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Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*May 5, 2005
*MNDU0505.05

-Birds mentioned

• American White Pelican
• Black-crowned Night-Heron
• Cackling Goose
• Red-breasted Merganser
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Broad-winged Hawk
• Swainson's Hawk
• Virginia Rail
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Willet
• Least Sandpiper
• White-rumped Sandpiper
• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Long-billed Dowitcher
• Bonaparte's Gull
• Thayer's Gull
• Caspian Tern
• Common Tern
• Cliff Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• House Wren
• Brown Thrasher
• American Pipit
• Magnolia Warbler
• Palm Warbler
• Clay-colored Sparrow
• Le Conte's Sparrow
• Yellow-headed Blackbird
• Brewer's Blackbird

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: May 5, 2005
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 834-2858
Compiler: Jim Lind (jslind@frontiernet.net)
Transcriber: Jim Lind (jslind@frontiernet.net)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, May 5th, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Migration is finally in full swing this week, with several new arrivals in the area. This morning at Spirit Lake along the railroad tracks, in west Duluth's Morgan Park, Jim Barrett reported 2 WILLETS, along with LESSER YELLOWLEGS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER species, AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, several flocks of BONAPARTE'S GULLS, and AMERICAN PIPITS. Tom Auer also reported WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, LEAST SANDPIPERS, CASPIAN TERNS, and COMMON TERNS from Morgan Park today, as well as two BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS at Mud Lake in west Duluth.

More than 1,900 raptors were seen today at the West Skyline Hawk Count, including more than 1,500 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS and 315 SHARP- SHINNED HAWKS. An adult SWAINSON'S HAWK was seen on April 29th, and the first CLIFF SWALLOWS and BARN SWALLOWS were seen on May 4th.

A YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was seen with a flock of BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS on the 3rd along the Stanley Road in Lake County, about 3 miles west of Two Harbors. Terry Wiens reported a LE CONTE'S SPARROW along the Roberg Road in Lakewood Township on the 4th.

Other recent arrivals in the area include HOUSE WREN, MAGNOLIA WARBLER, PALM WARBLER, and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW today, BROWN THRASHER on the 3rd, and VIRGINIA RAIL on April 29th.

Two probable CACKLING GEESE were seen today at Interstate Island. More than 700 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were counted on Lake Superior on the 1st, between Stoney Point and Lester River. Jan Green also reported a first-year THAYER'S GULL at Stoney Point on the 1st. Flocks of several hundred grebes, scaup, and other waterfowl have been seen the past few days on Lake Superior in and near Duluth.

A reminder that the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory is looking for nesting observations and locations of Merlins in and around the city of Duluth, in the hopes of documenting distribution and nesting productivity in the area. Please contact Frank Nicoletti ASAP with your sightings, either by phone at (218) 724-0758 or by e-mail at bjboreal@aol.com.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, May 12th.

The new telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-834- 2858. Information about bird sightings may be left following the recorded 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 to mou@cbs.umn.edu, or visit the MOU web site at mou.mn.org.

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