[mou] Spruce Grouse and Brown Thrasher

[Dee Kuder]

Found a Spruce Grouse Thursday on the Norway Trail (FR471 runs south from
the Echo Trail) in northern St Louis County. It flew up in front of my car
showing the chestnut colored tips of its tail. I was able to follow it into
the woods and get quite close – looked like it may have been a young one –
not quite full-grown.

 

About ¼ mile away a Brown Thrasher flew up from the road. I was able to get
out of my car and look at the bird with binoculars to confirm the sighting.
The big yellow eyes told me it wasn’t a Hermit Thrush! There were 2
Thrashers together – possible nesting? I was surprised to see these birds
out in the middle of the Superior National Forest. There are many young jack
pines in this area. 

 

At the Astrid Lake trail (just off Echo Trail) there were singing
Connecticut Warblers. 

 

Also, last week a flock of about 20 black-hooded Gulls flew over (some were
immature without the black hood). My initial id was Franklins Gull, but I
hesitate to say because I see Franklin’s Gulls are considered casual in the
Superior National Forest in St Louis County. But the one field mark was a
black band on the underside of the wing with very noticeable white wing
tips. We’d just had a significant hatch of dragonflies. They were probably
non-breeding Bonaparte’s Gulls (?).  

 

Dee Kuder

Crane Lake, MN

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