Duluth RBA

Duluth RBA phone number: 218-525-5952

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-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*September 28, 2000
*MNDU0009.28

-Birds mentioned
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: September 28, 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 Thursday, September 28, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

After last week's regular update of this Birding Report on Thursday, there was another update on Friday the 22nd to report on all the birding activity at Wisconsin Point in Superior which started on Sept 21. Most significantly, on the 21st there were an unprecedented 19 SABINE'S GULLS seen flying on both the Wisconsin and Minnesota sides of the Superior Entry breakwaters, along with a carefully identified adult ARCTIC TERN and 7 PARASITIC JAEGERS.

Things apparently quieted down on Friday the 22nd, with apparently only 4 Sabine's reported at Wisconsin Pt, but on the morning of Sept 23 there was an even more amazing total of 29 individual Sabine's Gulls seen at the Superior Entry (all but 3 or 4 of these juveniles), along with that Arctic Tern, and again these birds were observed on both the Wis and Minn sides of the Superior Entry. None of these gulls or the tern were ever seen farther N in the vicinity of the Park Point Recreation Area, but late in the afternoon of the 23rd a juv POMARINE JAEGER was carefully identified on the L Superior side of the Recreation Area, along with one ad Parasitic Jaeger. The Pomarine was never seen again after the 23rd, but it is possible that 1 of the 2 unidentified jaegers reported at Park Point that morning was this Pomarine Jaeger.

On Sunday the 24th, only 1 distant Sabine's Gull was apparently seen from the Superior Entry, and there have been no subsequent reports of Sabine's Gull or Arctic Tern or any jaegers. I also received a second-hand report that a PACIFIC LOON and an early THAYER'S GULL were also seen last weekend at Wisconsin Pt.

For the first time in several years a TUFTED TITMOUSE turned up in NE Minn, when one appeared at Don Kienholz's feeders in Duluth on the morning of Sept 25. Unfortunately, this rarity did not reappear at the feeders on the afternoon of the 25th or on subsequent days. Also of note recently in the area were the LE CONTE'S SPARROW seen by Bob Janssen in Two Harbors Sept 23 and the SHORT-EARED OWL seen by Mike Hendrickson Sept 26 from his yard on Lenroot St near Morgan Park in Duluth.

The outlook for the raptor flight at Hawk Ridge this weekend is uncertain. Warmer temperatures are in the forecast, which is generally not conducive to migration, but if the winds are from the SW, as they are forecast for Friday, this may produce a decent flight. As always, for information on the migration at Hawk Ridge, see the website.

Unless something unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported immediately, this report is normally updated once a week on Thursdays, so that the next scheduled update will be on October 5. The phone number for the Duluth Birding Report is (218) 525-5952, and callers can report bird sightings if they wish after the tone at the end of each tape. Messages can also be left without having to wait for the Birding Report to end: to do this, after the tape starts playing push 5 on a touch-tone phone, the tape will stop, the tone will sound, and you can then leave your 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 of Natural History,10 Church Street SE, Minneapolis MN 55455; or send an e-mail to ; or visit the MOU web site at .




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