[mou] Duluth RBA 12/18/05 (Duluth CBC)

[Jim Lind]

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Sunday, December 18, sponsored 
by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. The report is being updated 
today to report on the results of area Christmas Bird Counts held 
this weekend.

Fifty-two people found a preliminary count of 58 species yesterday at 
the Duluth Christmas Bird Count.  Highlights included record high 
counts of 5 MERLINS, 269 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, 25 NORTHERN 
CARDINALS, 1,295 PURPLE FINCHES, 2,669 PINE SISKINS, and 1,630 
unidentified FINCHES (mostly migrating along Lake Superior).  Other 
highlights included a GADWALL, RING-NECKED DUCK, 5 GREATER SCAUP and 
a HOODED MERGANSER in the Duluth harbor, a COMMON LOON at Park Point, 
a PEREGRINE FALCON downtown, two GREAT HORNED OWLS, two SNOWY OWLS in 
the Duluth Harbor, a BELTED KINGFISHER on Tischer Creek near 
Arrowhead Road and Columbus Avenue, a VARIED THRUSH in a crab apple 
tree on the UMD campus along St. Marie Street near Bayview Street, 
RED CROSSBILLS, a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, and a HOARY REDPOLL.  A 
"count week" RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER was seen today along Orange 
Street.  Species missed included Bufflehead, Barred Owl, Gray Jay, 
Boreal Chickadee, and Common Grackle.  If you saw any of these 
species on Saturday within the Duluth count circle, please leave a 
message about your sighting.

The Two Harbors Christmas Bird Count today turned up a preliminary 
total of 44 species, including a COMMON LOON at Larsmont, 7 HORNED 
GREBES near the mouth of the Stewart River, and a MERLIN and VARIED 
THRUSH at 4th Avenue and 1st Street in downtown Two Harbors.  
Impressive numbers of finches were also seen on this count, including 
nearly 1,000 PURPLE FINCHES.

Repeating from Thursday's report, SNOWY OWLS were seen during the 
previous week in several locations, including one in the Port 
Terminal area of the Duluth harbor under the Blatnik Bridge, one 
along Airport Approach Road on the west side of the Duluth Airport, 
one near Esko in Carlton County, at the junction of the Canosia Road 
(CR 1) and the Harney Road, one along the Arkola Road (CR 52) about 
two miles west of CR 7 in the Sax-Zim bog, one along CR 7 south of 
the Byrne Greenhouse, and two at Northshore Mining property in Silver 
Bay.

Two NORTHERN HAWK OWLS were relocated in the Sax-Zim bog along the 
Stone Lake Road on the 17th, one was seen along CR 85, two miles west 
of MN 73 in northwestern St. Louis County, one was found near Palo 
along CR 99, a mile north of CR 16, one was along the Lavaque Road 
(CR 98), 1.3 miles north of the Martin Road (CR 9) on the 17th, one 
was seen at the junction of Forest Highway 11 (CR 15) and CR 2, and 
one was also seen about six miles east of here along Forest Highway 
11.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, 
December 22nd.

The 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 moumn.org.