (kreckert@cp.duluth.mn.us)
Transcriber: Kim Eckert (kreckert@cp.duluth.mn.us)
Re-transcriber: David Cahlander (dac@skypoint.com)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Saturday, March 25, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

This unscheduled update is being made today to report on an adult male SMEW which was seen both yesterday afternoon and this morning in Allouez Bay in Superior, Wis. The bird was discovered about 1 pm yesterday by Shawn Putz, a student at UWS, along the east side of Allouez Bay among a flock of Common Mergansers. It was watched from the road about halfway up Wisconsin Pt, and the Smew reappeared at this same location just before dusk yesterday. To reach Wisconsin Pt from Duluth, take U S Hwy 2 & 53 south all the way through Superior, and then turn left or east at the sign which reads Moccasin Mike Rd / Wisconsin Pt / Lake Superior.

Today the Smew was relocated around 8 am, again with some Common Mergansers, but this time it was on the west side of Allouez Bay in an apparent effort to stay out of the strong west winds which have been blowing all day. To reach this location, take Hwy 2 / 53 as far as the stoplight at 39th Ave E, turn left and go 2 blocks to Itasca St, then turn right and go 5 blocks to 44th Ave E, and here turn left on 44th which leads to the edge of the bay.

Unfortunately, by late in the morning and early in the afternoon the Smew could not be relocated here by any of the observers who came to look for it, but perhaps it will reappear here or elsewhere else in the Duluth-Superior harbor area -- if it does, this Birding Report would be updated ASAP with that information.

To repeat the most interesting birding news from last Thursday's tape, both GREAT GRAY OWLS and SHARP-TAILED GROUSE were seen in the Sax-Zim Bog area just NW of Duluth. Single Great Grays were seen at 2 locations: along St Louis Co Rd 7, about 2 mi N of Sax, on March 21; and just N of here on March 19 on Co Rd 319, about 1/2 mi E of Co Rd 7. And the Sharp-taileds were found at 2 locations on the 21st, both of these along Co Rd 52: one group was at the traditional lek site SW of the jct of Co Rds 52 and 208 (which is 2.5 mi W of Co Rd 7), and the other grouse were along 52, 0.6 mi E of Co Rd 83 (or 7.4 mi W of Co Rd 7). And not far from Sax-Zim near the town of Melrude is Ben Yokel's feeder, where a very pale and easy-to-identify HOARY REDPOLL was still present earlier this week. For more information or directions, you can give me a call at 525-6930.

Unless the Smew or something else unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported immediately, the next scheduled update of this Birding Report will be on Thursday, March 30. The phone number is (218) 525-5952, and callers can leave a message if they wish after the tone at the end of the tape. Also note that a message can be left without having to wait for the birding report to end: after the tape starts playing, push 5 on a touch-tone phone, the tape will then stop, the tone will sound and you can leave your message.

The Duluth Birding Report is sponsored and funded by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), the state bird club, as a service to its members. For more information on the MOU, either write us c/o the Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church Street S E, Minneapolis MN 55455, or visit the MOU web site at .

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