[mou] Duluth RBA 2/9/06

[Jim Lind]

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, February 9th, 2006 
sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

An adult GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL was seen by Dave and Jonas Benson on 
the 5th in Duluth at the Central High School parking lot at 800 East 
Central Entrance. The bird did not stay in the area long and was last 
seen flying towards the Miller Hill Mall area.  

Mike Hendrickson relocated the YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER on the 8th along 
Skyline Parkway in Duluth, about 100 yards east of the entrance to 
Chester Bowl.  The bird is often seen with a flock of PINE SISKINS.  
Mike also relocated the female LONG-TAILED DUCK and a second-winter 
GLAUCOUS GULL at Canal Park on the 8th, the five GREATER SCAUP in the 
harbor near the General Mills elevator, and the PEREGRINE FALCON at 
the Cargill elevator.

Jan and John Green saw a BOREAL OWL on the 7th in their yard off 
North Shore Road east of the Bergquist Road, although it has not been 
seen since.  They have also had a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and a BARRED OWL 
in their yard during in the past two days.

A BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE was seen on the 4th and the 5th feeding on deer 
carcasses at the Castle Danger landfill in Lake County.  The road to 
the landfill is off CR 106, about 0.75 miles west of MN Highway 61.  
A NORTHERN HAWK OWL was seen on the 4th along Highway 61 on the west 
side of Gooseberry State Park.  It has apparently been in the area 
for a couple of weeks.  Four HORNED GREBES were seen again near the 
mouth of the Stewart River on the 5th.

Ron and Tim Kolde found a SPRUCE GROUSE on the 7th along Lake County 
Road 2, 0.25 mile south of MN Highway 1.  They also saw a BOREAL 
CHICKADEE along the Outward Bound Road off the Spruce Road, and 
several EVENING GROSBEAKS at the Moose Cafe in Isabella.

Mike Hendrickson relocated the NORTHERN HAWK OWL in the Sax-Zim bog 
on the 5th near the Stone Lake Road, although it was on the west side 
of CR 7 just north of the intersection.  Mike also reported two BLACK-
BACKED WOODPECKERS along the McDavitt Road (CR 213), about 2.5 miles 
north of the Sax Road (CR 28) near the logging trail on the east side 
of the road.  On the 5th, Linda Sparling found a NORTHERN HAWK OWL 
west of Meadowlands along CR 133, 0.7 mile west of CR 5.  Linda also 
saw a SNOWY OWL just north of Meadowlands on CR 29 about 0.8 miles 
north of CR 133, and five SHARP-TAILED GROUSE along the Arkola Road 
(CR 52), west of the Stickney Road (CR 207).

Several people reported the NORTHERN HAWK OWL over the past week 
north of Duluth on the Lavaque Road (CR 48), 1 to 2 miles north of 
the Martin Road (CR 9).  Dave Grosshuesch saw a SNOWY OWL today at 
the Duluth Airport near the Fed Ex building along Airport Approach 
Road.  

Warren Nelson reported three SNOWY OWLS in Aitkin County on the 4th 
at the following locations: one on CR 1 about 1.5 miles north of the 
diversion channel, one along 450th Street (TR 380) about 2 miles west 
of CR 5, and one on 310th Avenue about a mile north of 450th Street.  
On February 5th, Warren and others found five SNOWY OWLS including an 
additional bird along CR 1 just north of CR 22, and three birds along 
the first 1.5 miles of 310th Avenue, north of 450th Street.  Warren 
also saw a NORTHERN HAWK OWL on both days along CR 5, about 0.5 mile 
south of Minnesota Highway 232 near Palisade, and another along 350th 
Avenue, 0.4 mile south of CR 56 (390th St.).  BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were 
seen on the south side of the town of Aitkin, near MN Highway 47 and 
US Highway 169.  

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, 
February 16th.

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.