Duluth RBA

Duluth RBA phone number: 218-525-5952

Previous reports: October 7 14 21 28 , November 4 11 18 24 28 , December 2 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide 

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*December 9, 1999
*MNDU9912.09

-Birds mentioned
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: December 9, 1999
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, December 9, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Although several noteworthy birds have been seen in northeastern Minnesota since last week's Birding Report, almost all of them are species found and reported on previously, and not much new has turned up. In the Grand Marais harbor last weekend, that second-winter GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, at least one ICELAND GULL (reportedly an adult, though a first-winter bird had been here previously), and a group of 3 HARLEQUIN DUCKS were all still present. Also 6 mi E of Grand Marais at mile marker 116, that female-plumaged KING EIDER was also relocated last weekend.

West of Duluth there was at least one new bird reported: a SNOWY OWL was seen Dec 2-6 near the intersection of Cass Co Rd 36 and MN Hwy 210, west of Brainerd. (No other Snowy Owls have been reported this week, including the one found last week in the Duluth harbor.) And at Mille Lacs L Dec 6, a SURF SCOTER was seen near Isle, and that HARLEQUIN DUCK (which now appears to be an imm male) was still present on the east side of the lake -- not the west side, as mistakenly reported last week -- 1 mi N of the Aitkin-Mille Lacs Co line.

Also west of Duluth in Aitkin Co, Warren Nelson reports that as of last weekend a GREAT GRAY OWL was present, as it has been for some time, along Co Rd 18, 1.5 - 2 mi W of the Co Rd 5 intersection. Some Great Grays from a week or two ago east of Hoyt Lakes in St Louis Co were also recently reported, but the exact location is not known. Nor is it known if that Great Gray or the NORTHERN HAWK OWL in the Sax-Zim Bog reported on last week's Birding Report might still be present. The Great Gray was along St Louis Co Rd 133, about 4.5 mi E of Meadowlands, and the hawk owl was just S of the intersection of Co Rds 7 and 52.

Back in Duluth-Superior, a first-winter GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL was seen again Dec 7 at the Superior WI landfill. Also seen the same day were 2 apparent hybrid Glaucous X Herring gulls, which are often referred to as "Nelson's Gulls". One of these, a first-winter bird, was at the landfill, and the other, a second-winter bird, was at Canal Park in Duluth.

Despite all the warm weather here in recent weeks, the only late-lingering migrant of note reported in Duluth this week was a DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT in the harbor Dec 6. But it is hoped many more later-than-normal birds are found on our annual Duluth Christmas Bird Count (CBC), which will take place on Saturday, Dec 18. Compiler Jim Lind is currently organizing the birders who will cover our standard 15-mi diameter circle, which is centered at Hawk Ridge -- this CBC area extends up the North Shore to the French R, north to Eagle L, west to the airport and Wild Rice L, in the harbor as far as 27th Ave W, and on Park Point to 43rd St.

If you would like to join one of the birding groups on the 18th for all or part of the day, be sure to call Jim, either by day at work at 720-4384, or in the evening and on weekends at home in Two Harbors, 834-3435. Feeder watchers are also an important part of the CBC: if you live within the CBC circle, and would like to report what you see at your feeder on the 18th, please call 728-0105 that afternoon or evening -- you can also e-mail your feeder report to Jim at .

Finally, start watching now for those birds which are normally difficult to find on most Duluth CBCs, and if you see any of these between now and the 18th be sure to report them to Jim so we can try to relocate them on count day. In addition to obvious rarities and unusually late lingerers, they include: any waterfowl (except Mallards and Canada Geese), any hawks (except Red-tailed), any owls, any woodpeckers other than Downy and Hairy, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Townsend's Solitaire, American Robin, Varied Thrush, any waxwings, any sparrows other than House Sparrow, Snow Bunting, N Cardinal, any blackbirds or grackle, Purple or House finches, any crossbills, Hoary Redpoll and American Goldfinch.

Also note there will be two other CBCs near Duluth: at Two Harbors Dec 19 (for more information, call Frank Nicoletti at 724-0758) and in the Sax-Zim Bog Dec 20 (for information, contact Mark Stensaas at the Duluth Pack Store).

Unless something unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported immediately, the Duluth Birding Report is normally updated once a week on Thursdays, so that the next scheduled update will be on December 16. 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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