Bird Count, Washington County (record

#2005-052, vote 6–1). Two adult males on

the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River.

• Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occiden-

talis), 16–27 July 2005, Little Spirit Lake,

Jackson County (record #2005-048, vote

10–0). This immature was first found on

the Iowa side of the border at Spirit Lake

and fortuitously wandered into Minnesota

(The Loon 78:11–14).

• Frigatebird, sp. (Fregata sp.), 19–21

September 2005, Big Lake off Echo Trail,

St. Louis County (record #2005-064, vote

7–0). Please see Not Accepted records.

• Glossy/White-faced Ibis (Plegadis

sp.), 23–28 September 2005, 180th Street

marsh, Dakota County (record #2005-062,

vote 7–0). Submitted as an unidentified

Plegadis ibis and accepted as such; in

spite of good photographs, the true color

of its irides could not be demonstrated.

• Glossy/White-faced Ibis, 9–15 Octo-

ber 2005, Munnwyler Lake near Orton-

ville, Big Stone County (record #2005-069,

vote 7–0). Though photographed about

two weeks later than the juvenile in the

preceding record, it was still not possible

to distinguish reddish tones in the irides

from an artifact of reflected light.

• Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississip-

piensis), 16 May 2001, Duluth, St. Lou-

is County (record #2005-047, vote 7–0).

Though submitted more than four years

after the fact, documentation for this adult

at the West Skyline Hawk Count was pre-

pared the day of the sighting; its unani-

mous acceptance underscores the impor-

tance of contemporaneous field notes.

• Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fuli-

carius), 1 October 2005, Lake Superior,

St. Louis County (record #2005-067, vote

7–0). This juvenile was initially misidenti-

fied as a Red-necked Phalarope (P. loba-

tus); photographs revealed its true iden-

tity.

• Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius para-

siticus), 7 September 2005, Chisago Lakes,

Chisago County (record #2005-078, vote

6–1). This juvenile was hit by a car in a

parking lot; photographs of the specimen

were reviewed.

• Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibun-

Record #2005-067, Red Phalarope, 1 Oct-

ober 2005, Lake Superior, St. Louis County.

Photo by Scott B Meyer.

dus), 17 July – 17 October 2005, north

end of Spirit Lake and Little Spirit Lake,

Jackson County (record #2005-049, vote

7–0). This adult was first found on the

Iowa side of the border by Minnesota

birders looking for Iowa’s Brown Pelican!

It was photographed on both sides of the

border and was reported regularly on the

Iowa side of the border through at least

11 November, but the last verified sighting

in Minnesota was 17 October.

• California Gull (Larus californicus),

5–12 November 2005, Superior Entry, St.

Louis County (record #2005-077, vote

7–0). This second-cycle gull had a blue-

green, pencil-shaped bill with a sharp-

ly demarcated black tip, and blue-green

legs; its size and plumage were compared

to adjacent Ring-billed and Herring gulls.

Photographs and written details were sub-

mitted by each of three observers. One of

the two previous St. Louis County records

was also in late fall (Eckert 1985).

• Sabine’s Gull (Xema sabini), 4 Sep-

tember 2005, Park Point, Duluth, St. Louis

County (record #2005-055, vote 7–0). This

juvenile was a harbinger of the amazing

flock that followed.

• Sabine’s Gull, 16–18 September

2005, Park Point, Duluth, St. Louis County

(record #2005-056, vote 7–0 for 60 indi-

Spring 2006

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