[mou] Northwest Minnesota Birding Report- Friday, December 24 , 2004

[Jeanie Joppru]

This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Friday, December 24,
2004 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.

The weather has not been kind to the participants in the Christmas Bird
Counts which started this week. They have had to deal with high winds
and cold temperatures. At least there has been no heavy snowfall, and
many counts registered average and above average species counts.

Eddy Edwards reported that four species of blackbirds- RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRD, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, RUSTY BLACKBIRD, and COMMON GRACKLE
were seen in the town of Herman in Grant County this week.

The Fergus Falls CBC which took place on December 18th, found a NORTHERN
GOSHAWK, and two HOARY REDPOLLS in Otter Tail County. Roland Jordahl saw
a NORTHERN HARRIER in that county on December 19th. Eddy Edwards
reported that a probable VARIED THRUSH was seen on the 17th two miles
south of the town of Vining.

In Clay County, the Fargo-Moorhead CBC reported a BROWN THRASHER on the
Minnesota side of the river. Other species from Minnesota included a
TRUMPETER SWAN, almost 3000 geese including 134 CACKLING GEESE, many
MALLARDS, as well as NORTHERN PINTAIL, CANVASBACK, COMMON GOLDENEYE, and
RUDDY DUCK. Also in Clay County, a probable EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE has
been coming to the feeder of Carol and Larry Krose in Hitterdahl for
over a month. They are at 316 W. Front Street- the last house on the
west end of town. The homeowners are willing to have birders come to see
the bird but advise them to not drive down the alley as this will spook
the bird. It is coming to a feeder shaped like a boat behind the house.
They recommend parking in front and walking around the side of the house
if they are not home. The bird has been coming most frequently around
10:30 am and 3:30 pm.

A GREAT GRAY OWL was reported at the Wetlands, Pines, and Prairies
Audubon Sanctuary in Polk County on December 14th. On a recent trip to
Grand Forks from Thief River Falls, Shelley Steva saw about 600 SNOW
BUNTINGS. Dave Lambeth reported that the Grand Forks/East Grand Forks
CBC found some birds on the Minnesota side of the circle. They included
an EASTERN SCREECH OWL, a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, NORTHERN FLICKER,
BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, and TREE SPARROW. Tim Driscoll observed a RED-TAILED
HAWK in Polk County on December 20th.

Peder Svingen found an adult GOLDEN EAGLE in the far eastern part of
Pennington County on December 20th near the intersection of CR27 and CR
60. Zeann Linder reported about a hundred BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in Thief
River Falls on the 19th.

A NORTHERN HAWK OWL was observed by Peder Svingen along MN highway 92 in
Clearwater County 1.6 miles east of CR 65.

The Bemidji CBC in Beltrami County was held on December 18th. Doug
Johnson reported that a GREAT GRAY OWL was found near Boot Lake. Among
the other species reported on that day were both CEDAR WAXWINGS, and
BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, SNOW BUNTINGS, PINE GROSBEAKS, WHITE-WINGED
CROSSBILLS, COMMON REDPOLL, and HOARY REDPOLL.

Melanie Torkelson reported that a GREAT GRAY OWL was seen on December
19th near the intersection of MN highway 310 and Roseau CR16. Another
was seen on December 22nd at the intersection of CR 118 and MN Highway
89.

Gretchen Mehmel in Lake of the Woods County reported that a NORTHERN
SHRIKE is still being seen near the Norris Camp bird feeder.

Lastly , for those who watch the neighboring lists for unusual species,
a CLARK'S NUTCRACKER is being reliably seen at a private bird feeder
near Svold a few miles west of Cavalier in Pembina County, North Dakota.
If anyone needs directions, email me and I'll send them to you.=20

Thanks to Roland Jordahl, Peder Svingen, Eddy Edwards, Cliff Steinhauer,
Doug Johnson, Zeann Linder, Tim Driscoll, Gretchen Mehmel, Shelley
Steva, Dave Lambeth, Bob O'Connor, Melanie Torkelson, Carol Krose, and
Pat Rice for their reports. Happy holidays everyone, and many great bird
sightings to all!

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, December 31, 2004.