-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*January 20, 2000
*MNDU0001.20

-Birds mentioned

• Horned Grebe
• Red-necked Grebe
• Oldsquaw
• Common Goldeneye
• Rough-legged Hawk
• Peregrine Falcon
• Sharp-tailed Grouse
• Thayer's Gull
• Glaucous Gull
• Snowy Owl
• Northern Hawk Owl
• Great Gray Owl
• Short-eared Owl
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Three-toed Woodpecker
• Varied Thrush
• Northern Mockingbird
• Bohemian Waxwing
• Cape May Warbler
• Harris's Sparrow
• Snow Bunting
• White-winged Crossbill
• Hoary Redpoll

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: January 20, 2000
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 525-5952
Compiler: Kim Eckert (kreckert@cp.duluth.mn.us)
Transcriber: Kim Eckert (kreckert@cp.duluth.mn.us)
Re-transcriber: David Cahlander (dac@skypoint.com)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, January 20, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Although there is still no sign yet of any invasion of owls or winter finches or other boreal specialties in NE Minn, the birding here continues to be interesting this week, highlighted by new reports of NORTHERN HAWK OWL, another SNOWY OWL, two additional GREAT GRAY OWLS, an unexpected SHORT-EARED OWL, RED-NECKED GREBE, HORNED GREBE, OLDSQUAW, PEREGRINE FALCON, SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, a second VARIED THRUSH, a large BOHEMIAN WAXWING flock, HARRIS'S SPARROW, SNOW BUNTING, WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, and two HOARY REDPOLL locations.

The first NORTHERN HAWK OWL in over two weeks was seen yesterday, the 19th, by Jay Hamernick of the Twin Cities. The location was at the town of Wales in Lake Co, which is on Co Rd 14 about 5 mi W of Co Rd 2; Co Rd 14 turns W off of 2, 13 mi N of Two Harbors. This is the 5th or 6th hawk owl reported so far this winter, with none of the others apparently still present, so it is hoped this one remains in the area for awhile.

In addition to the Great Grays which are presumably still present along Aitkin Co Rd 18, two GREAT GRAY OWLS were seen last weekend in the Sax-Zim Bog area NW of Duluth. One of these was a short distance up St Louis Co Rd 211, or the Blue Spruce Rd, which turns N off Co Rd 133, 3 mi E of Meadowlands; unfortunately, however, this owl was found dead on Jan 18. The other Great Gray was seen on Jan 16 and 19 along Co Rd 133, between 1 and 2 mi W of U S Hwy 53.

In addition to the SNOWY OWL which is still present in the Duluth harbor area and usually seen on the bay ice between the Port Terminal and Park Point, another Snowy was seen Jan 14 in Wisconsin along U S Hwy 2, just E of the town of Poplar.

An out-of-season SHORT-EARED OWL was found Jan 18 by Jay Hamernick in the Sax-Zim Bog just NE of Meadowlands; the location was on Co Rd 155 just E of Co Rd 29, 1 mi N of Co Rd 133.

Also out-of-season were the RED-NECKED GREBE and HORNED GREBE seen on L Superior Jan 15; the Red-necked was about 1/2 mi NE of the Lakewood Pumping Station, and the Horned Grebe was near McQuade Rd.

An OLDSQUAW was belatedly reported as being at Canal Park near downtown Duluth two weekends ago, and this bird was still present there as of Jan 17; it associates with a large flock of COMMON GOLDENEYES.

An adult PEREGRINE FALCON, which had been found in December in the Duluth harbor area, was relocated last weekend at the I-535 Blatnik Bridge.

A few SHARP-TAILED GROUSE have been reported occasionally this winter in the Sax-Zim Bog and in Aitkin Co, with the most recent sighting of a lone bird last weekend in the Linds' yard near Gun L in Aitkin Co; to reach this location, turn W off Co Rd 5 on Twp Rd 380, which is 4.6 mi N of MN Hwy 210, and go 3 mi W and 0.6 mi S.

Jeff Newman found an unexpected RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER in the Fond Du Lac neighborhood of Duluth on Jan 13, and a THREE-TOED WOODPECKER was seen last weekend near Isabella in Lake Co along a ski trail at the National Forest Lodge near trail marker 13. Both Three-toeds and Black-backeds had also been reported on last week's Birding Report, but none of these have apparently been relocated by anyone.

Not only is that VARIED THRUSH reported on last week's Birding Report still present at Nancy Bayle's feeder near Two Harbors in Lake Co, but a second Varied Thrush was seen with it on the 18th. Again, for directions and further information it would be best to call me at 525-6930 or Jim Lind at 720-4384.

A large flock of perhaps as many as 1,000 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS (along with a couple of CEDARS) was found in Two Harbors Jan 17; they were on the W edge of town along Co Rd 11 or 7th Ave.

An out-of-season HARRIS'S SPARROW was reported on Jan 16 at Laura Erickson's feeder on the 4800 block of Peabody St in Duluth; it had also been seen here earlier in the month, but on most days the bird is apparently not present. In this same neighborhood a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD had been found by Jack Hofslund a couple weeks ago on the 4700 block of Jay St, and the bird was seen again there yesterday.

SNOW BUNTINGS have been almost non-existent in NE Minn this winter, but a small flock was seen Jan 16 in Aitkin Co at the jct of MN Hwys 210 and 65 just E of McGregor.

Also almost non-existent here have been both species of crossbills, with the only recent report of some WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS last weekend in the Sax-Zim Bog near the jct of Co Rds 52 and 203 or Owl Ave.

HOARY REDPOLLS were reported recently at 2 locations: one of these was on Jan 17 in Two Harbors, 1 block S of Blackwoods Restaurant; the other was at Mark Stensaas' feeder in Carlton Co last weekend -- for directions you can call Mark at 590-3703.

As previously reported, an unprecedented CAPE MAY WARBLER has been coming to the Plagemann feeder at 5101 N Shore Dr, which is at the corner of Scenic Hwy 61 and 96th Ave E; it was seen again as recently as the 17th, and it is hoped it can survive the current below zero temperatures. Also, as reported on previous Birding Reports, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS continue to winter in good numbers in the Sax-Zim Bog area and in Aitkin Co, and both GLAUCOUS GULL and THAYER'S GULL continue to be seen on some days at the Superior WI landfill -- probably the best days for gull activity there seems to be Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Unless something unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported immediately, the Duluth Birding Report is normally updated once a week on Thursdays, so that the next scheduled update will be on January 27. The phone number is (218) 525-5952, and callers can leave a message if they wish after the tone at the end of the tape. Also note that a message can be left without having to wait for the birding report to end: after the tape starts playing, push 5 on a touch-tone phone, the tape will then stop, the tone will sound and you can leave your message.

The Duluth Birding Report is sponsored and funded by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), the state bird club, as a service to its members. For more information on the MOU, either write us c/o the Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church Street S E, Minneapolis MN 55455, or visit the MOU web site at .