Previous reports: July 1 , September 2 9 16 19 23 30 , October 7 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*October 14, 1999
*MNDU9910.14

-Birds mentioned

• Pacific Loon
• Oldsquaw
• Northern Goshawk
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Golden Eagle
• Spruce Grouse
• Eastern Screech-Owl
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Black-backed Woodpecker
• Gray Jay
• Eastern Bluebird
• Bohemian Waxwing
• Northern Shrike
• American Tree Sparrow
• White-winged Crossbill
• Common Redpoll
• Evening Grosbeak

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: October 14, 1999
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)
Re-transcriber: Terry Brashear (beakgeek@scientist.com)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, October 14, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Although the EASTERN SCREECH-OWL is not an unusual bird in much of Minnesota, the one which turned up in Duluth last weekend was perhaps the most unexpected species to be seen here in a long time, since there are apparently only 3 old records of this owl in St Louis Co from decades ago. On the night of Oct 9-10, Frank Nicoletti banded one in his yard on Chicago Ave, and since then he has heard it calling from his yard on subsequent nights. The bird can be heard to the west of Chicago Ave at the base of the hill just south of Calvary Rd (Chicago turns south off Calvary, 6 blocks west of Woodland Ave).

A few other unusual species were also seen in Duluth this week. On Oct 11, a PACIFIC LOON was seen again on L Superior on the 8200 block of Scenic Hwy 61, 1/2 mile beyond Lakewood Rd. It is probable this is the same individual which had been present in this area for a 2-week period in September, although no one had reported seeing this loon since Sept 28. It is not known if this bird is still present, since I was unable to relocate it yesterday or today. Jim Lind saw 2 OLDSQUAWS on the lake in Two Harbors Oct 11 and 12; they were on the east side of town in Burlington Bay. Also unexpected was the RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER Koni Sundquist had in her yard on the 2900 block of Jefferson St in Duluth on Oct 12.

The first NORTHERN SHRIKES, BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS and COMMON REDPOLLS of the season were seen in Duluth this week, all of these at the Main Overlook at Hawk Ridge. The waxwings were on Oct 8, the shrikes (which were also reported at other locations) were on the 9th, and two small flocks of redpolls flew by the Ridge yesterday.

Several BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS have been reported recently. These include: individuals flying past Hawk Ridge on Oct 8, 11 and 13; one yesterday at Hartley Field in Duluth in some pines along one of the ski trails; and another in Cook Co on Oberg Mt on Oct 9. There have also been reports in Duluth this week of more GRAY JAYS (which have been migrating down the North Shore in good numbers this month), AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, EVENING GROSBEAKS, a few WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, and on Oct 11 no fewer than 167 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were counted migrating past Hawk Ridge.

In Lake Co on Oct 11, a SPRUCE GROUSE was seen on the Dunka River Rd about 4 mi west of Co Rd 2; this road turns west off 2, 1.5 mi south of Minn Hwy 1.

Meanwhile, the best days recently at Hawk Ridge for raptors have been Oct 10 and 13: on the 10th, the hawk total was 1,125, including 397 RED-TAILED HAWKS and a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK; and yesterday, the 13th, 447 RED-TAILED HAWKS were counted, along with 12 NORTHERN GOSHAWKS, another RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, and 7 GOLDEN EAGLES. And the flight should continue to be good this weekend, with a cold front and NW winds in the forecast arriving tomorrow, and highs only in the 40s both Saturday and Sunday.

This weekend, Oct 15-16-17, is also the annual October Birding Weekend sponsored by Hawk Ridge, so that several birders will be here from out of town. It would therefore be especially appreciated if reports of all significant sightings were called in for the benefit of those registered for the Weekend.

Unless something unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported immediately, the Duluth Birding Report is normally updated once a week on Thursdays, so that the next scheduled update will be on October 21. The phone number is (218) 525-5952, and callers can leave a message if they wish after the tone at the end of the tape. Also note that a message can be left without having to wait for the birding report to end: after the tape starts playing, push 5 on a touch-tone phone, the tape will then stop, the tone will sound and you can leave your message.

The Duluth Birding Report is sponsored and funded by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), the state bird club, 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 S E, Minneapolis MN 55455, or visit the MOU web site at .

Send your rare and unusual Minnesota sightings to our electronic hotline: MOU-net@biosci.umn.edu. To learn more, send a message (the message being these two words: info mou-net) to majordomo@biosci.umn.edu. To learn more about our organization visit our web site: http://biosci.cbs.umn.edu/~mou/

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