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-RBA *Minnesota *Duluth/North Shore *September 26, 1996 *MNDU9609.26 -Birds mentioned
Hotline: Minnesota Duluth/North Shore
Date: September 26, 1996
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 525-5952
Compiler: Kim Eckert
Transcriber: Kirk Jeffrey
This is the Duluth birding report for Thursday, September 26, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.
Since last week's tape, the birding situation has improved in Duluth and northeastern Minnesota somewhat, with several rarities being seen including GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, SURF SCOTERS, PARASITIC JAEGER, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, all seen in Duluth, plus a ROSS' GOOSE in Aitkin County, west of Duluth.
But the most significant news is that there was finally a decent hawk flight at Hawk Ridge after nearly two weeks of mostly east winds and a very slow migration. A cold front with northwest winds came through on September 24, and the day's total was 2802, including 1800 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, about 600 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, 181 TURKEY VULTURES, and 4 NORTHERN GOSHAWKS. While such a total is far below counts in the tens of thousands that normally occur on a few times each year in September, it was the third-highest day this year so far. And it saves this September from being an all-time record low total. The lowest September total from the main overlook for all species was in 1987, when 20678 hawks were counted. So far this season, the over-all total is about 21,800. However, there might still be a record low for Broad-winged Hawks this month, since only about 11,300 have been counted from the main overlook, which is still about a thousand fewer Broad-wingeds than were counted in September of 1987.
Other sightings of note from Hawk Ridge include the 10 earlier-than-normal ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS seen so far this month. Conversely, only 14 PEREGRINE FALCONS have been seen so far this season. The banders set up their nets for owls for the first time on Tuesday night and caught 11 migrating NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS.
Some late PURPLE MARTINS flew past the Main Overlook on September On the 23rd, a late COMMON NIGHTHAWK flew by, and on the 24th a flock of WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS also were seen from the Main Overlook, which is the only report of this species I received this week.
With rain in the forecast all day today and probably into Friday, it is unlikely that any hawk will be seen until this weekend, after the rain ends--especially if the winds turn to the northwest behind this system.
Warren Nelson of Aitkin to report on a ROSS' GOOSE which was seen at Rice Lake NWR, which is about an hour and a half drive west of Duluth. For exact directions or to find out if the bird might still be present, it would be best to call Warren at (218) 927-2458.
A group of at least 18 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were seen migrating down the North Shore near the Lakewood Pumping Station on September 22. And on the same day, 2 SURF SCOTERS were found farther up the shore near the French River. An adult light-morph PARASITIC JAEGER flew north past the Superior Entry at the southern tip of Park Point on the 21st. On September 24, a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was seen at Stony Point; and on the 23rd, there was a good assortment of warblers seen in Duluth with at least 15 species being reported, including an adult BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER at the Lakewood Pumping Station.
As reported on last week's tape, be sure to make note of the 3 opportunities to watch owl-banding scheduled at Hawk Ridge, on the nights of September 27, October 4, and October 11. These are open to sponsors in our Adopt-a-Banded-Owl program; advance reservations are needed. Each session is limited to 10 participants. For more information on this or to make a reservation, give me a call at 525-6930.
Unless something unusual is seen which needs to be reported on immediately, the next scheduled update of this tape will be on Thursday, October 3, when I will have September's final hawk totals added up from the Main Overlook.