[mou] Duluth RBA 10/27/04

[David Benson]

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Wednesday, October 27, 2004,=20
sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

We may be at the beginning of a large irruption of northern owls. Steve=20=

and Diane Millard found 7 NORTHERN HAWK OWLS in the Sax-Zim area on=20
Monday and Tuesday, including several birds along Cty Rd 7 north of 133=20=

and another bird a mile east of Cty Rd 7 on Stone Lake Rd. Another bird=20=

was reported on the Beyer Rd near Jean Duluth Rd and the Strand Rd on=20
the 24th.

The Millards also found a GREAT GRAY OWL on Cty Rd 83, 2.5 miles south=20=

of 27. Jim Lind found another today on the Stanley Rd (Cty Rd 9) about=20=

4 miles west of Hwy 61 and the Two Harbors Ford dealership. Doug=20
Johnson found another along Hwy 61 one mile west of Flood Bay. Yet=20
another Great Gray was seen along Cty Rd 16 between Makinen and=20
Brimson. The bird =A0was in the vicinity of the extensive spruce bog one=20=

mile west of the entrance to the Whiteface National Forest Service=20
Campground. Uwe Kausch had a GREAT GRAY OWL at his house northeast of=20
Duluth.

The first SNOWY OWL of the season was found October 23rd at Paradise=20
Beach in Cook County, about 14 miles northeast of Grand Marais.

The CLARK'S NUTCRACKER in Silver Bay was seen by many observers through=20=

the 24th, but to my knowledge it has not been seen since.

Mike Hendrickson saw a PACIFIC LOON and a BLACK SCOTER on Lake Superior=20=

off Park Point today.

Chris Wood found a first-winter LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at the mouth=20
of the Knife River on the 26th. Jim Lind found a first-winter THAYER'S=20=

GULL there on the same day. Peder Svingen and Phil Chu found 5 CATTLE=20
EGRETS in Two Harbors on the 23rd. The birds were on the ball field=20
along Hwy 2, two blocks north of 61. They were still present on the=20
24th. A HARLEQUIN DUCK, a LONG-TAILED DUCK, and SURF SCOTERS have been=20=

seen in Burlington Bay at Two Harbors at various times this week.

Two HARLEQUIN DUCKS were seen at Grand Marais over the weekend, and=20
SURF SCOTERS and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS  were observed at Paradise Beach=20=

during the last week.

Several THAYER'S GULLS and at least two GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS have=20
been seen at the Superior Entry between Minnesota and Wisconsin Points=20=

earlier this week. Mike Conley had an albino AMERICAN ROBIN in Proctor=20=

on the 21st and 22nd.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, November=20=

4.

The telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-728-5030.=20
Information about bird sightings may be left following the recorded=20
message.

The Duluth Birding Report is sponsored and funded by the Minnesota=20
Ornithologists' Union (MOU) as a service to its members. For more=20
information on the MOU, either write us c/o the Bell Museum to=20
mou@cbs.umn.edu, or visit the MOU web site at mou.mn.org.=