[mou] Cook Co. birds

[Jim & Carol Tveekrem]

Took a quick trip to Grand Marais yesterday, saw the Sage Thrasher east of
the green Dog Pound building at the northeast end of the Rec. Park area.
Believe it or not, we hadn't found it on a previous trip.  One great blue
heron flew over, headed west along the shore, saw one shrike (probably
northern) in trees along the shore, but didn't get a close enough look to
determine species.  Good enough look to eliminate gray jay or mockingbird.
We didn't chase the mountain bluebird since birders we met hadn't found it.
DUH!

A male red-bellied woodpecker visited our feeders late afternoon, but has
not been seen today.  This is the first one we have had here in the yard.

White-breasted nuthatches are increasing in our neighborhood.  We see at
least one male and one female regularly, as do other local feeder watchers.
We had a huge influx of black-capped chickadees in late September/early
October, but have not heard of them showing up south of here yet.  Seems to
me there are more at the feeders, so maybe they are staying around.

The first pine grosbeaks to visit our feeders since winter of 2001-02 showed
up this morning.  No redpolls yet, but a few pine siskins have been here
sporadically.  Most Lapland longspurs have moved south, but there are still
flocks of snow buntings with the occasional horned lark or longspur among
them.  Earlier this week we had small groups of rusty blackbirds, and one
lone immature male red-winged blackbird about the same time as the one
reported on the Gunflint Trail.

A lone meadowlark just turned up on the lawn.  I saw feathery remains of
likely meadowlark at Rec. Park in Grand Marais yesterday, also.

Are yellow-bellied sapsuckers scarce this summer and fall, or have we just
missed them?

Jim & Carol Tveekrem,
Schroeder