[mou] Duluth RBA 12/18/03

[David R. Benson]

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, December 18, 2003,
sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

This week brought the first indications that there may be an irruption of
GREAT GRAY OWLS this winter. Five Great Grays were seen on the Sax-Zim
Christmas Bird Count on the 15th; locations include 1.6 miles west of 53 on
133, 2.0 miles west of 7 on 133, 2.7 miles north of 207 on 788, 2.6 miles
north of 207 on 788 and 3.6 miles north of the Sax Rd on Stickney. Several
of these owls were actively hunting at midday. Also, Great Grays were
reported from these locations this week: on Lake Cty Rd 2 just north of the
Stony River Township sign, and on Aitkin Cty Rd 18, 1 mile west of Pietz's
Rd (3 miles east of Hwy 169). In addition I have second-hand reports of
owls from Thompson Hill and the Cant Road near Duluth, and from the Shilhon
Road near Two Harbors.

The Two Harbors CBC on the 14th tallied a record 50 species, including a
HARLEQUIN DUCK at Agate Bay, THAYER'S and GLAUCOUS GULLS, 2 RED-BELLIED
WOODPECKERS, 2 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS at the Kordki ski trails, BOHEMIAN
WAXWINGS in the downtown area, a BROWN THRASHER, 5 NORTHERN CARDINALS, a
FOX SPARROW, 40 DARK-EYED JUNCOS, and over 100 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS.

The Grand Marais CBC was also held on the 14th. Notable sightings from the
day included a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, and a HERMIT
THRUSH.

The Sax-Zim CBC was on the 15th. In addition to the five Great Gray Owls
listed above, the count found four BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS, three of them
on Stickney, 2.8 miles north of the Sax Rd. There were also BOREAL
CHICKADEES on Owl Ave and on 788 2.7 miles north of 207.

In Duluth this week, there was a PEREGRINE FALCON in the Port Terminal, and
at Canal Park, 2 adult THAYER'S GULLS and 1 adult and 1 first-winter
GLAUCOUS GULL.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Saturday, December
20th, to report on the results of the Duluth Christmas Bird Count.

The phone number for the Duluth Birding Report is (218) 728-5030, and
callers can report bird sightings if they wish after the tone at the end of
each tape.

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
mou@cbs.umn.edu; or visit the MOU web site at mou.mn.org.