[mou] Duluth RBA 5/23/04

[David Benson]

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Sunday, May 23, 2004, sponsored 
by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Sixty birders on 16 teams braved cold temperatures, rain, and strong 
winds during yesterday's Hawk Ridge Birdathon. The winning team of John 
Hockema, Bob Dunlap, Jake Mussou, and Ben Fritchman recorded 150 
species, and the composite total for all teams was 197 species--an 
impressive effort for a challenging day.

Highlights include 3 RED-THROATED LOONS seen on Lake Superior between 
the bath house and the airport; a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, also seen at 
Park Point;  several YELLOW RAILS heard calling in the Sax-Zim area 
along Stone Lake Rd (Cty Rd 319); 2 PIPING PLOVERS at the south end of 
Hearding Island; 6 WHIMBRELS in the same location; 2 jaegers over Lake 
Superior off Park Point; and 3 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, a first winter 
bird, a second year bird, and an adult, all seen at Park Point. Twenty 
species of waterfowl were recorded, 21 species of shorebirds, and all 
26 species of regular warblers were seen.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, May 27.

The telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-728-5030. 
Information about bird sightings may be left following the recorded 
message.

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