Duluth RBA
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-RBA *Minnesota *Duluth/North Shore *December 13, 2001 *MNDU0112.13 -Birds mentioned
Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: December 13, 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, December 13, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.
There was an update of this Report last Saturday with the news of a ROSS'S GULL being seen in Ashland, Wis. It was discovered on Dec 6, and positively identified and seen by many observers on the 7th and 8th, but unfortunately no one found it on Dec 9, and the bird is presumably gone.
Other birds of note seen in the Duluth area since last weekend include ICELAND GULL, NORTHERN HAWK OWL, a relocated NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, and a very surprising BALTIMORE ORIOLE.
The Iceland Gull was a first-winter bird in Two Harbors on Dec 9, probably the same individual seen here Nov 22.
The only northern owl reported was a N Hawk Owl spotted Dec 10 by Jonas Benson along Lake County Road 2, about 17 miles N of Two Harbors. Note that no Snowy Owls have been reported in the Duluth harbor area since November, and this month there have only been reports of one other hawk owl and one Great Gray.
It was being assumed that the N Mockingbird which showed up in Duluth in early November was probably gone, since there had been no reports of it since Nov 16. However, there was a sighting of it today by the original observer in her yard on 8th St, just W of Mesaba Ave.
Even more surprising was the Baltimore Oriole, apparently an imm male, which was identified by Peder Svingen at a West Duluth feeder on the 5700 block of Main St on Dec 10. This oriole had been there off and on for several days before it was reported by the homeowner, so it may still be present.
There are still lots of late migrating raptors and late lingering water birds in Duluth. On Dec 8 at Hawk Ridge, Frank Nicoletti had a record high count for any December day with 150 raptors seen, including 85 BALD EAGLES, 21 NORTHERN GOSHAWKS and 5 GOLDEN EAGLES. On the 10th, the total at the Ridge was 76, including 61 Bald Eagles.
Many of those later-than-normal ducks in the harbor area mentioned on previous updates were still being reported this week, including HARLEQUIN DUCK, LONG-TAILED DUCK, WOOD DUCK, RING-NECKED DUCK, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, GREATER SCAUP, LESSER SCAUP, BUFFLEHEAD, and HOODED MERGANSER. Mark Stock also saw a probable RED-NECKED GREBE there yesterday.
The outlook appears favorable, therefore, for a high species count on the Dec 15 Duluth CBC. Compiler Jim Lind has organized observers in the field to cover the standard 15-mile diameter circle, which is centered at Hawk Ridge. Feeder watchers are also asked to count what they see that day and call in their report that afternoon or evening to 728-0105, which is the number where the group will be meeting starting at 5 pm to compile the results. Birders are also asked to call Jim Lind tonight or tomorrow at home (834-3199) or at work (720-4384) if they would like to participate in the count, or if they have been seeing any unusual or out-of-season birds within the Duluth CBC area.
One final announcement. The Duluth Birding Report, originally the Duluth Audubon Society Hotline, came into service back on Thursday, December 10, 1981. I still have the transcript from that day's tape, which included sightings of Harlequin Duck, Gyrfalcon, and Snowy Owls. In the 20 years since then, assuming there has been an update once a week on the average, I have probably done over 1,000 of these Reports. This seems as good a time as any to step aside and give someone else the opportunity to compile, edit, and announce the bird sightings from northeastern Minnesota. Fortunately, Dave Benson has agreed to take over this service. Dave has already been doing an excellent job filling in for me the past year or two during the weeks when I have been gone, and I trust he will let me substitute for him on occasion when he is out of town.
Though normally updated once a week on Thursdays, the next update of this Birding Report, by Dave Benson, will be on Sunday, December 16, with the results of the Duluth CBC.
The phone number for the 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. Messages can also be left without having to wait for the report to end: to do this, after the tape starts playing push 5, 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 mou@biosci.umn.edu; or visit the MOU web site at mou.mn.org.
