Yellow-breasted Chat in St. Louis County
2012-11-03

'Rare Regular' in Minnesota - Five or fewer records in St. Louis County for the Fall season

Juvenile Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) at private residence in Duluth, St. Louis County, 3 November 2012. The date is more than two weeks later than any previous chat in the state. It also represents only the fourth record for St. Louis County. Previous records (all in Duluth) include 29 May 1974 (Loon 47:92), 18 May 1982 (Loon 54:189-190), and 18 October 1997 (Loon 70:100). This image was taken just before 5:00 PM on an overcast day with the bird skulking in a flood-ravaged creek bed and periodically feeding on nightshade berries. Even though I pushed the ASA to 2,000 with the aperture set at f/11, shutter speed for this hand held image was only 1/40 of a second -- I'm amazed that the bird is recognizable!

Peder H. Svingen