Previous reports: March 1 8 15 22 29 , April 5 11 19 25 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*May 3, 2001
*MNDU0105.03

-Birds mentioned

• Red-throated Loon
• American White Pelican
• Bald Eagle
• Northern Harrier
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Cooper's Hawk
• Northern Goshawk
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Broad-winged Hawk
• Swainson's Hawk
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Rough-legged Hawk
• Golden Eagle
• American Kestrel
• Merlin
• Peregrine Falcon
• Gyrfalcon
• American Coot
• American Avocet
• Willet
• Bonaparte's Gull
• Caspian Tern
• Common Tern
• Forster's Tern
• Short-eared Owl
• Least Flycatcher
• Golden-winged Warbler
• Orange-crowned Warbler
• Nashville Warbler
• Black-throated Green Warbler
• Palm Warbler
• Black-and-white Warbler
• Northern Waterthrush

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: May 3, 2001
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)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, May 3, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

South winds and wet conditions brought many spring migrants to Duluth this past week.

Three RED-THROATED LOONS were seen on the 30th along Minnesota Point. Eleven AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS were seen at Hearding Island on the 28th; five were present on Interstate Island on the 30th; and several groups were seen in flight in West Duluth. An AMERICAN AVOCET was at Hearding Island late on the 30th and a WILLET was at the 40th Ave West Erie Pier area on the same day.

A group of over 400 BONAPARTE'S GULLS was seen on April 29, but this species has not been reported since. CASPIAN TERN, FORSTER'S TERN, and COMMON TERNS are back, with the first sightings on the 29th. Scott Wolfe saw a large group of AMERICAN COOTS on Lake Superior this week.

Several observers reported waves of warblers, beginning on the 30th, including BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, and OVENBIRD; in addition, earlier sightings of BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER and PALM WARBLER were reported. NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH was reported today (5/3) and LEAST FLYCATCHER was reported for the first time today.

The West Duluth hawk count continues. Frank Nicoletti reports a total so far of almost 20,000 raptors, including 2539 BALD EAGLES, 37 NORTHERN HARRIERS, 1787 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, 45 COOPER'S HAWKS, 25 NORTHERN GOSHAWKS, 3 RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, 6568 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, 3 SWAINSON'S HAWKS, 5333 RED-TAILED HAWKS, 188 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, 64 GOLDEN EAGLES, 82 AMERICAN KESTRELS, 11 MERLINS, 7 PEREGRINE FALCONS, 1 GYRFALCON, and 1 SHORT-EARED OWL. The count will continue until later this month.

The annual Hawk Ridge Birdathon and St Louis Co Big Day will take place on Saturday, May 19. For more information about joining one of the birding groups who will be out in the field that day, call Terry Wiens at 525-6158. Terry can also take your pledges based on the number of species seen that day, with all the proceeds for the benefit of Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve.

Unless something unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported immediately, this Report is normally updated once a week. The next scheduled update will be on May 10th. The phone number forthe Duluth Birding Report is (218) 525-5952, and callers can report bird sightings if they wish after the tone at the end of each tape. Message can also be left without having to wait for the report to end: to do this, after the tape starts playing push 5 on a touch-tone phone, the tape will stop, the tone will sound, and you can then leave your message.

The Duluth Birding Report is sponsored and funded by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) 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 SE, Minneapolis MN 55455; or send an e-mail to ; or visit the MOU web site at .

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