-Birds mentioned
Pied-billed Grebe
Tundra Swan
Trumpeter Swan
Canada Goose
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Merlin
Killdeer
American Woodcock
Franklin's Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Mourning Dove
Great Gray Owl
Boreal Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Brown Creeper
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Bohemian Waxwing
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Red Crossbill
-Transcript
Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: April 1, 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, April 1, sponsored by the
Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.
Since I was out of town last week, the last update of this tape was two
weeks ago, and during that time such species as BOREAL OWL, GREAT GRAY
OWL and NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, FRANKLIN'S GULL,
TRUMPETER SWAN, BOHEMIAN WAXWING and RED CROSSBILL were all reported.
However, the most interesting reports have been of early spring migrants,
especially those seen for the first time this week, which mostly include
waterfowl. In fact, this has been one of the earliest spring migrations of
ducks ever in Duluth -- or possibly the earliest ever -- as all but one
species of duck (the Wood Duck) regularly seen here in spring had arrived
before April 1. Especially significant were the number and variety of
ducks seen yesterday morning at Mud Lake in Gary-New Duluth, with virtually
every possible species present. These included unusually high numbers of
GADWALL, NORTHERN SHOVELER, NORTHERN PINTAIL, RING-NECKED DUCK and
HOODED MERGANSER; also seen were one female GREATER SCAUP and one pair
each of CANVASBACK and REDHEAD. Besides the absence of Wood Duck, it was
curious that no Red-breasted Mergansers were seen (although this species
had been seen in Duluth earlier in March) and that only 3-4 LESSER SCAUP
were present.
Also at Mud Lake on the 31st were 65 TUNDRA SWANS, with another 25 swans
nearby on the St. Louis River in Fond du Lac. On the day before, March 30,
a total of 150 Tundra Swans was counted -- the highest number here in
recent years. To reach Mud Lake, which should be good through this
weekend, hike north on the railroad tracks from McCuen St or Minn Hwy 39
just west of the Oliver, Wis. bridge.
Other migrants which have reportedly arrived in Duluth since the previous
update of this tape include: PIED-BILLED GREBE, TURKEY VULTURE, CANADA
GOOSE, NORTHERN HARRIER, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, COOPER'S HAWK and NORTHERN
GOSHAWK, AMERICAN KESTREL, KILLDEER, AMERICAN WOODCOCK, MOURNING DOVE,
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (seen on the unusually early date of March 30),
NORTHERN FLICKER, BROWN CREEPER, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, AMERICAN ROBIN,
AMERICAN TREE, FOX and SONG SPARROWS, DARK-EYED JUNCO, EASTERN MEADOWLARK,
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD and COMMON GRACKLE.
Speaking of migration, Frank Nicoletti reports the following totals for the
month of March from his hawk lookout on W Skyline Pkwy near Enger Tower: 6
T. VULTURE, 1288 BALD EAGLE, 4 NORTHERN HARRIER, 8 SHARP-SHINNED, 2 COOPER'S, 1
NORTHERN GOSHAWK, 281 RED-TAILED, 35 ROUGH-LEGGED, 35 GOLDEN EAGLE, 1 MERLIN, and
2 PEREGRINE, for a total of 1664. His biggest day was the 27th with a
total of 375, which included 194 Bald Eagles, 150 Red-taileds and 24
Rough-leggeds.
In other birding news, back on the night of March 19-20 Tony Hertzel of the
Twin Cities heard 2 BOREAL OWLS, 2 GREAT GRAY OWLS and several NORTHERN SAW-WHET
OWLS, along the Stoney River Forest Road in Lake Co, which turns south off
Minn Hwy 1 about 3 mi west of Isabella. The Boreal Owls were at 7.5 mi
south and at 10.5 mi south of Hwy 1, and the Great Grays were at 10.9 mi
south of 1 and 0.8 mi east of the Stoney River road on the Whyte Rd, which
is about 12 mi south of Hwy 1.
More recently, 2 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS have been heard along the Strand Rd in
Duluth, with one of these heard from Terry Wiens' yard last night.
At Wisconsin Point, an adult GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL was seen at the
Superior landfill on March 24, and even more surprising was the very early
adult FRANKLIN'S GULL at Gull Bluff just east of the dump.
On March 29, a TRUMPETER SWAN was seen at the gravel pit pond at the NW
corner of Minn Hwy 194 and Canosia Rd, which is just west of Duluth. This
is the same location where Trumpeters have been seen in recent years.
Several BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS are still being seen this week in Duluth, mostly
in the Morgan Park and Gary-New Duluth neighborhoods, and there was also a
small flock seen today near UMD on the 1900 block of Kent Rd. At this
latter location some RED CROSSBILLS were also heard today, and Gary Kuyava
on W Wabasha St is still seeing Red Crossbills at his feeder.
Unless something unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported
on immediately, this Birding Report is normally updated once a week on
Thursdays, so that the next scheduled update will be on April 8. As
always, if you have birds to report you may either: 1) leave a message
after the tone at the end of the tape* -- the number is (218) 525-5952 ; or
2) call me directly at (218) 525-6930; or 3) e-mail me at
<kreckert@cp.duluth.mn.us>.
(*Callers may leave a message on the tape without having to wait for the
Birding Report to end. To do this, after the tape starts playing push 5 on
your touch-tone phone, the tape will then stop, the tone will sound, and
you can then leave your message.)
This Birding Report is provided and funded by Minnesota's state bird club,
the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), as a service to its members.
For more information on the MOU, write us c/o Bell Museum of Natural
History, 10 Church Street S.E., Minneapolis MN 55455; or visit the MOU web
page at http://biosci.cbs.umn.edu/~mou.