[mou] Northwest Minnesota Birding Report- Friday, October 17, 2003

[Jeanie Joppru]

This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Friday, October 17,
2003 sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce. You
may also hear this report by calling (218) 847-5743 or 1-800-433-1888.

There is no doubt that it is indeed fall here now- the leaves came down
all at once and lie in great drifts in all of our yards- all except
those whose owners stayed at home last weekend to do the cleanup instead
of going birding. Fortunately for this report, lots of birders chose not
to do that!

For the second week in a row, there are reports of SURF SCOTERS. On
October 10th , Craig Mandel found two  at the Thief River Falls
wastewater treatment ponds in Pennington County; these were relocated on
Sunday, October 12th. The two found last week at Agassiz NWR in Marshall
County were seen again on Headquarters Pool on Saturday, October 11th.=20

A BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER was observed by Josh Watson in Roseau
County on the 13th, 7 miles north  and 10 miles west of Greenbush. This
would put the location almost on the Kittson County line. Other species
reported by Josh in Roseau County included COOPER'S HAWK, ROUGH-SLEGGED
HAWK, SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, AMERICAN WOODCOCK, BONAPARTE'S GULL,
LONG-EARED OWL, GRAY JAY, MARSH WREN, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, and a single
SNOW BUNTING!

The weekend shorebird survey at Agassiz NWR  included a surprising
record high count for the refuge of 36 AMERICAN AVOCETS; the count of
312 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS set a new state record high count for the
second week in a row. A total of 593 individuals of 12 species were
counted . Two GREAT EGRETS were still there, a single ROSS'S GOOSE, and
the two Surf Scoters were also noted at the refuge.

Craig Mandel found two coveys of GRAY PARTRIDGE in Pennington County on
October 10th- one near the Thief River Falls wastewater treatment ponds,
one along highway 32 just south of Thief River Falls. GREATER SCAUP
were among the ducks seen at the wastewater treatment ponds.

Peder Svingen reported two GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS in Lake Pleasant
township of Red Lake County on Monday, October 13th. He also spotted a
COMMON LOON and an AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER  near the Red Lake Falls
wastewater treatment ponds the same day. Many SNOW GEESE were seen in
the county on the 11th.

A ROSS'S GOOSE was found by Craig Mandel at the East Grand Forks
wastewater treatment ponds in Polk County on October 10th. Donna and
Leon Thoreson reported AMERICAN PIPITS  in a harvested sugar beet field
on October 10th.

Mahnomen County birds reported by Craig Mandel included 6 TRUMPETER
SWANS, SNOW GEESE, and two NORTHERN SHRIKES. He also found RUSTY
BLACKBIRD, and BREWER'S BLACKBIRD.=20

A CATTLE EGRET was at the Barnesville wastewater treatment ponds in Clay
County on October 10th. On the 13th Rick Gjervold  found a GREAT EGRET
along CR 18 at the Buffalo River crossing . At Bicentennial Prairie east
of Felton, he was startled by a MERLIN chasing a flock of sparrows as it
passed about three feet away from him. Other birds seen there included
GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS, AMERICAN TREE SPARROW, HARRIS'S SPARROW, and
WESTERN MEADOWLARK.

In Becker County, Mary Wyatt reported a BROWN CREEPER on October 12, a
TREE SPARROW at Tamarac NWR on the 14th, and a FOX SPARROW on the
15th.Sally Hausken had four EASTERN BLUEBIRDS in her birdbath on the
south shore of Detroit Lake on October 10th.

A SMITH'S LONGSPUR was observed by Craig Mandel one mile south of the
Rothsay WMA in Wilkin County on October 12th. A RED-NECKED GREBE was at
the Barnesville wastewater treatment ponds, and a SHORT-EARED OWL was
spotted at 7pm at the intersection of CR 15 and CR 30.

In Otter Tail County, Craig found 3 ROSS'S GEESE 2 miles north of
Highway 210 on the west side of Otter Tail County Road 21. The SNOWY
EGRET was relocated on the south side of Rush Lake, and a late CLIFF
SWALLOW was seen at the Rothsay WMA. Other species seen in the county
included GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN, SORA, AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, and
AMERICAN PIPIT. Alma Ronningen reported a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER at their
feeder on the 11th. Nancy Jackson found four LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS at
the corner of CR 150 and CR 50 on Wednesday, and a SNOW BUNTING at the
Henning wastewater treatment ponds on October 16th.

Thanks to Gretchen Mehmel, Josh Watson, Pat Rice, Craig Mandel, Donna
and Leon Thoreson, Rick Gjervold, Peder Svingen, Sally Hausken, Nancy
Jackson, Mary Wyatt, and Alma Ronningen  for their reports.

Please report bird sightings to Jeanie Joppru by email, no later than
Thursday each week, at ajjoppru@wiktel.com OR call the Detroit Lakes
Chamber's toll free number: 1-800-542-3992. Detroit Lakes area birders
please call 847-9202. Please include the county where the sighting took
place. When reporting by email please put "NW Bird Report" in the
subject line of your message. The next scheduled update of this report
is Friday, October 24, 2003.