Minnesota Statewide RBA

Previous reports: August 3 10 25 , September 10 17 23 , October 1 8 15 23 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Duluth/North Shore
-RBA
*Minnesota
*Minnesota Statewide
*October 29, 1997
*MNST9810.29

-Birds mentioned
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota Statewide
Date: October 29, 1997
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (612) 780-8890
Compiler: Anthony Hertzel
Transcriber: Anthony Hertzel
Re-transcriber: David Cahlander (dac@skypoint.com)

This is the Minnesota birding report for Thursday October 29th sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Kim Eckert reported a SPRAGUE'S PIPIT near the town of Rothsay on October 24th. To reach this location: go west from Rothsay on Wilkin County Road. 26 for four miles, turn north and go two miles, then west half a mile to the hay shed on the north side of the road. The pipit was in the mown hayfield about 400 yards north of the shed.

On October 24th, Diane Anderson and Bob Ekblad took the initiative and found the winter plumaged BLACK-HEADED GULL that had been reported on the Iowa RBA at the north end of Big Spirit Lake in Jackson County. The gull frequently drifts across the state line, often feeding in Minnesota but loafing in Iowa. Note, though, that BONAPARTE'S GULL and FRANKLIN'S GULL are also in the area and can pose identification problems if not seen well.

Paul Budde reported a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL from Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis on the 25th, and the bird was still present on the 27th.

Betsy Beneke found a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE at Tamarac NWR in Becker County on October 23rd. She found it near the maintenance area, one quarter of a mile east of the visitor center.

A NORTHERN SHRIKE was reported on the 25th by Ken LaFond just south of Forest Lake on the Anoka / Washington county line. A second shrike was seen at Snail Lake Regional Park in Shoreview, Ramsey County by Terry Brashear and Dave Cahlander on the 28th. And on the 29th, Bruce Baer reported one from the Bass Ponds area in Bloomington, Hennepin County.

On October 29th, a PRAIRIE FALCON was reported from the public gardens just west of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. The bird was moving quickly to the north and may be spending some time at the grain elevators that are between Hiawatha and Dight Avenues, from 36th to 42nd streets.

On the 25th, two BLACK SCOTERS were at the Ada sewage ponds in Norman County. Drew Smith reported a female BLACK SCOTER from the east side of Lake Byllesby in Dakota County on the 29th.

In Rochester, Olmsted County, a CAROLINA WREN was seen again at Leslie Kotkke's feeder on October 27th. Please call Leslie before visiting at 507-280-9444.

And finally, a possible EURASIAN WIGEON was reported from Grass Lake in the southwestern part of Minneapolis, but I have no further details. Unfortunately, there are three Grass Lakes in the Minneapolis area alone. It is likely, however, that this particular Grass Lake is the one situated directly northwest of the western junction of 35W and Crosstown Blvd.

For information on joining our state wide bird organization write the MOU at

10 Church Street SE University of Minnesota Minneapolis MN, 55455

or e-mail us at MOUMembers@aol.com. The next scheduled update of this tape is Thursday November 5th.

Send your rare and unusual Minnesota sightings to our electronic hotline: MnRBA@linux.winona.msus.edu. To learn more, send a message (the message being these two words: info end) to mnrba-request@linux.winona.msus.edu.




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