[mou] Duluth RBA 4/28/05

[Jim Lind]

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, April 28th, sponsored 
by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

A BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was seen yesterday and today by Jim 
Barrett at Spirit Lake, along the railroad tracks in west Duluth's 
Morgan Park.  A probable ROSS'S GOOSE was seen on the 25th at 
Interstate Island, but it hasn't been relocated.

Very few new arrivals were reported this week, with PINE WARBLERS and 
SWAMP SPARROW found on the 24th.

Three HARLEQUIN DUCKS are still being seen in the Grand Marais harbor 
as of today.  The WHITE-WINGED SCOTER was also relocated today with a 
large flock of scaup in the Duluth harbor near the Park Point rowing 
club.  Jan Green and others report that at least 20 TUNDRA SWANS are 
still being seen on the St. Louis River near Boy Scout Landing.  
Large numbers of HORNED GREBES have been seen this week on Lake 
Superior, with 830 counted on the 25th between Duluth and the Stewart 
River northeast of Two Harbors.  A flock of 22 LONG-TAILED DUCKS was 
seen near the McQuade Road on the 22nd, and 12 were again seen on the 
25th between Burlington Bay and Flood Bay near Two Harbors.  

The West Skyline Hawk Count has been relatively slow recently, with 
no significant flights since the 21st when over 1,400 raptors were 
counted, including 987 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS and two GOLDEN EAGLES.  
Flocks of AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS continue to be seen, with as many 
as 58 on the 23rd.

The Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is looking for nesting observations 
and locations of Merlins in and around the city of Duluth.  They are 
hoping to document the distribution and productivity of Merlins in 
this area.  Reports should be sent ASAP to assure time for nesting 
observations to occur.  Please contact Frank Nicoletti either by 
phone at (218) 724-0758 or by e-mail at bjboreal@aol.com.  

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, May 
5th.

The new telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-834-
2858.  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 to 
mou@cbs.umn.edu, or visit the MOU web site at mou.mn.org.