[mou] Duluth CBC 1/26/06

[Jim Lind]

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, January 26th, 2006 
sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Peder Svingen and Kim Eckert found a juvenile GYFALCON on the 
afternoon of the 21st on the ice in the Duluth harbor.  Peder 
observed the bird from the Park Point bus turnaround near the 
recreation area at the same time Kim and others were observing the 
bird from across the harbor at Barker's Island in Superior.  Mike 
Hendrickson then found an adult GRYFALCON on the 23rd in the Duluth 
Port Terminal perched on the tower next to the Blatnik Bridge.  This 
may be the same individual seen on the harbor ice on December 29th.  
A PEREGRINE FALCON continues to be seen regularly around the Port 
Terminal and downtown Duluth.

A LONG-TAILED DUCK was found with a flock of more than 300 COMMON 
GOLDENEYES by Peder Svingen on the 21st in the shipping lane at Canal 
Park in Duluth.  Peder also found an adult ICELAND GULL at Canal Park 
on the 22nd, as well as four GLAUCOUS GULLS.  What may be the same 
ICELAND GULL was seen on the 24th at Gull Bluff, just past the 
Superior dump.  The female RING-NECKED DUCK and male HOODED MERGANSER 
were still present in the Duluth harbor as of the 24th, and the five 
GREATER SCAUP were seen on the 22nd.   The VARIED THRUSH on the UMD 
campus was relocated on the 22nd along St. Marie Street just west of 
Oakland Avenue.  

Peg Robertson relocated a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE on the 20th, 0.25 mile 
west of the Tofte Town Park along the Godin Sugar Beach Road.  Larry 
Ronning heard a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL calling on the 19th near Lake 
County Road 2, about three miles north of Two Harbors.  A flock of 
more than 600 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS was seen on the 21st by Steve and Jo 
Blanich in northeast Crosby, Crow Wing County.  Mike Hendrickson 
found a flock of 200-300 Bohemians in Beaver Bay, Lake County on the 
24th, which may signal a movement down the North Shore.  Most 
sightings of Bohemians this winter have been far away from Duluth.

Mike Hendrickson and others found a SPRUCE GROUSE on the 24th along 
Lake County Road 2, 0.25 mile north of the Sand River.  They also 
found RED CROSSBILLS on Minnesota Highway 1, near mile marker 298, 
and BOREAL CHICKADEES along the Spruce Road.  

Kim Eckert reported two GREAT GRAY OWLS hunting together on the 22nd 
along the Arkola Road (CR 52), 0.5 mile to a mile east of Owl Avenue 
(CR 203).  A female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER was reported by several 
people along the logging trail on the east side of the McDavitt Road 
(CR 213), about 2.5 miles north of the Sax Road (CR 28).  Bruce 
Pomeroy found three BOREAL CHICKADEES along the Blue Spruce Road (CR 
211), 0.5 mile north of CR 133. Several ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS are being 
seen in the bog, including two dark morph birds seen by Dan Badger on 
the 25th along CR 7. 

NORTHERN HAWK OWLS were again seen over the weekend in the Sax-Zim 
bog along the Stone Lake Road (CR 319) and along the McDavitt Road 
north of the Sax Road.  There was also a recent sighting along Arkola 
Road (CR 52), between Owl Avenue (CR 203) and the Stickney Road (CR 
207).  Al Schirmacher found a Hawk Owl on the 22nd along Aitkin CR 5 
about a mile south of Palisade.

SNOWY OWLS have been seen at several locations in Aitkin County 
recently.  Warren Nelson and Bill Stauffer found five on the 21st, 
including one along 450th Street (TR 380) 0.8 mile west of CR 5 and 
another 2 miles west of CR 5, one on 310th Avenue 1.0 mile north of 
450th Street, one 0.5 mile south of Tamarack along Kestrel Avenue (CR 
16), and another on CR 1 about 1.5 miles north of the diversion 
channel.  Two were seen at the CR 1 location on the 22nd by Steve and 
Jo Blanich.  The Snowy Owl at the Duluth airport was seen yesterday 
along Airport Approach Road near the Fed Ex building.  The one along 
Tower Avenue across from the Superior airport was seen again over the 
weekend, and one was seen on the ice in the Duluth Harbor on the 
22nd, out from the Park Point recreation area.  

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, 
February 2nd.

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.