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-RBA *Minnesota *Duluth/North Shore *April 18, 1996 *MNDU9604.18 -Birds mentioned
Hotline: Minnesota Duluth/North Shore
Date: April 18, 1996
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 525-5952
Compiler: Kim Eckert
Transcriber: Sr. Pam Kern pkern@css1.css.edu
This is the Duluth birding report for Thursday, April 18, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.
Compared to last week's tape, this week's report has relatively little to report on, since fewer new spring migrants were reported and since there were there was essentially no birding activity in the Sax-Zim Bog or in Lake County where so many birds of note have been reported the last four months. I therefore have no information on whether any Great Gray or Hawk Owls are still present in Sax-Zim. If there are any Spruce Grouse or calling Boreal Owls along Lake County 2, or if the Three-toed and Black-backed Woodpecker seen together two weekends ago on St. Louis County Road 16, 13.2 miles east of County Road 4 might still be present.
There were a few birds of note reported recently however, Terry Wiens was still seeing a HOARY REDPOLL at his feeder on Strand Road on April 13. And on the 16th he saw a late NORTHERN SHRIKE. Unexpected on April 13 were the three GRAY JAYS in Cindy Edwardson's yard on east Arrowhead Road. Deb Savageao and Rick Schroeder found a singing male NORTHERN CARDINAL also on the 13th on 99th Avenue West in Gary New Duluth, and on the same day, Rick reported that a pair of introduced TRUMPETER SWANS returned to the gravel pit ponds on Canosia Road just north of Minnesota Highway 194, where these swans had also been found previously in recent years. And on the 15th Carla Larson found a road kill NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL near Cotton on US Highway 53.
This week's list of new spring migrants is a lot shorter than last week's and they include the following: BROWN HEADED COWBIRD on April 14, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW on the 15, BUFFLEHEAD on April16, Yesterday the 17, the first BROAD-WINGED HAWK was reported and today DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, REDHEAD, SHARP-SHINED HAWKS, COMMON SNIPE, BELTED KINGFISHER, TREE SWALLOW, HERMIT THRUSH and RUSTY BLACKBIRD were all seen.
Finally, it is not to early to start thinking about our tenth annual Hawk Ridge Bird-A-Thon and St. Louis County Big Day which will take place on Saturday, May 18. And for more information on this important fund raising event for the benefit of Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, that is if you would like to form or join one of the birding teams that day, or make a pledge based on the number of species we find on May 18, please give Terry Wiens a call at 525-6158.
The next update of this tape will not be until Friday, May 3. But in the meantime, if you have birds to report, you can leave a message after the tone, since others will be monitoring these messages. Also note that callers can leave a message if they wish without having to wait for this birding report to end. To do this, after the tape starts playing, push 5 on your touch-tone phone, the tape will then stop, the tone will sound, and you can then leave your message. BEEP