[mou] Duluth RBA 1/19/06

[Jim Lind]

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, January 19th, 2006 
sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

The male HARLEQUIN DUCK in Grand Marais was relocated today by Ken 
and Molly Hoffman outside of the harbor near Artists' Point.  A 
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was found on the 15th in Cook County along 
Highway 61 on the east side of Schroeder, at Father Baragas Cross 
Road.  A flock of about 125 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS and 25 CEDAR WAXWINGS 
was seen in Grand Marais on the 15th a block north of Highway 61 on 
8th Avenue.  A pair of NORTHERN CARDINALS was seen at 10th Avenue and 
2nd Street. 

A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER was seen in Beaver Bay, Lake County on the 
15th, in the small neighborhood south of Highway 61 at Slater Drive 
and Ruth Street.  A pair of NORTHERN CARDINALS and four AMERICAN 
ROBINS were also seen here.  

The VARIED THRUSH on the UMD campus was relocated by several 
observers over the weekend in the crab apple trees along St. Marie 
Street just west of Oakland Avenue.  Mike Hendrickson also saw the 
bird on the 16th west of here, next to the Bagley Nature Area parking 
lot.  With UMD classes back in session this area will be very 
congested during weekdays.

EVENING GROSBEAKS, PINE GROSBEAKS, and COMMON REDPOLLS are being seen 
along Minnesota Highway 1 at the Moose Caf=E9 in Isabella.  EVENING 
GROSBEAKS were also seen over the weekend along the Stone Lake Road 
(CR 319) in the Sax-Zim bog and in the town of Ely.  BOHEMIAN 
WAXWINGS, COMMON REDPOLLS, PINE SISKINS, and PURPLE FINCHES are also 
being seen in good numbers in Ely.  

NORTHERN HAWK OWLS in the Sax-Zim bog were relocated over the weekend 
by several groups along the Stone Lake Road (CR 319) and along the 
McDavitt Road (CR 213) north of the Sax Road (CR 28).  There have 
also been recent St. Louis County sightings north of Chisholm near 
the Lake Road, on the Lind Road (CR 85) two miles west of Highway 5, 
and along US Highway 53 south of International Falls.  Shawn Conrad 
found one in Itasca County on the 15th on CR 48, just south of the 
Alder Road.  Bob Williams reported one in Aitkin County along Kestrel 
Avenue (CR 16), 2.7 miles north of the town of Lawler.

The GREAT GRAY OWL along the McDavitt Road was relocated on the 14th 
by Joshua Uffman, two miles north of the Sax Road (CR 28).  He also 
found a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER on the McDavitt Road, about 2.5 miles 
north of the Sax Road.  In Lake County, Joshua found a SPRUCE GROUSE 
on the 15th along Minnesota Highway 1, a mile east of the Spruce 
Road.  In Aitkin County, he reported a SNOWY OWL on the 13th along 
the Great River Road (CR 10), just west of 650th Lane, and another 
along Kestrel Avenue (CR 16) just south of Tamarack.  

Two SNOWY OWLS have been seen by Warren Nelson south of Palisade 
along 450th Street west of CR 5.  One was seen over the weekend by 
several commuters at the Duluth Airport out from the main terminal 
and along the western runway near Airport Approach Road.  It was seen 
again today along Airport Approach Road near the Fed Ex building.  
Another Snowy was seen by Kim Eckert and others over the weekend in 
Superior, along Tower Avenue across from the airport.  A MERLIN was 
also seen in the area.  

Kim Eckert's group found a GREAT GRAY OWL along Lake County Road 2, 
1.8 miles north of the White Pines wayside rest.  In Duluth, they 
relocated two adult GLAUCOUS GULLS at Canal Park on the 18th, and an 
adult ICELAND GULL flying overhead at the Superior landfill.  They 
also saw the male GADWALL in the Duluth harbor near the Cargill 
elevators.  In the Sax-Zim bog they found WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS on 
the 15th along the Nichols Lake Road, a mile west of US Highway 53.  
This species has been extremely difficult to find this winter.  

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, January 
26th.

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.