[mou] spruce grouse, mockingbird & other good birds

[Steve and Sherry Watson]

Hello All,
I have not been around the last couple days as I have been birding hard.
On the 3rd of June I found a Northern Mockingbird at Spruce Creek while
attending Bob Janssen's Pre-festival class.  It was moving a lot through
the thick scrubby area around just up where the road bends.  Later in
the day I was scouting the Lima mountain field trip for the Boreal Bird
Festival with John Hockema and we discovered a female spruce grouse
along the Shoe Lake Road which turns off of the Greenwood Lake road that
also is off the Gunflint trail.  The bird festival held several great
birds.  On the 4th (the first day of the festival) I found a
Black-backed woodpecker nest along the Lima Mountain Grade.  Turn off on
the Lima Mountain road off the gunflint trail and it will take you to
the grade then turn north and go to the second burn area off on the
left.  Other birds for the week include a grey catbird up the gunflint
by trail center, several Wilson's warblers one off of the Lima Mountain
grade.  There was a boreal chickadee up the gunflint as well but I am
not sure exactly where as it was on one of the other trips.  I have also
been checking out the fields off of county road 60 in Cook County which
is just up the gunflint before Hedstroms lumber.  I found a few
LeConte's sparrows on territory out in the fields which was quite cool.
I also heard a Virginia rail and sora calling from within the low wet
grass and marsh as well as several sedge wrens and even a marsh wren.
Bobolinks were quite common and there were a few bitterns as well.
There were several other species around the area as well.  Good birding
to all.

Josh Watson
Grand Marais        

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