Minnesota Statewide RBA
Minnesota Statewide RBA
Minnesota Statewide RBA
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-RBA *Minnesota *Minnesota Statewide *November 18, 1999 *MNST9911.18 -Birds mentioned
Hotline: Minnesota Statewide
Date: November 18, 1999
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) http://biosci.umn.edu/~mou/
Reports: (612) 780-8890
Compiler: Anthony Hertzel
Transcriber: Anthony Hertzel (ahertzel@uswest.net)
Re-transcriber: David Cahlander (dac@skypoint.com)
This is the Minnesota birding report for Thursday November 18th sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.
On November 14th Jeff Stephenson and Chuck Krulas spotted a first year ICELAND GULL in Grand Marais, Cook County, along the rocks in the harbor. They also had a brief view of a jaeger, possibly a juvenile Parasitic, as it flew southwest down the shore of Lake Superior. The following day Peder Svingen found a second winter GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL in the same harbor, and it was still present on Tuesday the 16th. This is only the fourth record of Glaucous-winged Gull in the state.
That second winter CALIFORNIA GULL has not been postiively identified from Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis for at least ten days, but it assumed to still be in the area. Check the large concentration of gulls that gather at the west end of the lake in the late afternoon. Two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and a PACIFIC LOON can also be seen on the lake.
SNOWY OWLS have been reported from several locations in the past week. One was seen flying over Lake Superior in Grand Marais on the 15th. On the 13th Warren Nelson and Bill Stauffer reported one from Aitkin County Road 18 in an open area just east of County Road 5. Also on the 13th Jay Hamernick found one at the Foley Boulevard exit of U.S. Highway 10 in Coon Rapids, Anoka County. And a fourth Snowy Owl was seen on November 14th at Union Cemetery in St. Paul. A LONG-EARED OWL was seen on the 17th in a yard in St. Paul, but no specific location was given.
On November 13th Susan and Bruce Fall found a PRAIRIE FALCON near the 4200 block of 29th Avenue South in Minneapolis. On the 14th they relocated it at the grain elevator complex just east of Hiawatha Avenue near 35th Street South.
Bridget Olson is still reporting good numbers of migrants at Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge in Big Stone and Lac Qui Parle counties. Among the birds present on the refuge are 61,172 CANADA GEESE, 1050 SNOW GEESE, 3 ROSS'S GEESE, 82 TUNDRA SWANS, plus one KILLDEER and one LESSER YELLOWLEGS. The Ross's Geese can be observed from the Highway 75 dam on the eastern boundary of the refuge in Lac Qui Parle County.
On November 13th Phil Chu recorded a few shorebirds in Big Stone County. At the Graceville sewage ponds was one AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, at the intersection of state highway 28 and Big Stone County Road 61 were three American Golden-Plover and one BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, at Thielke Lake he found a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, and along U.S. Highway 75 about half a mile north of County Road 34, were two American Golden-Plovers and one GREATER YELLOWLEGS. Fourteen American Golden-Plover were seen November 11th by Roger Schroeder at Lone Tree Lake near the town of Cottonwood in Lyon County.
Two late BARN SWALLOWS were seen by Craig Mandel on the 14th at the Blue Lake Waste Water Management Facility in Scott County.
Betsy Beneke reports that PINE GROSBEAKS can be found at the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge headquarters. This is the first report I have of Pine Grosbeaks away from Lake Superior.
In cooperation with the Minnesota Office of Tourism, highlights of this hotline can be now heard at a toll free number which is available to callers outside the Twin Cities area. The number is 1-800-657-3700.
The next scheduled update of this tape is Thursday November 25th.
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.
