[mou] Itasca & Koochiching county birding

[shawn conrad]

Jeff Stephenson, Bob Ekblad, Herb Dingmann, Jerry Pruett, Ron Erpelding, and 
I birded Itasca and Koochiching counties this weekend.  We found the 
following notable species:

Itasca County

Three-toed Woodpecker - 1/6, male; at the corner of CR 227 an Pincherry Rd 
north of Cohasset
Black-backed Woodpecker - 1/6, female; on CR 19 about .5 miles east of 248
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1/6, E McCavity Lake Rd
Brown Creeper - 1/6, E McCavity Lake Rd
Common Loon - 1/6, Mississippi River below power plant in Cohasset
Black-billed Magpie - 1/6, Priem Rd near Bigfork
Snow Bunting - 1/6, hundreds at Priem Rd
Gray Jay - 1/6, Alder Rd at Middle Creek
Boreal Chickadee - 1/6, Alder Rd, .1 mile N of Middle Creek, 50 yds W on 
trail
White-winged Crossbill - 1/6, male/female pair, Alder Rd, .1 mile N of 
Middle Creek
Northern Cardinal - 1/6, Old Horseshoe Lake Rd in Grand Rapids
Bohemian Waxwing - 1/8, 5 in Coleraine
Hoary Redpoll - 1/8, Scenic SP
Evening Grosbeak - 1/6 & 1/8, Effie Cafe
Ruffed Grouse - 1/6 & 1/8, several locations including Alder Rd & Scenic SP
Rough-legged Hawk - 1/6 & 1/8, light & dark morphs, several locations
Northern Shrike - 1/6 & 1/8, several locations
Common Redpoll, Pine Grosbeak, & Pine Siskin - several locations each

Koochiching County

Three-toed Woodpecker - 1/8, male, on Ben Lynn Rd in red pines about 3/4 
mile west of 13
Black-backed Woodpecker - 1/7, male, CR 13 S of both "double-90" jogs in 
spruce/aspen stand
Black-billed Magpie - 1/7 & 1/8, Big Falls, CR 13, & CR 11
Ruffed Grouse - 1/7 & 1/8, Toumey-Williams Rd & Hwy 6
Rough-legged Hawk - 1/7 & 1/8, light & dark morphs, several locations
Gray Jay - 1/6, 1/7 & 1/8, several locations
Northern Shrike - 1/7, Toumey Williams & Hwy 71
Boreal Chickadee - 1/7, 6 on CR 13 near northernmost "double-90" jog
Brown Creeper - 1/8, Big Falls campground
Bohemian Waxwing - 1/7, flock of 50+, International Falls
White-winged Crossbill - 1/7, CR 13
Hoary Redpoll - 1/7, Hwy 71 between Littlefork & CR 11
Evening Grosbeak - 1/7 & 1/8, many in Big Falls & International Falls plus 
CR 13 flyovers
Pine Grosbeak, Common Redpoll, & Pine Siskin - several locations each

Waterfowl are scarce - the only significant open water occurred on the 
Mississippi River (Mallards & C Goldeneyes) and the Rainy River (C 
Goldeneyes).

Shawn Conrad
Bovey

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