[mou] January 1, 1007 - NE Minnesota - Aitkin, Carlton & St. Louis Counties

[CRAIG MANDEL]

January 1, 2007

Started my year out birding with Conny Brunell in NE Minnesota.  We started 
out with a stop for the Rosy-Finches at sunrise and hit some previously 
posted locations in search of American Three-toed Woodpeckers, of which we 
were unsuccessful in our search for.  The snow in some of the areas 
prevented us from checking out some of the locations.

Saint Louis county
**Lake Nichols Road - (about 3/4 of a mile West of Hyw. 53) Habitat looked 
good and there was lots of striped trees as noted in the previous posting. 
But did not see or hear any birds.

**Cr 211 (Blue Spruce Road) (From CR 133 to about 6/10ths North of CR 133) 
Again Good habitat and lots of signs of woodpeckers.  We did hear what 
sounded like an American Three-toed Woodpecker, but were never able to see 
the bird.  Enabling us to confirm the species calling.

**Hedbom State Forest Road - We approached the area from the Saint Louis 
County side and chose not to try it do to the heavy snow cover and the small 
size of my vehicle.  Not sure what the Aitkin county side looked like as we 
did not try that entrance.  There were vehicle tracks, but you would need a 
high clearance vehicle and 4 wheel drive would be recommended.  The gate was 
open when we checked the area at 2:00pm.

Here are some of the birds we did enjoy during out day in the North East.

Carlton County
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches - 7:35 - 7:50 am - When we first arrived, it was 
interesting to find that two of the Finches  were there and they were 
sitting on the window frames of the Blue Building.  All three of the Finches 
were observed and at times all three would sit on the window frames.

St. Louis County
Northern Goshawk - Lake Nichols Road - 8:50am - Had a nice look at an Adult 
Goshawk in flight, about 1/2 mile West of Hyw. 53.
Gray Jay - CR 8, 1 mile West of CR 5 - 12:40pm - Flock of 6 Gray Jays 
observed on both sides of the road.
Black-billed Magpie - CR 977 (Poplar Road), 1/8th of a mile West of CR 211. 
A group of 3 Black-billed Magpies were observed in with a flock of Crows and 
Ravens.
Boreal Chickadee - Intersection of Owl Avenue and Mottonen Road - A single 
Boreal Chickadee was observed in with a flock of Black-capped Chickadees.
Red Crossbills - CR 211 - a small flock of Red Crossbills were seen and 
heard in flight over the road, near CR 133.

Aitkin County
Northern Harrier - CR 5 & CR 18 - 4:30pm - Two adult male Northern Harriers 
were observed in flight North of this intersection.
Rough-legged Hawk - several birds were observed at the same time and 
location as the Northern Harriers.

We ended the day with an unsuccessful search for Great Gray Owls on CR 18, 
from 4:30 - 5:10pm.

Craig Mandel, Minnetonka, MN
EgretCMan@msn.com