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Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*June 30, 2000
*MNDU0006.30

-Birds mentioned

• Sharp-tailed Grouse
• Yellow Rail
• Arctic Tern
• Great Gray Owl
• Long-eared Owl
• Short-eared Owl
• Three-toed Woodpecker
• Black-backed Woodpecker
• Wilson's Warbler
• Henslow's Sparrow
• Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
• White-winged Crossbill

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: June 30, 2000
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 525-595e
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 Friday, June 30, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

This report is being updated a day late because I was doing a tour in NE Minn and elsewhere until this morning, and we found several species of interest, including: both THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS and BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS in Lake Co; a GREAT GRAY OWL and WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS in the Sax-Zim Bog; in Aitkin Co SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, YELLOW RAIL, SHORT-EARED OWLS and LONG-EARED OWLS, NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW, plus the 2 HENSLOW'S SPARROWS originally found by Warren Nelson; and finally in Duluth there was a possible ARCTIC TERN.

On June 24 there were 2 Black-backed Woodpeckers along Lake Co Rd 2, both within 1/2 mi S of the Greenwood L public access; in this same area there was also a singing male WILSON'S WARBLER (for which there are few breeding records in the state). This location is about 33 mi N of Two Harbors. On the same day a Three-toed Woodpecker was along the main snowmobile trail just N of the Spruce Rd. The Spruce Rd turns N off Minn Hwy 1, 14 mi NW of the Co Rd 2 jct, and the snowmobile trail crosses the Spruce Rd 3.5 mi from Hwy 1.

On both June 23 and 25 a Great Gray Owl was at the jct of St Louis Co Rd 202 (or Owl Ave) and Co Rd 980 in the Sax-Zim Bog NW of Duluth. This location is 5 mi N of Meadowlands, and this owl was undoubtedly the same one which has been present here since early spring. On these same 2 days a family group of 3 White-winged Crossbills was seen along Owl Ave between 1/2 and 1 mi S of Co Rd 52.

In Aitkin Co today a Sharp-tailed Grouse was seen in the Lind's yard on Twp Rd 380; this location is reached by going S from Palisade on Co Rd 5 for 3 mi, and then going W 3 mi and S 0.6 mi on 380. Along this same road a Short-eared Owl was seen today, but more significantly 2 Henslow's Sparrows were relocated on June 24 along Twp Rd 561, 1/4 mi N of Twp Rd 380, 1 mi W of Co Rd 5. Yesterday evening a Yellow Rail was in the McGregor Marsh along the W side of Minn Hwy 65 at mile marker 116, which is 0.6 mi S of Minn Hwy 210; this rail was seen despite calling only twice in 2 hours. At this same location there was also a Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow. And, as reported on last week's Birding Report, a family group of Long-eared Owls was still present earlier this week in a row of pines along the E side of Co Rd 1, just S of Co Rd 22, which is 3 mi N of Aitkin.

And on June 25 in the Duluth harbor area we observed a possible adult Arctic Tern in flight with a Common Tern in the vicinity of Interstate Island near the I-535 bridge.

Also reported this week were some additional WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS seen today by Mark Stensaas in Carlton Co. They were found at several locations along the Ditchbank Rd, which is reached by following Spirit Lake Rd N for 6 mi from Minn Hwy 210; Spirit Lake Rd turns N off 210 about 7 mi E of Cromwell. And in the Sax-Zim Bog yesterday Dave Benson saw some additional SHARP-TAILED GROUSE along Co Rd 155 just E of Co Rd 29, 1 mi N of Meadowlands.

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 updates would normally be on July 6 and 13. Note, however, that if there is little or no birding news, as is often the case here in July, this report may not be updated on a weekly basis until August. 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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