[mou] Hennepin's LIGU+Duluth

[alyssa]

Chad Gustavson and I, along with 4 other birders, saw the questionable Little Gull on Lake Calhoun around 7:45am. (If you do not want to read a long description of the gull, disregard this paragraph.) In response to Paul Budde's note of its identification, here is what I saw: Very small gull (~2/3 size of R-B, although no close birds for comparison), isolated, hunkered over. It's head was sort of blocky as far as I could see, although its posture may have portrayed the head shape differently. I also noted that the primary (wingtip) extension wasn't really long, especially compared to the Bonaparte's. The head coloration was hard to distinguish; it was pretty white, although I did see some darker markings behind it's eye and on top of its head, which from how far away I was situated from the bird, I would believe it would be indistinguishable from Boni. (Paul mentioned this in his description as well.) I could not see the bill from my distance, although it was dark and small. So far, it seems to mainly favor Little Gull. However, what bothered me the most was that I was never able to see the carpal-bar. I did see it briefly once, but it was not well defined (rather smudgy), which in this case would favor the Boni. I did see the dark mark near the primaries, but both Boni's and Littles have these. And I never saw it open its wings. Of course, I have no experience with Little Gulls, and I am just going from my observation and directly comparing them to Sibley's illistrations. I do hope this mystery unfolds soon...

Afterwards, we drove up to Duluth. Highlights include:
-Pacific Loon; where Mike H. saw it and around the same time, too! Juve. We checked again around 3pm, and we saw what we believe was the same bird (it drifted over to the right a ways.) However, we were unable to see the contrasting neck pattern well, as it was far out during this second observation. I attempted to get a picture, but it probably won't show well.
-Ross's Goose; white-phase juvenile with a large flock of RBGUs on soccerfields near the airport. Took pictures.
-Black Scoter; juve just off of the boat launch near the Ross's Goose. Took pictures.
-Am. Black Ducks; 3 in bay near 40th St. marsh.

Other birds seen in Duluth include ~30 Am. Pipits, N. Shrike, 8 Horned Grebes, Snow Buntings, Merlin, Cackling Geese (Duluth and Hennepin Co.) and two unidentified raptors. 

I saw three promising ponds/lakes in Chisago and Washington Counties; for those interested for more specifics e-mail me offline.

Good birding!

Alyssa DeRubeis
Golden Valley, Hennepin Co.
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